Welcome to Leadership Lab with Wendy Hultmark!
This is a monthly newsletter where I share light-bite content on a variety of topics related to leadership in today’s world and times. Whether in the sciences or creative spaces, the word lab has come to be associated with a space for experimentation, innovation, and collaboration.
In this space, I will share tips worth passing on, words I have found worthy of reflection, and the occasional funny story to keep it all in perspective.
Coffee hour for scientists is back!
Are you struggling with career challenges beyond the bench?
Science is a hopeful act.
We use the word “hope” rather loosely.
“I hope that works out for you.”
Or, we open an email with the impotent phrase “I hope this finds you well.” (What if it doesn’t? What if my email finds you very unwell indeed? What is the email going to do then?)
It’s no wonder, in light of this overuse, that the power, the agency, and the action behind true hope, gets diluted until the word becomes trite.
But this week I learned about C.R. Snyder’s hope theory, which points to something more than a wispy wish, more than an emotion that comes and goes outside our control. Hope, according to Snyder, is a choice.
Hope is a choice.
True hope is action-oriented. And the way it works is like this:
We choose to believe the future holds something brighter. Then we identify ways to get there. Then we take actions, big or small, in our daily lives that affirm that belief, and that help us move towards that brighter future.
For some people today, the world is full of hope—change that has long been needed is finally happening. But for many, it is not that way. (Our polarization, in essence.)
Scientists, with whom I have been spending a lot of my professional time lately, often feel a particular absence in the Hope Department. Progress is halted by funding withdrawal, or at least progress’ toe is stubbed on the question that was never there before in this way: will we be able to continue doing this work tomorrow?
It’s overwhelming—to myself as well.
And then I realized,
Science is a hopeful act.
The very basis of science is to be guided by a question that could change everything for the better, followed by protocols (pathways to answer the question), and experiments (actions or “agency”) that get us closer to an answer to that question.
It involves a lot of “no’s”, but scientists do not give up. They do not say “Oh well. I hope someone figures this out someday.” They look at the question from new ways, talk to each other, keep experimenting.
Scientists live a hopeful existence every day, an approach to life which we all could learn from—including scientists themselves!
It’s these three things together that form what hope really is. It’s a choice we make to keep moving forward to a brighter future. Stay hopeful, friends!
Coffee Hour for Scientists is back!
Starting December 2nd, join me for a free coffee hour Tuesdays at 2pm ET, to get a caffeine-like boost to your work week. This is a cross-disciplinary gathering for scientists who lead in the lab or other scientific milieus for tips, strategies, and the simple joy of connecting over a shared challenge. To join, register here.
Are you struggling with career challenges beyond the bench?
Did you know that there is a community for scientists and leaders to meet across disciplines to develop professionally and get peer support for matters beyond the bench? For the past six months, this group has met twice a month to exchange knowledge, ideas, and to learn new tools for navigating the challenges of daily work life and broader career questions.
We are expanding this valuable program in January, with cohorts focused on career transition topics and the daily challenges of leading in a lab. Learn more here or contact wendy@wendyhultmark.com to discuss questions.
