When there is negative news everywhere, and unprecedented challenges all over the place, it can be tough to stay optimistic and hopeful.  It’s hard to be successful without being hopeful. When you think the future will be better than the present, you start working harder today.  Sales leaders, here are some potent ideas to consider to keep your sales team optimistic and motivated.

As leaders, we have to do our best to make sure that people are motivated, focused, and optimistic about possibilities, even when updates or industry forecasts look bleak. This doesn’t mean we are unrealistic or Pollyanna-ish, but it does mean that we help people concentrate on how we can leave a legacy of kindness, hard work, and service to others.

What can leaders do to lead hope and optimism?

Here are a few simple ideas:

I am at one of my happy places – on this bench, in these woods, on Lake Kouchiching, about 2 hours north of my house. Isn’t Kouchiching a great name? It means lake of many winds.

On dark and gloomy Toronto winter days, I travel here in my thoughts, and immediately feel more optimistic and hopeful.

Anyway, right now, when there is negative news everywhere, and unprecedented challenges all over the place, it can be tough to stay optimistic and hopeful.

Gallup, and other organizations who research hope and optimism in the workplace, find that leaders should actively encourage optimism and hope, particularly when the going gets tough, because it will help our teams weather the storm.

It’s hard to be successful without being hopeful. When you think the future will be better than the present, you start working harder today. We NEED hope and optimism to believe the future will be better than our disrupted, socially distant, and fearful present.

The first step as a leader is to be a role model for hope and optimism. Consider how to bring in hope and optimism as part of your routine way of doing work.

Consciously increase praise and recognition. Encourage team-based acts of kindness.

A team I work with starts meetings with each person saying one thing they’re grateful for or acknowledging a team member for their contribution over the past week. One day I forgot, and there was a chorus of, “Let’s start with acknowledgments. We count on them.” OK, then.

As I learned, and as research confirms, any regular, routine expression of positivity helps.

Things are hard right now. There’s no doubt about it. But as a leader, you have an opportunity to set the conditions for a collective, team based, hopeful and optimistic outlook — one that will help your people and your customers.

Take advantage of this time. Make a fuss when things go well. Connect the dots for your team around their optimism and their results. Be the bearer of hope. You can do it.