Hello colleagues,

Welcome back to our series on The Leadership Practices Worth Talking About.

In the first newsletter in this series, we explored how celebration and radical hospitality create the relational foundation for thriving school communities.

In the second newsletter, we looked at the power of strategic vulnerability in leaders and how that creates a bedrock of trust that stands strong in the storms of school administration.

Today, we are going to discuss one of the most important, yet most misunderstood and overlooked leadership skills: hope

I recently asked a room full of school leaders: "What's the most important leadership skill you bring to your work?"

I heard responses like strategic thinking, communication, instructional expertise, conflict resolution, someone even said “charm”

All good answers. All important.

But no one said hope.

The reality is that we don't talk much about hope in leadership training.

Perhaps it’s because we think hope is too wishy-washy. Too “soft”. Too, well, hopeful

But here's what I've learned after working as a school leader and working with school leaders: 

I recently read a book I highly recommend: Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life” by Casey Gwinn J.D. and Dr. Chan Hellman (affiliate link)

In it, they discuss the fact that hope isn't a feeling. It's not optimism. It's not wishful thinking or toxic positivity.

Hope is a verb.

According to research from Gwinn and  Hellman, hope is "the belief that a thriving future is possible and that you have the power to make it so."

Hope, according to Gwinn and Hellman, isn't about waiting for things to get better. 

It's about actively creating the conditions for better to emerge.

And isn’t that what really good leadership is all about?

Actively creating the conditions for something better to emerge

In other words, hope is the discipline of believing that change is possible and then doing the hard work of figuring out how to get there.

That is what we want from our leaders, and it is what those we lead want from us

According to Gwinn and Hellman: In every single published study of hope, hope is the single best predictor of well-being. 

Not intelligence. Not socioeconomic status. Not even previous achievement. 

Hope.

Read that again:

Here’s another powerful statistic:

Let that sink in for a moment. 

We spend millions of dollars on testing infrastructure, data systems, and test prep—and hope outperforms all of it.

Here's what the research shows about students with higher hope (references included at the bottom of this newsletter):

Hope can predict academic achievement from elementary school all the way through graduate school. The higher the hope of a child, the better they do—in every measurable way.

But it goes beyond academics.

Adults and children with higher hope navigate injuries, diseases, and physical pain more effectively. They score higher on life satisfaction, self-esteem, optimism, meaning, and happiness.

Hope isn't just about school performance. 

It's about human flourishing.

And here's what matters for us as leaders: There's emerging research showing that hope predicts important workplace outcomes like job performance, turnover, and job satisfaction.

In other words, hope-filled leaders don't just create better outcomes for students.

They create better outcomes for themselves and their teams.

The neuroscience confirms this. Hope activates the prefrontal cortex—the region responsible for executive functioning, strategic planning, and emotional regulation. 

When we cultivate high-hope mindsets, we're neurologically primed for:

Hope has been linked to decreased cortisol levels, improved immune function, and higher levels of engagement and resilience. 

These aren't just personal benefits—they ripple outward, shaping the emotional climate of our entire school communities.

You carry an invisible weight as a school leader.

You're asked to be an instructional leader, a cultural architect, a fiscal steward, and an emotional anchor—often all in the same day.

Amid these demands, it's easy to lose yourself in the mechanics of management. To believe that what's needed is more strategy, more systems, more control.

But what your school needs most is not another initiative.

What it needs is YOU, grounded, present, and filled with hope. 

Leading with hope doesn't mean ignoring reality or pretending everything is fine when it's not.

It means facing reality fully—and still choosing belief over resignation.

Remember, the active definition of hope is actively creating the conditions for better to emerge.

That’s what you bring to the table as the leader, the administrator, the one charged with shaping the culture, climate, and conditions for better to emerge

It means asking yourself and your team:

"Is there reason to believe this year could be different?"

"Could it be better?"

These are the unspoken questions your staff and students are asking themselves already each and every day. 

Our students walk into their classrooms in August hoping that this will be the class, this will be the teacher, this will be the subject that fills them with wonder, delight, belief, and meaning

Our staff walk into our schools hoping that this will be the year they feel valued, seen, cared for, and supported

Hope-filled leadership offers a steady "yes" to these already unspoken hopes—not through empty assurances, but through visible conviction, transparent planning, and consistent, compassionate presence.

Hope-filled leadership is not about denying how hard things are.

It's about facing the reality of what is while holding out the vision of what could be.

You are not just implementing policy or enforcing compliance.

You are shaping the narrative of what is possible.

That is a leadership skill worth cultivating

And in that sacred work, hope is not an accessory.

It is your compass.

With you on the journey,

Scott

If this resonates with you—if you're hungry to deepen your capacity for hope-filled leadership—the Flourishing School Leaders Cohort is designed for exactly this work.

This isn't professional development about management techniques or compliance strategies.

It's a community of school leaders who gather monthly to reclaim what matters most: leading from a place of deep purpose, authentic presence, and grounded hope.

We create space to think deeply, to be honest about the weight we carry, and to support each other in doing the hard, beautiful work of leading schools where people—students, staff, and leaders themselves—can truly flourish.

We explore questions like:

If you're ready to lead from a hope-filled center, I'd love to have you join us.