Trust, trust, trust me on this – HOPE is the single most critical component for a content and fulfilled life.
- HOPE is the yeast in our daily bread.
- HOPE is our innate ability to trump despair with drive, doubt with belief, apathy with conviction, disinterest with desire, uncertainty with assurance, and hesitation with confidence.
- HOPE is resistance and resilience in the face of adversity.
- HOPE causes us to set the alarm at night. HOPE gets us out of bed in the morning. Again, and again, and again.
- HOPE is the most important foundation upon which we build meaningful lives.
Without HOPE we are hopeless. When we lose HOPE, we create a vacuum which is quickly filled with hopelessness, despondence, despair, and depression.
Can we avoid this?
Victor Fraenkel taught us how, when everything had been removed from inmates in Auschwitz, they were still left with the option to choose. No one can ever, ever, ever take that from you. The survivors chose HOPE. We can too.
As I write we are in an extended lock-down in response to the Corona Virus. People are being infected. Tragically, many are dying. Businesses are filing for insolvency. Staff are being retrenched. SMEs are closing their doors, many for the final time. Landlords are terminating leases. Tenants face homelessness. On Friday, with impeccable timing, Moody’s downgraded the country to junk status. The Finance Minister informed us that the country has run out of money. The Reserve Bank began buying the government bonds no one else wants. It is an extraordinary time. A time which threatens to drown us in despair. The best antidote is HOPE.
- HOPE is the belief that tomorrow will be better than today, that the rest of our lives will be better than what we have already lived.
- HOPE is the most effective currency leaders have to deal with the current situation. Leaders have the choice to create a vision, desire, and dream of what our future is going to look like.
How?
Leaders must start by caring for their people. With the wind at our backs we can all be great leaders; bullish and buoyed with bluster and hubris. Now with a force-ten gale head-on; we get to see who can lead in adversity – leaders who deal in HOPE.
So how do we use HOPE as a strategy?
Whether you are a parent, a sole proprietor, or CEO of a listed company – be kind, be considerate, be compassionate. Now is the time to look after and out for people.
Yes, revenue streams are important, liquidity is critical, as is surviving an extended lockdown and managing a slow, protracted recovery. Do all this but first put people at the centre of the process.
Think about it, where does your money come from? Your customers – take care of them. Nothing happens in business until someone sells something, who does this? Your sales team – take care of them. Who manages the cash flowing in and out of your business? Your administration department – take care of them.
By now you’re getting the idea.
The businesses that survive and go on to thrive will be the ones with people-centred leadership. Your staff don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Show them how much you care.
Your people are panic stricken and afraid. Keep in contact and reassure them by speaking frequently and honestly using tone, language and intent that are positive, optimistic, reassuring – in short hopeful. You are their umbilical cord of HOPE that we will get through this.
When the President sent the armed forces into our communities, he urged them to, “be kind and take care of our people”. How much better than the Minister of Defence who answered a question with, “there is no skop, skiet and donder – yet”. Words are important they can inspire or demotivate – use them carefully.
As parents at home you need to be the reassuring hand in the back, the tranquillity, and the reassurance. As you and your family try and make sense of this unusual time in history be kind, breathe slowly and deeply. Be hopeful – it’s infectious.
Should you wish to consult us with regards to developing a strategy, coaching, mentoring, business development based on assertive enquiry and positive psychology email info@saige.co.za to set up a free zoom session to learn more.
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