‘In hope there is longing for something more; in hope there is a desire for what might be; in hope there is deep caring for the potential in all of us; in hope there is love for all who hope’.
As I wrote these words at the end of last year, I found myself reflecting on what hope actually means for us as leaders, as people seeking to grow, and as human beings navigating an increasingly complex world.
Hope is not passive wishing. It is not blind optimism that ignores the challenges we face. Rather, hope is an active engagement with possibility – a recognition that while we cannot control everything that happens around us, we can influence how we show up, how we relate to others and the impact we choose to have.
In our work with leaders across communities and organisations, we’ve come to understand that hope emerges most powerfully when we operate from higher levels of emotional health. When we are grounded in self-awareness, when we understand our patterns and preferences, when we can see beyond our immediate reactions to the deeper possibilities in any situation – this is when hope can become transformative.
This kind of hope requires something more of us. It asks us to focus on what we call vertical development. Vertical development is not about just acquiring new skills, but fundamentally shifting how we see ourselves, how we understand our relationships with others, and how we comprehend our place in the wider world.
It invites us to move beyond the familiar patterns that keep us safe but limited, and to step into greater complexity, ambiguity and possibility.
In hope there is longing for something more. This longing is the recognition that we are not yet all we might become. It is the acknowledgement that our current ways of leading, relating and being, whilst valuable, need not define our future. When we embrace this longing with curiosity rather than judgment, with compassion rather than criticism, we open ourselves to genuine transformation.
In hope there is a desire for what might be. This desire connects us to our vision and purpose. It helps us see beyond the immediate pressures and constraints to what could emerge if we bring our best selves to our work, our relationships and our communities. Leaders operating from higher emotional health levels don’t just react to the present; they actively shape the future through the choices they make today.
In hope there is deep caring for the potential in all of us. Perhaps this is the heart of emotionally healthy leadership – the genuine belief that each person we encounter carries unrealised possibility. When we lead from this place, we create environments where people can discover their own capacity for growth, where teams can collaborate authentically, where organisations can become forces for genuine good in the world.
And in this hope, there is love for all who hope. This speaks to our fundamental interconnection. Your hope supports my hope. My growth creates space for your growth. The emotional health of leaders ripples outward, affecting teams, organisations, communities and ultimately contributing to the wellbeing of the planet itself.
As we move into 2026, I invite you to consider where hope lives in your leadership, in your work, in your life.
Where are you being called to expand your capacity to hold complexity and uncertainty? Where might you shift from wishing things were different to actively engaging with what wants to emerge?
What if this year becomes the year you choose to lead from higher levels of emotional health – not perfectly, but persistently? What if we commit to understanding ourselves more deeply, to relating to others more authentically, to stewarding our communities and our planet more intentionally?
The world needs leaders who hope – not naively, but wisely. Leaders who recognise that building emotional health in themselves and others is not a luxury but a necessity. Leaders who understand that the greatest transformations begin within.
In hope, then, we step forward into this new year. With care for ourselves and others. With openness to what might be. With love for the potential that lives in each of us.
Gayle