Leading with Hope
Luncheon Keynote Address
Shane J. Lopez, Ph.D., Gallup
Sponsored by Kum & Go
Followers need hope. The last century of scholarly works on leadership conveyed in three words. Whether you are following a teacher who is showing you how to solve a problem, your boss who is trying to win a company-saving contract, or your preacher who is working to strengthen your community, you need hope.
Stories of a humble CEO, a larger than life mayor, and a doctor who takes care of dying children demonstrate how leaders spread hope and motivate followers to use these three tactics:
- Create and sustain excitement about the future.
- Knock down existing obstacles to goals and don’t put up new ones.
- Reestablish goals – re-goal – when the circumstances demand it.
Leaders don’t necessarily have the budget or staffing they need or want, but they do have infinite resources — hopeful thinking — in every one of their followers. Followers look to leaders to capitalize on the spirit and ideas of the times, to dream big, and to motivate them toward a meaningful future. Followers who get their needs met by hopeful leaders will get things done for years to come.
More about the Association of Leadership Programs Midwest Conference.
About Dr. Lopez
Shane J. Lopez, Ph.D., is the world's leading researcher on hope. His mission is to teach people that investing in their future pays off today. Dr. Lopez is a Gallup Senior Scientist and Research Director for the Clifton Strengths Institute. He is coauthor of the statistical reports for the Clifton StrengthsFinder and the Clifton Youth StrengthsExplorer. He is also the author of Making Hope Happen: Create the Future You Want in Business and Life, which details how hope can be learned and spread to others.
Dr. Lopez has spoken at numerous companies, universities, schools, and conferences. His talks are lively, highly accessible introductions to the science of human motivation that appeal to people who are curious about their own behavior (and that of others), who try to figure out why we do what we do, and who will put this information to use in their own lives. Ideal clients see themselves as change agents (this includes teachers, managers, community leaders, business executives, politicians – and, of course, parents). Presentations help them increase and sustain their own reserves of hope, develop hope-related skills in themselves and others, and transform their personal strengths into a public resource. Audiences are encouraged to examine the role of hope in health outcomes, academic and business success, and leadership.
Dr. Lopez is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He was a professor of psychology and education for a decade at the University of Kansas.
Message of hope generously supported by:
