Keeping Hope Alive
Leadership’s Greatest Responsibility
The anxiety in the world right now is real.
Everywhere you look, there’s uncertainty. Economic turbulence, shifting market conditions, layoffs, inflation, volatility—the list goes on. If you’re in banking, lending, small business, or frankly any industry that deals with capital and growth, you’ve probably felt the tension creeping in.
Deals that were easy to close a year ago now take twice the effort. Customers and clients are hesitant, waiting for signals that the economy is on firmer ground. Investors are cautious. Partners are second-guessing their strategies. The sense of forward momentum that businesses thrive on has started to feel… stuck.
In times like this, people naturally pull back. They get defensive. They go into survival mode.
But the best leaders—the ones who build lasting organizations—don’t retreat in uncertainty. They do the opposite. They recognize that their most important job isn’t just managing resources, making decisions, or keeping the wheels turning. Their most important job is keeping hope alive.
Lately, as in some of my other recent articles, I’ve been reflecting on a book I read—What You’re Made For by George Raveling. It’s a book about leadership, perseverance, and the power of resilience. One of its core themes is the necessity of hope.
Hope isn’t just a vague sense of optimism. It’s not a bumper sticker. It’s a discipline. A mindset. A leadership responsibility.
Hope is what keeps teams engaged when the road ahead looks uncertain. It’s what fuels businesses to push forward when others freeze up. It’s what allows people to take action when fear tells them to stand still.
The challenge for leaders isn’t just to have hope for themselves. It’s to sustain it for everyone around them.
Hope is Hard, But It’s Necessary
Most people think of hope as an emotion. It’s not. Hope is a decision.
Raveling’s life proves that. He was born in 1937 into a world where opportunities for Black men were scarce. His father died when he was nine. His mother was institutionalized when he was thirteen. By every statistic, by every expectation, his future should have been bleak.
But he refused to accept that narrative. He worked his way into Villanova on a basketball scholarship. He built a coaching career, eventually becoming the first Black head coach in the Pac-8 (now the Pac-12). He became one of the most respected minds in sports and business.
His story isn’t just about perseverance—it’s about believing in a future that didn’t yet exist and doing the work to make it real. That’s what hope actually is.
If you’re leading a business, a team, or even just yourself right now, you need that same mindset. The ability to hold on to a vision beyond the immediate chaos.
Because here’s the truth: Uncertainty is constant.
The economy will always have cycles. Industries will always face disruption. Markets will always swing between overconfidence and panic.
But the businesses and leaders who survive—who thrive—are the ones who refuse to let uncertainty dictate their future.
Moments That Define Hope
There’s a moment in What You’re Made For that captures this idea perfectly.
It was 1963, and Raveling was invited—almost accidentally—to the March on Washington. He wasn’t planning to go. Like a lot of young professionals, he was caught up in his own world, focused on his coaching career. Civil rights mattered to him, but he didn’t necessarily see what a march had to do with him personally.
Then someone offered him a car and some gas money. So he went.
When he got there, an organizer asked if he wanted to volunteer. Without really knowing what he was signing up for, he said yes.
The next thing he knew, he was standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, providing security for the speakers. One of those speakers was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Raveling was just a few feet away when King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. And when it was over, he stepped forward and asked King if he could have the speech notes. King handed them to him.
That moment changed Raveling. Not because he walked away with a historic artifact, but because, for the first time, he saw what it meant to believe in something that seemed impossible.
Dr. King wasn’t just describing a future where racial equality existed—he was willing it into existence. He was saying, in front of hundreds of thousands of people, this is possible. And because he believed it, others began to believe it too.
That’s what leaders do. They don’t just react to circumstances—they shape them. They give people a reason to keep going.
How Leaders Keep Hope Alive
If you lead, you have a responsibility to keep hope alive. Not in an artificial, “everything will be fine” way, but in a real, tangible way.
Here’s how:
1. See the Long Game
Hope isn’t about pretending things are good when they aren’t. It’s about recognizing that today’s struggles don’t define tomorrow’s reality.
Think about any great leader—whether in business, sports, or history. None of them achieved success without setbacks. The difference between those who make it and those who don’t isn’t talent or resources—it’s the ability to see beyond the current moment.
As a leader, your team looks to you for that perspective. If you can’t see beyond the obstacles, neither will they.
2. Encourage Relentlessly
Encouragement isn’t just about making people feel good—it’s about unlocking potential that might otherwise go untapped.
When Raveling was at Washington State, he recruited a 7-foot-2 kid named James Donaldson. Donaldson had never played organized basketball. He wasn’t highly recruited. He wasn’t even sure he was good enough to play at the college level.
But Raveling saw something in him. More importantly, he made sure Donaldson saw something in himself.
Donaldson went on to have a 14-year NBA career.
Encouragement changes lives. Leaders who understand that build stronger teams, better businesses, and lasting cultures.
3. Take the First Step
When uncertainty paralyzes people, leaders create movement.
If you’re leading a team through a tough time, take the first step. Make a decision. Start something. People will follow movement, even if they aren’t sure of the destination yet.
4. Remind People What’s Possible
People forget. They forget what they’ve accomplished. They forget what they’re capable of.
As a leader, your job is to remind them.
This is what Dr. King did in 1963. This is what Raveling did for his players. This is what great leaders do every day.
Remember: Hope is a Leadership Responsibility
Keeping hope alive isn’t about blind optimism. It’s about making the deliberate choice to believe in a future that doesn’t yet exist—and then taking action to build it.
People are always looking for reasons to give up. Markets crash. Businesses fail. Goals start to feel unattainable.
But the best leaders don’t let those moments define them. They don’t just see past the uncertainty—they teach others to do the same.
Hope is a discipline. A practice. A choice. If you lead, make sure it’s one you make every day.