In this week’s MSLD 641
Resonant Leadership blog assignment, we are asked to discuss how hope can be
elliptical and how hope can be created from within the mind. Additionally, we
need to answer the question “how can you use hope to modify your current
reality and see through it far enough to the reality you desire so that you can
keep moving forward?” These are very important questions to sustaining change
from within and pulling (not pushing) change externally.
Hope Defined
“Hope is a positive motivational state that is
based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed
energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals). (Snyder, Irving & Anderson, as cited by
Snyder 2001). So by definition hope has three components; first a positive
emotional state of mind that creates the energy needed to purse the vision of
the future, second a vision of the future, and finally a realistic plan on how
to get there.
This
definition of hope helps clarify how reality can be reshaped by a new vision of
what is desired. Hope is a vital element of our mental well-being and when
absent creates a multitude of problems, including health problems. “In a
hopeful state we have more physiological as well as emotional resiliency, and
we are mentally and physically prepared to deal with challenges. (Ibid as cited
by Boyatzis & McKee, 2005, p. 151). Providing hope to people can be a
tremendous gift that brings people together, contagious, additive, and multiplicative
where the hope explodes in exponential fashion (Branzei, 2013).
So why not spread hope
all the time? If every time we are presented a problem, we are confident we
will find a solution and a way to implement it why is there an issue? Until we actually
find the solution there is some level of worry we will be able to find it in
time. Those leaders that manage that level of worry effectively likely have
greater success as a leader by building a good track record. Ever follow a leader where no matter what problem cropped up the coffee break scuttle was “don’t
worry he’ll find a solution” Your mind was at ease with the Parasympathetic
Nervous System (PSNS) in full control right? By the same token, what would the
conversation be like if there was little confidence in the leader finding a
good solution? Tense and worried minds that activate the Sympathetic Nervous
System (SNS) and shut the mind down.
Branzei (2013)
illustrates how hope can be transferred to others by providing simple materials
such as food, clothing or shelter to those who are in need of them. One of my
favorite companies is TOMS
(Tomorrow’s Shoes) and they give hope to children by providing them with a free
pair of shoes. Branzei asserts that providing hope through materials is a
powerful “Hope that is material is often one of the bonding experience amongst
people and one of the longest lasting.” That assertion has many personal
examples that provide evidence of truth.
There are many other
ways to find hope. Brainstorming with others is a great way to share the hope contagion. “Hope is also contagious and
it flows like water in a very predictable way” (Branzei, 2013). I surmise that
having a shared vision within the group that is brainstorming is helpful in the
effectiveness of hope being contagious amongst the individuals in the group. This
evening as I shared an evening meal with some friends on vacation from Canada.
I became mindful about hope and how it affected our conversation and the moods
of my friends. While we were not brainstorming, the atmosphere of hopefulness did
seem draw everyone into the conversation and the atmosphere was lively.
Using Hope to Change My
Reality
I have already started
using hope to change my reality at home and my workplace. At home my daughter
has been in a very dissonant state for some time now (6 months) and the I have
come to realize that her perception of hopelessness is a main contributor of
her dissonance. Coaching her recently and giving her hope that the future can
be bright and here is a pathway to get there has been a tremendous help.
Additionally, at work in a feedback session held with my manager, a seed was
planted on how to provide hopefulness to a situation that some in our group may
need to help us get back in the swing of being great again. By providing
positivity in the form of a vision in how we are going to get there we can
begin creating the momentum to ensure our organization remains in a flourishing
state (Fredrickson, 2013, p. 3).
Creating Hope from Within
Branzei (2013) provides
some great stories on how hope can be transferred to others through materials,
but really doesn’t answer the question how hope can be generated internally
within one’s self. She does leave us with a challenge to think of hope in terms
of being elliptical and generating hope within ourselves. “We know that entrepreneurs
invoke role models, invoke lessons of life, invoke images such as a rainbow
over Akabar River to keep them going when the going gets tough.” Could it be
that one of the purposes of writing this blog is to learn a lesson in how to sustain
our hope as a leader? Certainly seems sensible to be prepared for such a scenario.
Why? Because leaders who lead long enough will eventually find themselves on an
island and it will be during these times when they will be the most vulnerable.
Having the skill to manufacture real
hope will be key. False hope can have a place, but is a topic for another time.
