Define a meaningful goal or outcome for the leader/ coachee. (A measurable performance or behavior)
Focus on the leader/ coachee’s agenda. (“I’m a little concerned about…”)
Intervention or possible action for the leader/ coachee. (“Have you considered…”)
Takeaways or next step for the leader/ coachee. (Model accountability and change.)
% of adherence to this model? (0-20%, 20-40%, 60-80%, 80-100%)
Understanding of Positive Psychology Coaching (PPC) protocols:
Introduction to Positive Psychology
Positive Psychology (PP) may be operationally defined as the science of well-being and optimal functioning. The phrase “positive psychology” was coined by Maslow (1954) and is rooted in humanistic psychology. Recent research in PP has defined five clusters of scientific findings, the PERMA model, that describe positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments (Seligman, 2011). The construct of signature strengths can be assessed using the Values in Action (VIA-72) questionnaire (Seligman & Peterson, 2011). The construct of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) can be defined as a dynamic, higher-order construct comprised of hope, efficacy, resilience and optimism (Luthans, Youssef-Morgan & Avolio, 2015).
Introduction to Positive Psychology Coaching
This Positive Psychology Coaching (PPC) program was designed in response to a perceived need for development of business leaders actively engaged in professional coaching. The confidential relationship between coaches and coachees will be maintained throughout this research. Autonomy and mastery are critical aspects of professional coaching relationships, and will be maintained throughout this research.
The goals of this PPC program include: (a) assessing and developing individual character strengths using validated strengths-based assessments, (b) adhering to a structured evidence-based protocol for positive psychology coaching, (c) developing a strengths-based goal attainment process customized for each leader (coachee), (d) measuring Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) by evaluating adherence to three goals that are personally meaningful and relate to business outcomes for the leader (coachee), (e) modeling action planning and accountability in each coaching session by evaluating adherence to the coaching protocols, (f) quantitatively and qualitatively measuring the effect of positive psychology coaching on coachee outcomes.
Coaching engagement goals
The goals for each coaching engagement will be defined by each client (coachee) and customized with their professional coach. Each coachee will be encouraged to define three goals that are personally meaningful, relate to business outcomes, and can be measured using the goal attainment scale (GAS). Representative examples of coaching engagement goals may include (a) driving retention and organizational performance through tactical execution, (b) developing strategic thinking and planning, (c) developing leadership capability in key areas to leader success, (d) aligning and integrating current role with desired future role, (e) developing executive presence, (f) aligning operations with other business sectors to drive shared accountability and measurable impact on business outcomes.
Coaching engagement outcomes
The outcomes of each coaching engagement are typically described by knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs.) Examples of knowledge outcomes for the coaching engagement may include (a) aligning the leader’s role with organizational vision, mission, and values, (b) defining how the leader’s role expectations affect collaboration with others, (c) understanding the strengths and values that describe each leader “at their best” and incorporating those strengths into regular vocabulary, and (d) defining key actions essential to reinforce business outcomes.
Examples of the skills outcomes of the coaching engagement may include (a) building capacity to manage resources and the productivity of others, (b) developing strategies for managing energy and time to improve productivity, (c) communicating the leader’s vision and key messages in an impactful manner, (d) developing skills in written messaging that focus on strength-based leadership, (e) modeling self-awareness by incorporating signature strengths into leadership and management activities, (f) applying conflict resolution skills to reach mutually beneficial and positive outcomes, (g) demonstrating effective active listening skills, (h) accurately reading a situation and projecting confidence, decisiveness, assertiveness and poise under pressure, (i) modeling collaborative leadership skills by creating actions plans that include partnering with other leaders, supporting performance goals, building key alliances, and implementing business outcomes.
Examples of the abilities outcomes of the coaching engagement may include (a) fostering innovation, (b) directing initiatives that build alliances and mutual respect, (c) communicating across business sectors by translating key messages between different groups, (d) leading alignment with others using strategic thinking, (e) enhancing problem solving ability to approach common issues/concerns with extraordinary thinking to foster innovation.
Possible activities for PPC engagements
The following list of evidence-based activities is a descriptive resource and is not intended to be prescriptive for any professional coaching or consulting engagement.
