Hope, Despair, and Wellbeing Intelligence

Leading Through Challenging Times

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

Note: This newsletter was deeply inspired by the wisdom and work of several thought leaders wrestling with hope and leadership in challenging times: Rebecca Solnit's "Hope in the Dark," Brené Brown's insights on hope as a cognitive-behavioral process, and Dr. Pooja Lakshmin's thoughts on cultivating hope. Their collective wisdom helps us understand how to lead with both courage and intelligence in times of uncertainty.

On Wednesday morning after the election in the U.S., I shared a simple message on LinkedIn that resonated far beyond what I expected, reaching nearly 100,000 people:

"Workplace wellbeing is more important than ever. We need leaders who lead from a place of emotional and wellbeing intelligence.”

The overwhelming response - thousands of likes, shares, and comments - spoke to something we're all feeling right now: a deep yearning for leadership that understands wellbeing isn't just a nice-to-have, but essential for our collective survival and growth.

Looking down at my "I choose hope" bracelet today, I'm struck by how heavy it feels. In a week where political tensions reached new heights, where social media feeds overflow with despair, and where workplace mental health challenges continue to surge, that simple beaded reminder of hope feels almost like a challenge. A question. A responsibility.

The feeling of despair right now is uniquely suffocating - a tightness that whispers nothing will ever change. As Pooja Lakshmin notes, "A non-traumatic time was never in the cards for us. Half of all people feel betrayed by current events, and so many feel threatened.” This despair feels different from grief or anger. It's heavier, more persistent, wrapped in a layer of hopelessness that makes even small actions feel futile.

As Brene Brown states, the temptation as humans (and as leaders) is to search for someone or something to blame. As if assigning fault might give us back some sense of control in a world that feels increasingly out of control. But there's another way to lead through these times.

Here's the truth: sometimes, our own leadership approaches become barriers to healing and growth. Our need for control, our resistance to change, our attachment to "how things have always been done" can create the very conditions that deepen collective despair. When we look honestly at our practices, we might see how our comfort zones create discomfort for others. How our unexamined habits become invisible walls.

Research shows that wellbeing intelligence is becoming an essential leadership skill for our times. But in politically charged times, this intelligence must expand beyond traditional frameworks. We need to understand how world events impact workplace wellbeing, how to create safe spaces for different perspectives while maintaining psychological safety, and how to support people through collective anxiety without falling into patterns of power that “weaponize despair.”

The research also tells us something fascinating about hope - “it's not an emotion, but rather a cognitive and behavioral process.” It requires having a goal, seeing a pathway forward, and believing in our ability to walk that path. But what do we do in moments when that kind of expansive hope feels out of reach? Perhaps we start smaller. Perhaps, like Brene, we practice hope in micro-moments, in tiny choices, in small acts of courage and care.

Sometimes, creating workplaces that truly support wellbeing isn't about grand initiatives or perfect policies. It's about a series of small, intentional choices. It's about examining our own leadership patterns and having the courage to change them. It's about understanding that our own growth as leaders is inseparable from our collective wellbeing.

As Gloria Steinem reminds us, challenging times call for creative solutions (and great friends to do it with - I'm looking at you Kara Mohr and Cree Scott). The response to my post this week showed me something powerful: we're not alone in seeking this change. When thousands of people resonate with a call for wellbeing intelligent leadership, it tells us something about what's possible when we gather in our uncertainty, when we allow ourselves to hope together.

Rebecca Solnit reminds us in "Hope in the Dark" that hope isn't about knowing everything will be fine. It's about embracing uncertainty as the space where possibility lives. As leaders, our job isn't to have all the answers. It's about staying committed to creating positive change, even when it feels impossible. It's about choosing courage over comfort, connection over control, possibility over despair - not just once, but again and again in small ways.

As I touch my hope bracelet now, it feels less like a weight and more like a reminder: Hope isn't something we feel - it's something we do, choice by choice, moment by moment. Even in times of despair. Especially in times of despair.

The overwhelming response to that simple message about wellbeing intelligence reminds us that we're at a crucial turning point in how we think about leadership. The old ways of leading through power and control are giving way to something more human, more hopeful, more whole. The future of leadership isn't just about what we do - it's about how we show up, how we hold space for both struggle and possibility, how we cultivate wellbeing not as a program but as a fundamental way of being.

In an era where Junot Díaz calls us to cultivate "not blind optimism but radical hope," I invite you to lead differently.

📚 What I'm Reading: Research on hope as a practice, finding new meaning in how small actions can create real change, and "Hope in the Dark" by Rebecca Solnit, discovering fresh insights about uncertainty as a space of possibility.

🧐 What I'm Practicing: The courage to examine where my leadership creates barriers, and the commitment to cultivate hope through small, right actions that create space for collective wellbeing.

💜 What I'm Grateful For: Long-time friends who help make the impossible feel possible, and reconnecting with old friends who remind us that now, more than ever, we need to both give and receive love.

​​​​​​​​​​​🙋🏻‍♀️ Question for Reflection: In times when hope feels out of reach, what's the smallest action you could take to create more space for authentic wellbeing in your sphere of influence?

With commitment to the next right thing,
Jen