The Hidden Force Behind Scalable Franchise Cultures
What Dr. Chan Hellman’s groundbreaking research reveals about scaling trust, culture, and performance across a franchise system.
When a friend from church told me about a local researcher named Dr. Chan Hellman, I thought I was just meeting someone passionate about making the world a little better.
What I discovered was a man whose life’s work could fundamentally change the way we lead… in business, education, community, and yes, franchising.
Chan isn’t my typical client. He’s not an emerging franchisor looking to expand across the country. He’s a researcher, author, and thought leader who has spent more than 20 years studying one powerful concept: hope.
And he wants his message of hope to spread WORLDWIDE
Not hope as a feeling.
Not wishful thinking.
But hope as a measurable science. Something that predicts human performance, resilience, and growth.
And now, his latest breakthrough, the Collective Hope Scale (CHS), might just be one of the most important discoveries for leaders of franchise brands.
What Is Collective Hope? and Why Does It Matter to Franchisors?
Dr. Hellman defines collective hope as the shared belief that a group, whether a team, company, or franchise system, can set clear goals, find pathways to achieve them, and sustain the motivation to make it happen.
It’s not about one person being optimistic or strong-willed.
It’s about the system believing together:
“We can figure this out.”
“We can find a way.”
“We can achieve our goals even when things get hard.”
That belief, measured through the Collective Hope Scale, turns out to be one of the strongest predictors of performance, engagement, and resilience in organizations.
In fact, Chan’s study, which included over 22,000 employees, found that collective hope:
Reduces burnout, even when personal hope or support systems are low.
Increases commitment and loyalty, because people feel connected to shared goals.
Drives better performance, because teams that believe in their organization’s direction are more focused, collaborative, and persistent.
Why Franchise Brands Should Care
Every franchisor I work with is trying to scale, not just operationally, but culturally.
And scaling culture is hard.
You can replicate your brand standards and your training manuals, but if your franchisees don’t believe that your organization has the clarity, creativity, and grit to succeed together… growth will stall.
That’s where collective hope becomes your competitive advantage.
When franchisees and corporate leaders share that deep belief, “our system knows where it’s going, how to get there, and that we can overcome what’s ahead”, everything changes.
Here’s how:
1. Franchise Growth Becomes Sustainable
Collective hope builds trust. Franchisees stop seeing HQ as “them” and start seeing it as “us.”
This sense of shared ownership makes franchisees more likely to follow systems, share ideas, and reinvest, because they believe their effort matters.
2. Leadership Communication Gets Clearer
Hope thrives on clarity. The research shows that high-hope groups have specific, meaningful goals and can see multiple pathways to get there.
Franchisors who communicate why a strategy matters, not just what to do, ignite higher engagement across their system.
3. Teams Become More Resilient in Hard Seasons
Every franchise faces tough times: supply chain disruptions, economic downturns, PR crises, leadership transitions.
Collective hope turns those obstacles into fuel. It keeps people focused on finding solutions, not assigning blame.
4. Your Brand Culture Strengthens
When people at every level, corporate staff, franchisees, and field teams believe in the organization’s ability to set and pursue meaningful goals, you create a hope-infused culture.
That culture attracts better franchisees, retains top performers, and inspires everyone to do their best work.
How Franchisors Can Build Collective Hope
You don’t need a psychology degree to start.
You just need to lead intentionally.
Here are three practical ways to build collective hope in your brand:
1. Clarify the Goal
Franchisees can’t follow what they can’t see.
Revisit your North Star vision (link) . Make sure everyone… from HQ to the field… knows what success looks like and why it matters.
2. Create Pathways Together
Involve franchisees in problem-solving. Let them help find the “how.”
When people help create the path, they’re more likely to walk it.
3. Fuel Agency
Celebrate wins. Recognize progress. Highlight stories where persistence paid off.
Remind your team and your franchisees that their work matters, that their energy and ideas move the brand forward.
Why I Said Yes to Working with Chan
I’ve spent years helping founders and franchisors grow strong, scalable systems.
When I met Chan, I saw something bigger, a way to quantify and strengthen the invisible glue that holds every great brand together: belief.
Working alongside Chan has been an incredible journey. I’m helping him clarify and scale his vision nationally and globally, because this research doesn’t just belong in universities.
It belongs in boardrooms, training rooms, and leadership retreats.
Because hope… real, measurable, collective hope, is what drives lasting impact.
Who Is Dr. Chan Hellman?
Dr. Chan M. Hellman is a professor at the University of Oklahoma, founding director of the Hope Research Center, and an internationally recognized expert on the science of hope.
He has authored multiple books, including Hope Rising: How the Science of Hope Can Change Your Life, and his TED Talk, The Power of Hope, has inspired audiences around the world.
His research has been applied in education, healthcare, government, and nonprofit systems and now, it’s finding its way into business and leadership.
Final Thought
If you’re a franchisor, you already know your success depends on systems.
But systems alone don’t scale a brand, people do.
And people perform at their best when they believe in the goals, the pathways, and the collective willpower of the organization they’re part of.
That’s the essence of Collective Hope.
It’s not soft. It’s not abstract. It’s science-backed leadership fuel and it might just be the missing piece to unlocking the next level of growth for your franchise brand.
Shine Lesson Learned
Working with Chan reminded me that while systems create structure, it’s belief that creates momentum.
When your team and franchisees genuinely believe your organization can set meaningful goals, find solutions, and persevere together, those systems come alive.
Hope isn’t just emotion, it’s energy.
And when you build it collectively, your entire brand shines brighter.
Ready to strengthen belief and build momentum in your brand?
Shine on,
Shannon
