Optimism and hope provide choices. The opposite of hope is despair. When we despair it is because we feel there are no clear choices. This you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.
Leaders set high but achievable expectations.
Pretend you are training for the Olympics, where easy does it. If you pull a muscle today, you are out of contention tomorrow. Leaders have the Gretzky factor. Leaders have a sense of where the culture is going to be, and where the organization must be if it is to grow. Leaders see the long view.