The strategy behind "Hope"

I received this in my inbox this morning, and wanted to share. (I subscribe to The Futurist, and as a member I read all sorts of things that inform and motivate me to take action.)

As a result of this short article, I've re-arranged my day today. I'm going to get some things done in an effort to spread hope around to some of the people I've met and worked with recently. Read on...

THE STRATEGIC VALUE OF HOPE

Two aspects of "hope"--confidence in one's ability and the
determination to succeed--are powerful predictors of performance in
teams, but determination may play a more important role in success,
according to University of Arkansas education researcher Kathleen
Collins.

Determination is what motivates individuals to use their abilities and
may be a better predictor of success in team settings than individual
levels of confidence, Collins suggests.

In studies of graduate students working in teams, Collins and her
colleagues found that groups with higher determination scores produced
higher quality work. Groups in which individuals were more varied in
their motivation scores had poorer group performances.

"Hope is not just wishful thinking," says Collins. "When we break hope
into its components and look at the senses of motivation and ability to
reach goals, we can predict how well a group will perform." She
concludes that "hope, academic procrastination, and anxiety are
inextricably intertwined in determining achievement among cooperative
learning groups" and recommends future research focusing on "the role
that these and other personality variables play in the cooperative
learning group process."

SOURCE: University of Arkansas

Comments

[Rob]

Jason - Just tracked down the article in Wired Magazine, you're right it's a great read. Never really looked at Wired before - sure am going to in future, thanks.

[Christopher Scott]

"If there is hope in the future, there is power in the present" - John C. Maxwell

[Jason]

This is great...nice discussion prompt. As I read what you wrote, Rob, I realized my mind was going toward the term "anticipation."

Do you subscribe to Wired magazine? There is an amazing article this month about Perception Training. Check it out, if you get a chance (it's toward the end of the issue).

[rob]

Nice article, but using the generic term hope seems too passive in this context. It may give the wrong impression to people just reading the headline. From the article seems that determination is a major factor here, rather than hope itself, which seems to be an amalgam of various ideas. Yes one could "hope" for a succesful outcome - much better though to be determined and set about acheiving it.