How many times have you heard someone say, “Hope is not a strategy”? It’s a phrase that’s gained traction in business circles—often spoken with authority and finality. But recent Gallup research invites us to take another look. It challenges us as leaders to stop dismissing hope and instead start embedding it intentionally into how we lead. Why? Because that’s exactly what employees are searching for.
Let’s face it. The world is a pretty hopeless place some days. War. Famine. Economic uncertainty. Climate disasters. And then there’s work, where many are still nursing pandemic hangovers. Where most of us confront uncertainty and complexity far more than in the past. Where we sense AI lurking in the background (or increasingly the foreground). And where job insecurity grows while trust erodes.
It’s no wonder that, according to Harvard/Kennedy School, nearly half (47%) of Americans under the age of 30 report “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless… at least several days in the last two weeks.” And Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index earlier this year revealed that only 44.1% of U.S. employees felt optimistic about their company’s prospects over the next six months. This is the lowest level recorded since the index began in 2016.
But don’t lose hope. Because these same employees have also offered a glimpse of what (and who) just might be well poised to address the situation.
Employees are looking to leaders for hope.
Gallup’s recent Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want study finds that across 52 countries, 56% of those who responded identified hope as the top positive quality they seek in leaders. (That’s right, hope beat trust, compassion, and stability by double digits.
The business case for hope
So, what’s in it for leaders to incorporate ‘elevating hope’ into their already lengthy job descriptions? Quilibrium’s Well-being Study offers a compelling business case. Employees with the highest levels of hope are:
- 74% less likely to suffer from burnout or anxiety
- 75% less likely to suffer from depression
- 33% less likely to endorse quiet quitting
- 49% less likely to consider quitting
The data is clear: hope isn’t just a feel-good concept. It’s a high-impact lever for well-being, engagement, and retention.
From toxic positivity to tangible practices
The need, benefits, and appetite for hope in the workplace are real. But let’s not confuse it with sprinkling verbal sunshine, forced smiles, or empty encouragement. Leaders who rely on platitudes or reflexive references to silver linings risk slipping into toxic positivity.
Real hope? It’s about helping employees see possibilities, navigate obstacles, and believe in their own capacity to succeed. Real hope is built when leaders take action. And one of the most profound actions a leader can take to build hope is to build connection.
Cultivating connection
Hope grows when people feel seen and supported. I’m not talking about forced fun or trust falls. I’m talking about real, human connections.
Humanity and hope go hand in hand.
During the pandemic, I worked with a leader whose team was struggling. She didn’t have magic answers—but she did have empathy. She scheduled optional virtual co-working sessions. She started each team meeting with a gratitude chain. And instead of the typical “How’s everyone doing?” she’d ask something like: “What’s one thing that made you smile this week?” or “What’s energizing you outside of work?”
These simple moments of humanity created a connection. And that connection sparked hope.
But cultivating connection is just one way leaders can spark hope. They can also:
- Enable great choice and agency: Hopelessness often stems from feeling powerless. Leaders who give employees a say in how they approach work, problem-solve, or pursue goals instill agency. People feel capable and that can ignite hope.
- Celebrate progress, just not wins: Teresa Amabile’s “progress principle” asserts that making progress in meaningful work is the single biggest catalyst for a positive inner work life. So, instead of only waiting for big milestones, call attention to micro-progress—because hope doesn’t require perfection, just movement forward.
- Reframe setbacks as data: Encouraging the view that setbacks are information, not indictments, can shift energy from despair (“we failed”) to possibility (“we learned something useful for next time”).
- Prime the pump by sharing what fuels your hope: Hopelessness, like any response, can become a habit that’s hard to pull out of. Sometimes people just need a little help seeing the possibility. Share the sources of hope that you experience to shed a little light into the darkness.
Hope isn’t fluff. It’s fuel. It helps people navigate ambiguity, show up with purpose, and stay resilient when the road gets tough. And when leaders lead with hope—real, grounded, actionable hope—they don’t just boost morale. They change the culture.
The real question isn’t whether hope belongs in a leadership strategy. It’s whether we can afford to lead without it.
This post originally appeared on SmartBrief.