In a RISE roundtable last week, Mark Schaefer mentioned that he had a boss who had the phrase “Leaders dispense hope” on his desk. It got my brain spinning about the different types of leadership. And it was fascinating to hear a phrase that so clearly reflects my leadership style.
The phrase is apparently a variation of the Napoleon Bonaparte quote, “A leader is a dealer in hope.”
To get the best out of people, they have to be inspired. They have to feel that their work matters and contributes to the overall picture. Teams work toward achieving goals. There has to be some optimism and hope in there that the work is achievable and these people have uniquely been chosen to complete this work. Hope creates internal motivation.
If they don’t see the vision and goals, if there is no aspiration, people won’t bother.
Leaders have to show a vision for the future.
This doesn’t mean leaders need to lie to their people to create false hope. People are savvy and once they lose trust in a leader, they won’t believe the next time they’re told to hope. The hope and vision has to be set in reality.
Lolly Daskal takes this mindset and pushes it further. “Great leaders don’t motivate with fear; they inspire with hope.”
Ruling through fear can lead to short-term results, but it damages the team in the long run. Nobody does their best work when they’re working under a cloud of fear. Too much mental energy is spent focusing on the fear rather than the task at hand.
We’ve all worked under leaders who sit at different locations on the loved–feared spectrum (Michael Scott believes he lives at both ends). Personally, I know I’ve done my best work under leaders who valued my contributions.
I try to do this with the teams I lead. The right people can grow when you keep telling them they’re ten feet tall.