Hope is How We Think

“Hope is not an emotion; it's a way of thinking or a cognitive process….. Hope happens when we have the ability to set realistic goals… able to figure out how to achieve these goals, including… developing alternative routes… and we believe in ourselves.” ~ Brene Brown

We need hope like we need air - we need it and our people need it. When addressing hope and hopefulness, Brene Brown calls on the work of researcher C. R. Snyder and her work suggest that hope is constituted by the “trilogy of goals, pathway and agency - a sense that ‘I can do this’.” These ways of thinking and being are learnable. Unfortunately, apathy and despair are also learnable - and contagious - hope is their antidote.

The concept of hope was one that many of us turned to during the COVID-19 pandemic. The prolonged uncertainty, the not knowing or understanding its beginning or its inevitable end… lead us to look for hope and a hopeful future post pandemic. That ability to find and maintain hope carried many leaders and organizations through that difficult time. Brene Brown observes that “Hope is a function of struggle. We develop hope not during the easy and comfortable times, but through adversity and discomfort.”

As we start the 2025-2026 school year, there is a lot of hope in the air. A fresh new academic year, with (hopefully) fresh and rested staff, and (hopefully) a strong sense of mission and a North Star to point toward. With all that is positive, we must also acknowledge that there are a lot of challenges and concerns at present; technology and AI are transforming our world, federal funding for schools has been given/taken/returned and is uncertain for the future, state budgets are constrained pointing to further budget reductions in the future, changing application of immigration rules and enforcement have many people living in fear and isolation, political divides and civil unrest are on the rise, to name a few of the challenges.

Recent Gallup research reveals that followers seek four fundamental needs from their leaders: Stability, trust, compassion and hope. The polling was clear that hope was universal with over 56% of all answers pointing to hope as a fundamental need of followers. As leaders we must build and access our own hope and resilience (put your mask on first) and then, within who we are/how we are, we must find our own voice to communicate hope.

In the last handful of my years as a superintendent - which spanned the years of COVID-19 and beyond - speaking to hope was an intentional practice. I consistently reminded myself, the board, leadership and the organizations that while it was challenging - we were uniquely qualified to not only survive but thrive. Sometimes I utilized Disney/Pixar movie clips as part of bringing us back to hope, our North Star and our hearts.

What will you do to build and maintain hope and hopefulness this year?

“The research shows that hope is a powerful antidote to despair …. Right now, the thing that is helping the most is micro-dosing hope. I have no access to big hope right now, however, I am asking myself how I can support the people around me. The people on my team, in my community. How can I make sure that, in the maelstrom of my emotions, I stay committed to courage, kindness and caring for others regardless of the choices made by others? Doing the smallest next right thing is hard AF, but sometimes it’s all we've got.” ~ Brene Brown (Instagram Nov 8, 2024)