Page 171 - Appreciative Leadership

144 Appreciative Leadership

Hope: More Than a Compelling Vision
Appreciative Leadership inspires people by revealing and amplifying

signs of hope. This requires more than just a compelling vision. In her
groundbreaking book Positivity, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson defi nes hope
as “the belief that things can change. No matter how awful or uncer-
tain they are at this moment, things can turn out better. Possibilities
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exist.” Fredrickson’s research correlates hope to both satisfaction and
performance. With hope, people find satisfaction in what they do, and

they do it well. They achieve what they set out to accomplish even in
the midst of challenging times.
Hope is a complex, collective emotion that arises in the presence of
hardship, disaster, violence, and destruction. It inspires people to align
their strengths and to contribute what they can toward a common cause

or a shared purpose. It gives them courage and confidence to redefi ne
their lives, learn from their struggles and each other, and coauthor a

more life-affirming future. Summarizing the research on hope, Profes-
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sors Luthans and Avolio describe this as “will power and way power.”
Will power necessitates a compelling vision combined with emotional
resources and community support. Way power requires that a path for-
ward and tangible resources be apparent. As shown in Figure 6–1, both
are essential elements in the formula for hope.

FIGURE 6-1
FORMULA FOR HOPE

Will Power Way Power
Compelling Vision + Path Forward = HOPE
Emotional Resources Tangible Resources
Community Support

When people see a better way, they want to know both how it
will be achieved and how they can contribute. In short, they want a
path forward. According to the people we interviewed, having and
following a positive path forward gives you hope, and eventually gets