Your host, Craig Andrews, talks with the Keynote Speaker, Subject of Patagonia Film "The Scale of Hope," Founder of Systemic Impact Strategies, and Former White House Climate Advisor, Molly Kawahata. Molly's work focuses on climate strategy consulting and organizational development around hope-based leadership. She believes that hope is not just a wish or optimism, but a belief that the future can be better and that individuals have the agency to make it better.
Molly shared that increasing hope levels in organizations can have profound effects on retention, productivity, employee engagement, and team dynamics. She explained that hope counters fear and that by activating the hope circuit in the brain, the fear circuits turn off. This simple yet effective approach can significantly improve mental health and well-being in the workplace.
Molly introduced the framework of hope, which consists of three building blocks: goals, agency, and pathways. Goals refer to the daily objectives that individuals set for themselves, both short-term and long-term. Agency, also known as willpower, is the energy and motivation to execute strategies and achieve goals. Pathways are the roadmaps or strategies individuals use to reach their goals.
She emphasized the importance of aligning employees' goals with their desires and providing them with a sense of control over their goals. By understanding the specific problem, interventions and performance improvement plans can be tailored to address the root cause.
