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Invitation to join the Positive Organizational Leadership Project

TO:  Positive Psychology practitioners/ leaders/ consultants

FR:  Doug Gray, doug@action-learning.com   

RE:  The Positive Organizational Leadership Project (POLP)

Goal:

Invite practitioners/ leaders/ consultants to share digital stories of HOW they are applying Positive Psychology individually and organizationally.

Assumptions:

  1. Leaders practice leadership.  We can all be better leaders.
  2. We can leverage technology and our communities.
  3. Relationships matter.  When we model relationships that matter, then we increase awareness and learning.

Background:  

After attending  the International Positive Psychology Association conference in Montreal, Canada, in July, 2017 one theme stood clear.  Marketing and branding for practitioners using positive psychology is NOT well defined.  Market confusion abounds.  This Positive Organizational Leadership Project emerged as one initiative to help practitioners share HOW they serve clients in our global marketplace.  Join us?

Process:

(a) share this invitation broadly,  (b) schedule a 30-minute session with Doug Gray here or at https://actionlearnin.wpengine.com/   (c) receive Time Trade confirmation with calendar link (d) encourage participants to write responses to the 5-7 questions below and email them to doug@action-learning.com  24 hours prior to our scheduled call so that we can each be well prepared, (e) download https://zoom.us/ software and familiarize yourself with software on YouTube, (f) at the scheduled time, record 5-10 minutes of video session using https://zoom.us/j/3432485703  (g) send MP4 recording to practitioners for their distribution, (h) post on https://www.youtube.com/user/dgrayful/videos channel with invitation to be included in the project.

Possible questions:

  1. Self-introduction: Who are you, what do you do, where are you located, do you have a website or invitation to share with others?
  2. Self- awareness: If you have taken the assessment at https://www.viacharacter.org/www/, what are your top 5 signature strengths?  How would you describe yourself, at your best, using those top 5 signature strengths? (FYI, my top signature strengths are creativity, hope, perspective, honesty, zest.)
  3. Definition: One common definition of positive psychology is the science and practicing of flourishing or thriving… how do you typically define positive psychology?
  4. What attracts you to the science or practice of positive psychology?
  5. Clients: Who do you typically serve in your PP consulting work?   Please share 2-3 examples/ case studies/ successful interventions or client experiences.
  6. Trends: What trends or market opportunities do you see in the future for positive psychology consulting?
  7. Referrals: Who else can you refer me to who (a) is a Positive Psychology consultant and (b) might be willing to be interviewed in this project?

How can you help?  Share this invitation broadly.   Thank you in advance for your participation.

Here’s to you, at your best…

Introducing the AD-FIT model for positive psychology coaching, managers, leaders

Please share this short video with any coaches, managers, or leaders who care about business outcomes.  

Our research indicates that the AD-FIT model works.  Contact us today for details.

Then apply this model to your clients ASAP.

How to increase employee engagement? New science for practitioners

Recently I was asked to speak at the Human Resource conference for the State of Tennessee.  They wanted four sessions on “How to increase employee engagement.”

The content and videos are located here.

Here is the session description:

Studies continue to show that employee engagement in the workplace remains low- around the 30% range.  Low levels of employee engagement have a negative impact on achieving organizational goals, and create a workplace that does not encourage high performance.  During this session, we will answer the three key questions of employee engagement:  1) What do we know from evidence-based science?  2) How can I apply that science to increase my personal level of engagement?   3) How can I improve the engagement levels of others?  This course introduces a new model based on positive psychology practices, called the AD-FIT%TM model, that you can apply immediately.

This course provides leaders at all levels with an introduction into the science and practice of employee engagement.  Any manager or leader with a growth mindset can apply this course content to lead individual, group or organizational change in your business.  This content has been distributed to thousands of leaders in governments, private and nonprofit organizations, as well as individuals.

The content of this course is gleaned from thousands of our leadership consulting clients since 1997, and the presenter’s dissertation research on positive psychology.

The goal of this course is to introduce leaders like you to world-class techniques so that you gain competitive advantage.

Learning objectives:

  • Recognize key variables that influence employee engagement
  • Discover how to measure employee engagement
  • Identify how to increase individual employee engagement
  • Identify how to develop organizational employee engagement

Please contact us for the handout before viewing the video section of this course.

The content and videos are located here.

Action leads to learning.  What are you waiting for?

To contact Doug Gray, CEO, PCC, call 615.236.1892 or contact us here.  Today.

