Hope vs. Certainty

Leadership depends on a strong foundation. Today, the foundations of our leaders, the base of their messages, are rooted in one of two places: Hope, or certainty. This article will focus on the difference of these two concepts. It will be the foundation for articles to come; it will frame the conversations about issues that come up during this campaign. Laying the foundation won’t always provide every answer, but a foundation anchored on truth will allow the construction of solutions that work.

Hope. Hope is a powerful term, it is inspirational. Hope asks us to think beyond the conventional wisdom of what we can create, what we can become, or even where we are going. Hope asks us to look past our doubts; it opens us to new possibilities. However, there is a less inspirational side to hope; hope isn’t anchored on truth, it’s anchored on ideals. Hope is a dangerous term, in this respect. We should have hope, we should dream bigger than ourselves; this is a core tenet of being an American. Without hope, we would never achieve. But, is hope an appropriate foundation for leadership?

Hope is baseless by definition. Hope asks us to not look at what we are or what we know, it asks us to dream. Hope asks us to look at a plot of land and see a house, not the bricks, wood, and nails that will take to build the house. Hope looks to the ends, never the means.

Leadership demands that we account for the means. Leaders should have hope, they should have vision, but they must never ignore the reality of achieving that vision. Washington has responded to the state of America with hope, but the results are falling far short of their vision.

Leading through certainty means to act on truth. Certainty requires discipline, a respect for where we have been before, and knowledge of what worked. Certainty takes the dreams of the hopeful, looks at the resources available, and works to achieve those dreams. Certainty also looks at those dreams with enough maturity to know what is possible. It is said that we are living in an unprecedented time, that we haven’t ever faced what we are going through. Leaders anchored in certainty know the deception of that statement. Situations may never be exactly the same; however, we can find examples through history to teach us how to deal with the present.
Leading requires knowledge of the past and the wisdom to see what has worked. Leaders must have the maturity to determine what is anchored on truth, and what is anchored on dreams. We cannot hope for a change through wishful thinking and reckless spending. Our leaders must act with certainty that the solutions will work because we have learned from the successes and the mistakes of the past. A true leader knows where he came from, not just where he wants to go.