Short podcast episode in the Optimize +1 series by Brian Johnson that argues hope is a core leadership capability. Brian defines hope as "the belief that our future will be better than our present," contrasts it with hopelessness, and claims that leaders who fail to inspire hope will see about 1% engagement while leaders who successfully inspire hope will see about 69% engagement. He closes with a practical prompt: list ways the future will be better and share that vision with your team. The episode includes brief promotional intros/outros directing listeners to Heroic.us and Brian's book.
Questions this episode answers
Brian Johnson.
"The belief that our future will be better than our present."
1%.
69%.
Hey, hero. If you're enjoying these daily plus ones, make sure you head to Heroic us to access a ton more resources to help you move from theory to practice to mastery and express the best, most heroic version of yourself today. And now, here's Brian with today's one.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Optimize plus one. So while we're chatting about the science of hope, let's focus on a key leadership status. First, imagine yourself as a leader, which of course you are. See yourself in the various contexts in which you lead, from your role at work and in your family to your relationships with your friends and your most important relationship with yourself. The fact is, in any given moment throughout the day, you always have the potential to lead. And here's the deal. Your effectiveness as a leader will always be driven by your ability to do one very important thing. Inspire hope. Remember, hope is simple. It's the belief that our future will be better than our present. It's opposite, hopelessness, is when we don't believe our future will be better than our present. So, pop quiz. If you're a leader who doesn't inspire hope, what percentage of the people you're leading do you think will be engaged in whatever it is you're trying to get them to do? What would you guess? You're not capable of inspiring hope. What's the level of engagement? How about 1%? That's it. 1%. No hope, no engagement. On the other hand, imagine you've done a great job of inspiring hope. You and your team or family yourself believe that the future will be better than the present. Now, what percentage do you think will be engaged? We had 1% before. What do we have now? 69%. 1% versus 69%. Hope matters a lot. So today's plus one. How will your future be better than your present? Count the ways. Then go share them with your crew and whoever else in your life is part of your projects and bring that vision to life as the powerful leader you are.
We hope you enjoyed today's +1. For more resources to help you move from theory to practice to mastery and express the best, most heroic version of yourself, head to Heroic us today. And if you liked this episode, please leave a positive review and hit the Follow, subscribe button on your platform of choice. And if you liked this episode, please leave a positive review and hit the follow or subscribe button on your platform of choice. Also, have you heard the news about Brian's book? Activate your heroic potential head to Heroic Us book to learn more and get your copy, as well as check out exclusive content and bonuses. That's heroic US book. Let's go, hero.