Lessons from the Presidential election last night…

Today, the morning after, I have had three sessions with leaders who represent the division and polarity of our country. One is an EVP in technology, born in India, whose 14-year old son is afraid to go to school today because he is Muslim. One is a female senior manager in healthcare who voted for Trump even though she sees him as yet-one-more sexist bully in a patriarchal system with a double standard. One is a director at a F100 who does not know how to respond to the rumors in his organization. Notice the fears from each of these leaders?

Consider 3 lessons:

  1. Timing. Coaches focuses on the now and the future, by definition. So when should coaches encourage leaders to act on their convictions? Assume that 50% of the people you meet today are delighted because Trump won, and 50% are sad because Clinton lost. Further assume that within each group 50% are hopeful that the election will lead to a better future, and the other 50% are frightened or uncertain. In short, only 25% of the populace is hopeful because their person won, and 75% are uncertain, sad or fearful. Positive psychology coaching requires that we 1) define a hopeful future state and 2) act toward that hopeful future.

     Possible actions: Celebrate your freedoms, TODAY, with your loved ones. Plant a garden. Pick up your children early from school. Call your loved ones. Model a hopeful future, with others, immediately. Leaders model a better future. Great leaders model a better future more frequently than average leaders. TODAY is the best day to model your leadership capacity.

  1. Precedent. For the first time in U.S. history we have a president elect with no experience in the military, and no experience in political office. Trump will require executive coaching. Experienced leaders will need to teach him how to be a great president. Who will share that expertise? If business leaders or political leaders withhold information, or drive agendas that further their best interests, then history will teach us some negative lessons. The pollsters and Washington, DC-based media underestimated the voters. What does that fact mean? There is no precedent for coaching Trump. His advisors demonstrated mastery with the media and attack ads. Does that fact imply that leaders should tolerate foul language in our families, schools and organizations?

     Possible actions: Take a stand for your core values, whatever they are. Share hope and optimism with others. Discuss the balance of power in the U.S. constitution, and the global influence of decision-making.  Re-read Jefferson’s opinion that revolutions prevent despots from dominating.  Model ethical leadership in your organization, family, or schools.

  1. Embrace change. We just elected another candidate who is thought to represent change. What does that really mean? No one likes to be changed. Yet all leaders like to make changes. At a recent conference I heard a perspective that may be useful. We may complain about the rate of change, especially technologically-driven change that reduces jobs with automation or transparent access to data. However, the rate of change, TODAY, is slower than it will ever be for the rest of your life.   As coaches of leaders, that fact implies that if we embrace change, TODAY, then we will be better prepared to embrace other changes tomorrow. How can it be otherwise?

     Possible actions: Talk to someone from a different racial, economic or political group and listen carefully to their concerns. That is what coaches do. Hire a coach or ask someone to be your mentor. Select a mentor who is younger, or quite different. Then listen carefully. Assess your psychological capital (Psy Cap).  We are a resilient species.  When we embrace change from multiple perspectives then we model a more united states.

So, what are you going to do TODAY?

Contact your coach today. Or your clients.

Then let me know what you choose to do TODAY. Contact Us.

To you, at your best, Doug Gray, PCC, call me at 615.905.1892.

What are you waiting for?

Download this list of services and investment levels now:

Why managers should manage, and coaches should coach

wrong way stop and take a uturn making a mistake turn back now bad direction graffiti on red brick wall, text and hand

In a recent article published by Forbes, Verne Harnish sloppily predicts that in 2016 the term “manager” should be discarded.  All companies should replace the role of manager with the role of “coach.”  What rubbish.  As evidence he cites only one example- that Zappos does so. Ignore this article because it is sloppy and inaccurate.  Why confuse the marketplace or denigrate both roles?

 

     Managers should manage; coaches should coach.

 

We need consistent terms for “managers” and “coaches” for at least these 3 reasons.

