‘The wind in your sail’: women leaders on nurturing hope in uncertain times

Hope is more than a feeling—it is a responsibility, an active force that leaders must hold and foster for themselves and others. This was the central message from a panel discussion on ‘Leading with Hope’ hosted by Catholic Development Fund (CDF) and Catholic Social Services Victoria (CSSV) on 6 March 2025. The event, held in the lead-up to International Women’s Day, explored the ways leaders can cultivate and sustain hope, even in times of deep uncertainty, crisis and change.

Moderated by Josh Lourensz, Executive Director of CSSV, the panel discussion featured three inspiring women: Sr Joan Healy AO, a Josephite sister and lifelong advocate for vulnerable communities; Michaela Cronin, Federal Commissioner for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence; and Annie Carrett, Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of Melbourne and the first female Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.

Holding onto hope is a responsibility … There is energy in it. Sometimes we have to hold it for other people, and sometimes other people hold it for us.

Defining hope: a collective endeavour

Each panellist offered a distinct yet complementary perspective on hope. Sr Joan reflected on the words of Charles Péguy, who likened hope to a little girl with two big sisters. ‘One is called Faith, and the other is called Love.’ Hope, she said, ‘drives you to keep doing something you truly believe in’, even in difficult circumstances.

Micaela echoed this sentiment, saying that ‘holding onto hope is a responsibility … There is energy in it. Sometimes we have to hold it for other people, and sometimes other people hold it for us.’ She recounted a recent meeting with the National Lived Experience Advisory Council on Domestic and Sexual Violence, where an Aboriginal member spoke of the difficulty in holding onto hope amid current setbacks. ‘What was lovely,’ she said was how the rest of the group focused on sitting with her and ‘collectively holding on to hope for her’.

For Annie, hope deeply informs her direction and purpose. ‘Hope for me is a concrete direction,’ she said. ‘My faith is obviously part of that. My work and faith are one and the same in one sense.’ She was particularly struck by an ancient Hebrew image of hope as a twisted rope—something with tension that holds firm and offers guidance. The image particularly resonated with her, she said, because it conveyed ‘the idea of hope as a collective thing’.

Stories of hope in action

The panellists shared powerful stories illustrating how hope is sustained through action. Annie reflected on the COVID-19 pandemic, recalling how leaders across various sectors had to step up in ways they never imagined. It was a great leveller, she said. ‘It didn’t matter if you were a leader of an organisation, a teacher in a school or a doctor. It brought a real deep challenge to your day-to-day living as a human being.’ She worried that we had forgotten many of the important lessons from that time about what it means to act and live hopefully. ‘I think we’ve thrown a lot of what we’ve learnt and the great fruits of that period out the window,’ she said.

Sr Joan told a moving story from her time working with Cambodian refugees on the Thai border. In dire conditions, a young Cambodian midwife sought to restore dignity to the birthing process for women in the camp. With few resources beyond a small, committed team of women refugees, she set up a birthing hut that was clean and welcoming, and where women could deliver their babies with dignity and privacy. Sr Joan described how the women, with no electricity or running water, filled foil bladders from wine casks discarded by Western aid workers with warm water to make ‘nests’ for premature babies, helping to keep them alive with their ingenuity and care. ‘You could hear gunshots’, she said, ‘but you could also hear laughter.’

We have to listen to and tell stories. I truly believe that’s where you combat this global narrative of negativity and depression. Even in hard times, hope is still there.

Micaela spoke about her time at MacKillop Family Services, where the phrase ‘Holding onto Hope’ became a guiding principle. She shared the story of an elderly man who had never told his family about his experience of abuse in institutional care but found the courage to do so after visiting MacKillop’s Heritage Centre. ‘I haven’t ever told my family about my experiences. I can tell them now because I can bring them here and show them this space,’ he had said.

The courage to lead with hope

Leadership often requires immense courage, particularly when it comes to fostering hope in challenging environments. Sr Joan recalled the painful yet necessary decision to close large-scale residential institutions in favour of family-based care. ‘We just had to do it,’ she recalled. ‘It was frightening. I couldn’t sleep at night. But we knew we had to do it.’

For Annie, courage is about holding space for difficult conversations, especially when engaging with survivors of abuse or those disillusioned with the Church. Being prepared to listen to their stories is important, she said. ‘You might be that small glimmer of hope for them in some manner. I think this is our duty: to bring people into an understanding of the depth of what faith is, of what faith in God is, our belief that there is goodness in the world.’

Micaela spoke about the challenge of balancing truth-telling with hope. ‘My job is to do both of those things in the same breath: to hold people accountable … but do it in a way that still holds onto hope.’

Building a culture of hope

The panel concluded with a discussion on how leaders can foster a culture of hope in their organisations and communities. Annie stressed the importance of leadership formation, explaining that ‘hope has to be nourished.’ She gave the example of a recent pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, where Catholic leaders were able to reflect on their faith and mission, explaining that most of the pilgrims had extensive experience in governance but had never been on something together that fostered their faith and understanding of mission. ‘ These leaders suddenly found themselves in a safe environment to talk about what mattered to them, what was part of their faith, what their hopes were for their own particular organisations,’ she said.

Annie also spoke of the importance of storytelling. ‘We have to listen to and tell stories. I truly believe that’s where you combat this global narrative of negativity and depression. Even in hard times, hope is still there.

She spoke of visiting Ukraine, Beirut, Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories in the past 12–18 months, and of ‘walking into areas of utter devastation’ and the families who are affected.

‘If we don’t tell their stories of hope, we’re never going to know that it’s there, that it sustains people, that they have purpose. We might feel like giving up and throwing our hands in the air, but how can we do that if there are people on the ground who are surviving, who are bringing their families through.’

Sr Joan agreed. ‘We must tell the stories of hope—the small and the great. Stories have the power to transform, to remind us of what is possible.’ In a culture that is often divided and contentious, she also emphasised the importance of humility in the way we interact with people, including those we disagree with, noting that her favourite of all the wise sayings of St Mary MacKillop is ‘ I may well be mistaken.’

I don’t think you can be a leader if you don’t have hope,’ Annie said. ‘I think the two are absolutely woven together. Hope is the wind in your sail—it’s what carries you forward.

Micaela emphasised integrity and honesty as key to building a hopeful culture, observing that people need to feel heard, even when what they have to say mightn’t seem very encouraging. Hope isn’t a ‘Pollyanna’ attitude of just focusing on the light and getting behind the vision, she said. People need to know that ‘they can share their concerns, that they can talk about when things aren’t going right, … that well actually you might not be on the right track and that that is safe to talk about.’

She also said that one of the things she has appreciated most about working for faith-based organisations is ‘the valuing of the space to reflect’ deeply and tell stories. ‘That doesn’t come with every organisation I’ve worked for,’ she observed. She also valued the permission ‘to talk about love—you know, that it’s alright in an organisational context to be able to talk about love.’

As the discussion closed, the panellists left the audience with a challenge: to be intentional in their leadership, to actively nurture hope in themselves and others, and to remember that hope can transform even in the darkest situations.

‘ I don’t think you can be a leader if you don’t have hope,’ Annie said. ‘I think the two are absolutely woven together. Hope is the wind in your sail—it’s what carries you forward.’