Hope is Your Fuel

 

In 2014, I heard a speech given by one of my teachers that included references to a book titled, Invisible Man. You’ve likely heard of it. I hadn’t read it since high school but was inspired to pick it up and give it a look. I’ve read it at least once a year ever since that day. What stands out to me in the book today is the hopeful spirit of the Invisible Man. Given some of the challenges today, dealing with COVID 19, unrest about people’s personal and professional futures, and rising anxieties between communities and law enforcement, leadership is more stressful today than at any other time. Like the Invisible Man, you have to understand that better days are in the future for you, the people you serve, and the organization you are a part of. In short, remain hopeful, and encourage others to do so too. As stress and anxiety rise, strong leadership becomes more important for everyone.

 

Decades ago, the late Reverend Dr. Frederick Sampson gave a sermon about hope in which he painted a word picture of the biblical figure Hannah sitting on top of a world full of hate and destruction, playing her harp while looking to heaven for relief. She’s tattered, and her harp is missing strings but she has the ‘Audacity to Hope’. That sermon was heard by Pastor Jeremiah Wright, who gave his version of sermon at Trinity United in Chicago where it was heard by Barack Obama who was so inspired that he used a version of it to title his book, The Audacity of Hope in 2006. In a nutshell, Hannah’s world was full of hate, but because she remained hopeful she was eventually blessed. Hope is your fuel, as a leader, your hope also inspires the people around you to keep the faith and move forward in spite of what is going on around them. I read somewhere that people just need to know that things will be okay in the end, that summarizes the role of the leader. 

The Invisible Man, like Hannah in the Bible, had reason to feel hopeless. Both had low social power. Both faced race and gender issues in a society that did not value them. The Invisible Man was given a number of reasons to hope only to have them quickly dashed, diminishing him deeper into invisibility. Hannah, the barren wife, had not bore children while being tormented by the other wife who had many. This caused tremendous pain that was compounded daily for Hannah because children brought women pride and status in that time. Either of them could have given up hope, neither did. Hope is what keeps dreamers up at night. Hope is what keeps protesters protesting in the face of opposition. Hope is what keeps politicians campaigning even when they’re behind in the polls. Hope is what keeps athletes playing hard late in the game. And hope is what will keep your organization and people strong during difficult times. 

Each summer, Camp Hope America encourages children to repeat a passage from the 1990 children’s book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go. If you’re anywhere near that campground, you’ll hear thousands of children and adults chanting “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose” over and over. The children served by Camp Hope America have been impacted by domestic violence and are encouraged to look beyond their toxic stress, adversity, and heartache and be encouraged about their futures. 

Hope isn’t always easy but a few thoughts can help you stay focused. 1. Brighter days are in your future. 2. You have the ability to make these brighter days happen. 3. There is no journey to brighter days without difficulties. 4. You can do it! The more difficult the journey, the more important it is for you to repeat it to yourself, or repeat it to yourself more often. We can get to the other side, there will be challenges, but we can do it! People will come to work with their focus on problems instead of the solutions, your challenge is to show them the better days ahead. It’s true, sheltering in place is no fun. Uncertainty whether people will be downsized or laid off sucks. Seeing unarmed people murdered in the streets by people who should be protecting them causes pain. Hope is the deodorant for all of this foul air. 

Hope isn’t just about squinting your eyes hard, and clasping the blood out of your fingers, it's also about effort. The effort may be the most important part. The Invisible Man continued to get up and try again. Hannah, continued to pray and be kind. The children at Camp Hope America have to go home and face unbelievable difficulties in life. And you have to return to work and encourage people to be at their best. People just need to know that everything will be okay, and see you removing obstacles from their path. Their leader has to be the walking embodiment of that message. Problems are part of the process, we know they’re coming and we have all the tools to deal with them. We have a team that is talented, skilled, and able to rise above anything. The leaders above us have the ability to solve problems out of our control, they just need the courage to solve them. If they don’t, then replace them with leaders who will. If you don’t have control over it, focus on what you do control. Donate time, write letters, feed the hungry, encourage a child, and vote! Hope is the fuel, the leader fuels the team. Give them what they need and you will SOAR!

 

William A. Brown

 May 31, 2020

https://www.allianceforhope.com/dr-seuss-resilience-and-the-science-of-hope/

https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Man-Ralph-Ellison/dp/0679732764 

http://www.womeninthebible.net/women-bible-old-new-testaments/hannah/