 

  1. Managers by definition need to maximize the productivity of others. Some hierarchy is mandatory, because the manager’s job requires writing a performance review and determining compensation. Read Peter Drucker, called the father of organizational development, on this point. The idea of maximizing productivity is as old as Diomedes. And as new as Marcus Buckingham. The role requires that managers work in private to coach others, but that skill of coaching should never replace the role of coaching. Perhaps the best model for describing the complex role of managers is Henry Mintzberg’s Managing (2011), which should be required reading for any serious managers, or any student of management theory and practice.
  1. Coaches, by definition, support others to achieve their personal and professional goals.  The agenda is defined by the client/leader, not by a coach or anyone else.  The process of coaching varies, from a competency approach defined by the International Coaching Federation  to a theoretical construct such as positive psychology (the best example is here).  In executive coaching, there is a validated need for both internal coaches who expedite the careers of HiPos, and external coaches who provide customized leadership development for senior leaders.  None of these coaches are managers.  However, managers are often tasked with coaching their direct reports. See point 1.
  1. Confusion abounds in many learning organizations, especially those that are dominated by fear. We do not need any sloppy terminology. Coaching was once an activity designed to remediate some undesirable behavior. Not any more. Coaching now is a targeted behavioral investment. For instance, I collaborate with internal leaders who provide succession planning data, performance reviews, 360 or personality assessments. As an external coach, my role is to accelerate the agenda of senior leaders. There is no better investment in top talent. Retention increases 18 months on average. For an example of the largest global provider of executive coaching, visit CoachSource. We provide scale for any-sized organization, in 45 countries, with over 1,000 expert executive coaches.   Results should define your investments, not any silly claims.

Bottom line: Avoid sloppy terms. Call managers what they are. Call coaches what they are. Invest in talent development.

 

To learn more, call Doug Gray, PCC, at 615-905-1892 or schedule your complimentary, confidential session here .

What are you waiting for?

 

Telemedicine: What’s the problem and how to increase adoption?

Every U.S. citizen has a vested interest and an opinion about the quality and effectiveness of healthcare delivery, a $3.8 trillion industry with rapidly escalating costs.

The fastest-growing industry in healthcare is telemedicine, which is now used in over 50% of the hospitals in the U.S. to promote remote access to healthcare. Examples range from tele-surgery to tele-emergency care to tele-psychiatry. The reasons for telemedicine abound. It allows specialized care to be distributed from a central hub to a rural location or an underserved population, efficiently and at lower costs.  For instance, in 2012, the Veterans Administration (VA) documented over 1.5 million telehealth sessions, for over 35% of veterans.

Problem statement and opportunity

The primary problem with telemedicine is low user adoption rates because many people resist organizational change. The result is massive waste that can be reduced.   Telemedicine technology and processes exist. However, organizational readiness for telemedicine results from two variables: 1) ability to change, and 2) motivation to change. The innovation diffusion curve (see Figure 1) demonstrates an immediate opportunity for telemedicine initiatives to move from the early adopter phase to the majorities.

Organizational readiness for telemedicine can be measured.   The key variables for organizational readiness include 1) executive sponsors who champion the ability and need to change, 2) buying agents convinced by case studies or ROI data of the economic value for the change, and 3) consumers driven by a compelling need for effective, inexpensive health care outcomes. The need for organizational leadership innovations in telemedicine programs is immediate.

DOI curve

Figure 1: The innovation diffusion curve (in Rogers (2003) Diffusions of Innovation)

Unique opportunity:  Tennessee

Although resistance to telemedicine is a global problem, we have a unique opportunity to provide a solution from Tennessee. Described as the “Global Center of Healthcare,” Nashville, TN has over 400 healthcare companies, spawned from Healthcare Corporation of America (HCA). On January 1, 2015, Tennessee became the 21st state to enact “telemedicine parity” legislation requiring that insurers reimburse licensed health care providers for services delivered remotely just as they would for in-person visits. On February 15, 2015 Tennessee added law stating that telehealth providers will be held to the same level of care as direct care providers (SB 1223). That law “opened the door” for telemedicine services to be delivered remotely, at lower cost, to rural minorities in Tennessee. We are in the right time at the right place to lead innovation in telemedicine.

Sadly, there is resistance to telemedicine from consumers and administrators who do not trust the government, or the technology, or the financial benefits. A telemedicine visit may cost $50 and take 10 minutes (e.g. MD Live, Teladoc); an ER visit may cost $150 and take 3 hours; a hospital visit may cost $15,000 and take 3 days. Telemedicine has demonstrated a 10X cost savings. Unless, of course, there is organizational resistance to change, in which case telemedicine is a waste of time and resources.

One administrator said, “We have 3 telemedicine kiosks sitting in a storage room, hidden by sheets. The vendor who provided them no longer exists.   The technology may be extraordinary, but I cannot get my physicians and nurses to use it.” His experience represents hundreds of wasteful healthcare initiatives.

What can you do to increase adoption of telemedicine?