What do people want from their leaders?
The top answer will surprise you.
Gallup asked people across 52 countries these 2 questions:
- What leader has the most positive influence on your daily life?
- List three words that best describe what this person contributes to your life.
Guess what the highest response was?
Hope.
Hope accounted for over half of the qualities people listed when describing a positive leader.
The best leaders make you feel like something better is possible (and believe it too).
Trust was second (which you probably expected as number 1).
It’s one thing to give people hope.
It’s another thing to show up consistently for people to believe in it.
Hope without trust is fragile.
While trust without hope is empty.
When both are present, that’s when amazing things happen in teams.
So if you want to be a great leader, give people a reason to hope.
And then earn the trust to lead them forward.