Hope is optimism expressed outwardly; it’s wanting something to happen or be true. But if your hope never makes a sound, you can’t expect anyone to know about it — or follow you.
As a lifelong optimist, I’ve learned that you can’t tell someone to “be positive.” Optimism is taught through explaining, listening, responding, coaching, and reinforcing as people adjust and adapt. It’s a process, not a pep talk.
And even then, that same 27% who didn’t respond positively to the handshake test — or the written version we later developed — will still struggle to see the glass as half full. That doesn’t make them bad or unfit. It just means they’ll be swimming upstream against the optimism around them, and leaders need to recognize that and keep coaching.
Optimism, and the curiosity, flexibility, resilience, and grit that come with it, must be woven into every part of work life. The opposite of silent isn’t loud — it’s active. Actively promoting, talking about, coaching, referencing, and modeling the positive aspects of whatever you’re doing.
I mentioned earlier how reframing codes of conduct around what you should do — instead of what you shouldn’t — changes everything. The same applies to performance conversations: highlight what went right, then coach how to improve what wasn’t. Never label something as “bad.” Call it an opportunity to get better. That’s how an optimist leads.
But many leaders still see themselves as “McGruff the Crime Dog,”[1] waiting to catch people doing something wrong. I encourage them to be more like Coach Phil — Philoctetes from Disney’s Hercules — a gruff but deeply encouraging trainer whose whole purpose is to help Hercules push past his limits, find his strength, and go the distance. That’s art imitating life at its best.
That’s what leaders need to do and be. And it starts with seeing the glass half full today.
Harvey Milk (1930 – 1978): American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
[1] Character created in partnership between the Ad Council, the National Crime Prevention Council, and the U.S. Department of Justice to build crime awareness in both adults and children.
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