Encourage your coachee to take a validated assessment such as the Values in Action (VIA-72) assessment or the Psychological Capital (PSQ-12) assessment
Conduct a strengths-based interview of your coachee using results from the Values in Action (VIA-72) assessment
Conduct a strengths-based interview of your coachee using results from the Psychological Capital (PSQ-12) assessment
Encourage your coachee to describe their best leadership story (“At my best story”) using results from a validated positive psychology assessment
Encourage your coachee to determine three performance or behavioral goals, that are personally meaningful, that relate to business outcomes
Measure achievement of those three business-related goals using the goal attainment scale (GAS)
Encourage your coachee to develop a gratitude journal
Encourage your coachee to document “Three Good Things” for a day or a week, and note any contributing variables or patterns
Invite your coachee to practice multiple acts of kindness toward others, especially within 24 hours
Conduct a Best Future Self activity or guided meditation activity
Encourage your coachee to document the quantity and quality of physical activity, emotional shifts and cognitive energy, for at least 24 hours
My bias/ The bottom line:
The art and science of professional coaching requires that professional coaches adhere to the AD-FITTM protocol model.
See details in the products section.
For details on assessment, interventions, certification, training, or research contact us today.
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:
Leaders practice leadership. We can all be better leaders.
We can leverage technology and our communities.
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:
Self-introduction: Who are you, what do you do, where are you located, do you have a website or invitation to share with others?
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.)
Definition: One common definition of positive psychology is the science and practicing of flourishing or thriving… how do you typically define positive psychology?
What attracts you to the science or practice of positive psychology?
Clients: Who do you typically serve in your PP consulting work? Please share 2-3 examples/ case studies/ successful interventions or client experiences.
Trends: What trends or market opportunities do you see in the future for positive psychology consulting?
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.
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.”
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.
I get this question all the time… so here are some details on speaking topics for new managers or emerging leaders.
Assumption #1: Leaders practice leadership, just as physicians practice medicine and attorneys practice law. Speaking is one way to reinforce evidence-based practices that should work for you. If you practice them.
Assumption #2: Positive relationships matter. The quantity and quality of our relationships is the greatest predictor of career development, human longevity, flourishing and well-being. Speaking is one way to practice developing positive relationships
So what are some great speaking topics? Here are some of my recent examples.
How to apply positive psychology in your talent development practice. A 50-minute presentation on the science and practice of positive psychology in any organization.
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) International Conference and Exhibition, Atlanta, GA, World Congress. One of only 2 presentations on positive psychology, amid 400+ presentations, and 12,000+ speakers. Book signing.
Association for Talent Development (ATD) chapter meeting presentations in Chattanooga, TN (June, 2017), Nashville, TN (August, 2016), Birmingham, AL (November, 2016)
International Coaching Federation (ICF) chapter meeting in Nashville, TN (September, 2016)
How to Increase Employee Engagement: For You or Others. A 50-minute interactive workshop designed to help leaders apply the science of employee engagement, and the AD-FIT consulting model, to their work.
State of TN, Human Resources Conference, Nashville, TN, 4 sessions July 18-19, 2017.
Trends in evidence-based talent management. A 50-minute presentation on the costs of human capital and analytics, technology and consulting.
Project Management Institute (PMI) Nashville chapter meeting (April, 2015)
International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Nashville regional chapter meeting (February, 2015)
Action Learning Summit. A day of thought leadership designed for select leaders in Franklin, TN (May, 2016)
Talent Summit. A day of thought leadership hosted in Nashville, TN for select leaders in talent management, analytics and consulting (March, 2015).
How to Address Healthcare Leader Burnout. A 50-minute webinar or presentation. The need to diagnose burnout and treat healthcare leaders with resilience is critical. This presentation provides practitioners with evidence-based tactics to apply at the individual or organizational levels.
Webinar on July, 2015, partnering with eVisit and CEUs provided by the Professional Association of Health Care Office Management (PAHCOM)
Doug Gray speaker bio:
Doug Gray is the co-founder and CEO of Action Learning Associates. He has demonstrated expertise in applying positive psychology practices for thousands of individual and organizational leaders. Doug is a PhD candidate in Organizational Leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. His research topic is the effect of positive psychology on business leaders and executive coaches. Since 1997, Doug Gray, PCC, has been an author, researcher, teacher, and organizational consultant. His top five signature strengths include creativity, honesty, gratitude, hope and love of learning. He manages executive coaches for the largest global provider of executive coaches. He also volunteers as the ATD Nashville chapter president.
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