Hope is the belief that the future is better and there’s a way to get there.
Blake, my 9 year-old son, sitting in the front seat of the car, staring out the window said, “Dad, when I grow up, I want to be a Coach like you… and travel with you.”
I don’t tell you this so you’ll think I am a great Dad. I’ll be honest; I have my doubts. Not in Blake, but in what I’m giving him. You probably know this from raising kids – it’s so day-to-day that it’s easy to feel lost in it. Sometimes I find myself thinking, “What am I doing? Is it working?”
A CEO said something in a call that I’ll never forget, “James, I told myself this week that I am not enough.” He paused and then I could hear it click for him, “After years of trying to prove myself – I finally have hope.”
Now, I have a Master’s degree in asking questions, but this one was not my best. I was skeptical, “How’s that hope?”
This CEO didn’t hesitate, “When I don’t have to prove myself as a leader, I finally have space for something more.”
That’s true. So much of our days are spent on what we’re doing – my meetings, my business, my responsibilities, my stuff to do. We’re saturated with what we’re doing. Hope… is that there’s more. More here than just what I can do.
When leaders operate from confidence beyond their own ability, hope and leadership become synonyms. It is no longer about proving what they can do. It is about believing in what is possible beyond themselves; in their team, their system, and the future they are helping to create.
Instead of trying to control every outcome, they focus on enabling others. They clarify priorities, coach team members through tough decisions, and clear the roadblocks that slow progress. They create space for people to take initiative, test new ideas, and tackle challenges they might have avoided before. Their confidence is not about ego. It is the steady presence that lets others realize, “I can handle this,” and take ownership in ways that move the team forward.
Hope in this sense is the spark that makes things happen. It takes what one person can do and turns it into what a team, or a nine-year-old, can accomplish together. Just like when Blake imagines what he might become, hope lets leaders see beyond their own effort and create space for others to step up, try, and grow. It is the quiet force that turns ideas into action, possibilities into results, and potential into progress; whether at the office or the front seat of a car.
When leaders have confidence beyond their ability – hope and leadership become synonyms. No longer proving what they can do, leaders prove what others can do. This is my hope for Blake, that he goes far beyond what I can give him.