I say real hope because hope that is
manufactured that has no real chance of becoming reality in the future (false
hope) will be counterproductive in most situations, especially those in a
business environment where followers can sense what is authentic and what is
not. To think otherwise is living dangerously as a leader. So how, in a
business environment, would I manufacture hope when needed?
The first way to find
hope from within is through experiencing a tipping point or “aha moment”. We
have all had those moments when we were face with what seemed like an
unsurmountable problem when a solution and a path forward suddenly came into
focus out of nowhere. I had such a
moment this past week when an idea of how to manage the creation of data came
to me while in the middle of a heat conversation with some colleagues. How this
idea just came to me is far too complex to analyze in detail, but from what I
have learned in MSLD 641 the PSNS being active and having an open mind undoubtedly
allowed the tipping point moment to occur. Finding a tipping point moment can
occur in hypertublent moments, as was in the case described above, or it can in
the opposite mental state of meditation.
Another way to find hope from within is to ‘hunker
down’ and do some real reflective critical thinking to create a vision,
solution and plan to implement the solution. The SEE-I (State it, Exemplify it,
Expand it, and Illustrate it) principle works well to clarify and understand an
issue well so that a vision for a solution and an implementation plan can be
thought out. “A very useful process for clarifying almost anything is called
SEE-I.” (Noisch, 2012, p. 30).
Finally, finding hope from
within can be done through being mindful. A recent purchase of “Mindfulness for
Beginners” will hopefully begin to exercise my mind in ways so that more
tipping points will come to me more easily, like a magnet attracting metal
chards from afar.
Honing the skills of mindful attention to oneself enables us to
make better choices because we recognize and deal with our internal state –
thoughts, physical sensations, and emotions. We are then better able to make
sense of people and situations around us. Our perceptions are clear, not
clouded by our own filters, biases, and unexplored or unacknowledged feelings.
Through purposeful, conscious direction or our attention, we are able to see
things that might normally pass right bu us, giving us access to deeper insight,
wisdom, and choices. (Boyatzis & McKee, 2005, p. 120).
Admittedly, I have just begun my journey in
learning about the science of mindfulness. My upbringing gave me awareness of
being mindful about my actions and of other’s needs. What this means is that my
knowledge of mindfulness and the effects of being mindful can be strengthen and
broadened by applying myself to a deeper, more ‘zoomed in’ approach to studying
the science of mindfulness. If being mindful means becoming more aware of your
surroundings and what resides inside you, then seeing patterns, formulating new
visions with the pathways on how to get there will create the ‘positive emotional
state’ that is part of the definition of a hopeful state of mind (Snyder,
Irving & Anderson, as cited by Snyder 2001). This may also tap back into
what Branzei (2013) means by hope being elliptical in that if you draw a continuous
line smooth line around your body it would be in the shape of an elliptical.
This represents being mindful about yourself and generating hope from within.
If this same hope resonates with others, the
image of resonating is also an elliptical.
This passage from Kabat-Zinn (2012), provides
hope that expanding my knowledge and practice of mindfulness will increase my
ability to find hope more easily “Images of Your Mind That Might Be Useful: The
ocean is not the only metaphor for the mind, and waves are not the only metaphor
for thoughts. There are many useful images that might provide new angles and
novel approaches for working mindfully with thoughts and the process of
thinking.” (p. 37). Maybe you have already begun your journey into becoming
more mindful. Perhaps you are a mindful Zen Master already. Maybe you have
never thought about your level of mindfulness and what impact it can have on
you and others around you. If this is the case, will you join me in beginning the
journey of becoming more mindful? If so, respond to this post or write to me at
gtgeric@gmail.com. Look forward to
hearing from you and sharing our journey together!
References:
Boyatzis,
R., & McKee, A. (2005). Resonant
leadership: Renewing yourself and connecting with others through mindfulness,
hope, and compassion. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.
Branzei, O. (2013, April
17). Oana Branzei on the theory of hope. [Video file]. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_pw4v7xXo&feature=youtu.be.
Fredrickson, B. L.
(2013, July 15). Updated Thinking on Positivity Ratios. American
Psychologist. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0033584
Gerald, M. Nosich,
(2012). Learning to think things through:
A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (Fourth edition.).
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (2012).
Mindfulness for beginners. Boulder, CO: Sounds True Inc.
Snyder, C. R. (2002).
Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological
Inquiry, 13(4), 249.
