FUTURE COURAGE
How employees can gain confidence and practice realistic optimism for everyday work.
Where do we find our courage? How do we move from hesitation to action? What constitutes courage in our professional and personal lives? Why do we need confidence, trust, resilience, and realistic optimism? This presentation delivers a concentrated dose of courage for the future. #actionnothesitation
Future-proof companies are constantly seeking new ways to stay ahead of the competition. In doing so, they must separate hype from mere hope. They must digitize and transform. They must be there for people, effectively and individually.
A forward-looking perspective enables these companies to maintain their success when things become increasingly difficult. For managers and employees alike, " courage in the workplace " is key. The courage to challenge the status quo; the courage to admit mistakes; the courage to address negative trends.
What is courage in the workplace? The English word COURAGE comes from the Latin COR, meaning HEART. MUT comes from the Indo-European MO, meaning STRONG WILL. Together, these two elements define courage in the workplace. It means tackling something because it feels right and important, and persevering despite perceiving a certain risk.
What generates optimism for the future? Confidence, self-efficacy, emotional stability, and realistic optimism. These four predict readiness for change, job performance, job satisfaction, and well-being better than any single element alone.
What does this courage bring? Future-oriented courage brings willpower and waypower. It helps people to solve new problems creatively. It nurtures in these people the feeling of being well-prepared and seeing within themselves the reasons for current and future successes. In this way, future-oriented courage generates measurable competitive advantages.
COURAGE FOR THE FUTURE? WHAT IS THAT?
A future-oriented mindset empowers employees to act, even in uncertain times. Confidence, trust, resilience, and optimism enable them to actively shape change. A future-oriented mindset is more than just a positive outlook. It means not waiting, but actively seeking solutions – even when the path is uncertain or unfamiliar. Because change only succeeds when people have the courage to face the challenges of their time.
A pound of courage is worth more than a ton of luck.
plato
COURAGE MEETS CONFIDENCE
Future Courage is the ability to understand change not as a threat, but as an invitation to action. The foundation for this is the resource model comprised of confidence, trust, resilience, and optimism. These four dimensions determine how people experience change: as a paralyzing burden – or as an opportunity to shape it.
In a study I conducted with the University of Basel, a positive outlook on the future explained 76% of the differences between people—why they implement ideas and drive change, or why they don't. Further findings from colleagues show that employees with high psychic capacity (PsyCap) exhibit significantly better work performance, stronger motivation, and greater engagement. A positive outlook on the future, therefore, directly impacts productivity.
HOW DO I INSPIRE COURAGE FOR THE FUTURE?
My presentations convey a palpable sense of optimism for the future. They begin with a brief, insightful overview of research on Psychological Capital (PsyCap) – the scientific basis for this optimism, presented in a clear and accessible way. This is followed by practical application: real-world examples from the workplace that demonstrate the impact of confidence, trust, resilience, and optimism.
My small, surprising experiments are particularly effective: The audience immediately recognizes – “that’s exactly what’s happening in my head right now! ” – and thus experiences firsthand how psychological mechanisms work.
Ultimately , the answer always lies in the concrete question: "How do I do this now?" – practical tools, such as strategic automatisms , the Hope Map , or the ABA principle , which can be applied immediately in everyday professional life. In this way, research becomes experience – and courage becomes the power to act.
THE TAKE AWAYS
-
Strengthen Hope – train willpower and waypower: Recognize paths to the goal, even when obstacles arise.
-
Gain Confidence – build trust in one's own abilities and reinforce it through small pieces of evidence (“20% rule”).
-
Develop Resilience – use setbacks as learning opportunities and remain emotionally stable with tools like ABA.
-
Live with Realistic Optimism – don't hope naively, but explain successes, learn from failures and use both constructively.
-
Practical tools for everyday life – from micro-exercises (e.g. the “HOPE-MAP”, confidence stickers, mini-experiments) to strategies for permanently strengthening one's own courage for the future.