Hope

Published on January 2018 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 43 | Comments: 0 | Views: 648
of 2
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

Leadership- Napoleon Bonaparte said,

A leader is a dealer in hope.

Robert Mattox, social activist and futurist, proposes a social change theory bas ed on the hope phenomenon.[5] There is significant research on the ability of le adership to effect change, but little research exists that examines the conditio ns of leadership necessary to initiate and successfully lead change. Many leadership theories presuppose that an individual who does the right things will be an effective leader. Dr. Larry Stout postulates that certain conditions must exist before even the most talented leaders can lead change. Dr. Stout hig hlights four conditions necessary to lead change: 1. people (who) 2. place (where) 3. position (what) 4. period (when) If a leader has a green light in all four conditions, they will be able to lead change.[6] Hope system Considering these leadership conditions among other macro social change drivers, Robert Mattox proposes a change management theory. Dealers in Hope explores fou r leadership profiles- Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, Mike Morhaime, and the historic al figure Moses who succeeded or failed to lead change based on whether or not t hey were a dealer in hope. Robert Mattox prescribes how a leader can lead change and shape culture within their community or organization by creating a hopescap e and harnessing the hope system- illustrated using a hope diamond metaphor (from coal to diamond process). In psychology Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Principal Investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab and Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel H ill,[7] argues that hope "...comes into play when our circumstances are dire", w hen "things are not going well or at least there s considerable uncertainty about how things will turn out". She states that "[h]ope literally opens us up...[and] removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture [ , thus allowing us to] become creative" and have "[b]elief in [a] better future" .[8] "Psychologist, C.R. Snyder and his colleagues say that hope is cultivated when w e have a goal in mind, determination that a goal can be reached, and a plan on h ow to reach those goals".[9] Hopeful people are "like the little engine that cou ld, [because] they keep telling themselves "I think I can, I think I can".[10] Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or system atic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism. The term "false hope" r efers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome . History of hope Alfred Adler said: We cannot think, feel, will, or act without the perception of a goal [11] Hope can first be seen in ancient Greek mythology with the story of Zeus and Pro metheus. Prometheus stole fire from the god Zeus, which infuriated the supreme g od. In turn, Zeus created a box that contained all manners of evil, unbeknownst to the receiver of the box. Pandora opened the box after being warned not to, an d those evils were released into the world; hope, which lay at the bottom of the box, remained. This is the beginning of the tale of hope.[12] Understanding hope Das Prinzip Hoffnung (de) Auschwitz, a rose expressing hope Charles Snyder, Ph.D, one of the first developers of positive psychology, embell ished upon the overlaying topic of hope relaying its subject matter within a psych

ological construct. Snyder created his hope theory while on sabbatical from the Un iversity of Kansas. Instead of finding evidence in a book in the library, he was inspired to observe people and interact with them. Through his observations, Sn yder was able to determine his own definition of "hope"; Hope is the sum of the m ental willpower and waypower that you have for your goals [13] Snyder continues hi s definition with these 3 underlying concepts: Goals: Goals are objects, experiences, or outcomes that we imagine and desire in our minds." Snyder determines that the goals involving hope fall somewhere be tween an impossibility and a sure thing. [14] Willpower: Willpower is the driving force in hopeful thinking (pg.9) Willpower draws on the perception of our desired goal as well as one s mental energy. It al so depends on how well we understand our goal. Within psychotherapy, techniques are used to home in on one s desires and wishes, on how to focus on our goals, on how to obtain or attain them, based on tacit knowledge."[15] Waypower: Waypower reflects the mental plans or road maps that guide hopeful thought [16] There are important versus less important goals that play a part in o ne s ability to plan through a goal, to map out a plan. Snyder says that hope is t he mental willpower and waypower for goals [17] Research has found that persons with willpower thinking may not have waypower thoughts to their goals .[17] Measuring hope Several researchers, after defining their concept of hope, have devised ways of how to measure the actual psychological construct. Snyder s proposed Hope Scale meas ures a person s intended succession in congruence to their goals. Overall, their d etermination to achieve their goal is their measured hope. Fibel and Hale measure hope by combining Snyder s Hope Scale with their own Genera lized Expectancy for Success Scale (GESS) to empirically measure hope.[18] In Snyder s book, Hope Theory , a differentiation between adult-measured hope and chi ld-measured hope is given. The adult Hope Scale by Snyder contains 12 questions; 4 measuring pathways thinking , 4 measuring agency thinking , and 4 that are simply f illers. Each subject responds to each question using an 8-point scale.[19]

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close