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A Positive Psychologist walked into a bar…

… to savor the possibilities.

He stood there for so long that a gigantic security guard said, “You can’t just stand here.”

No response.

Then the guard said, ” If you don’t move along then I’ll have to fine you $100.”

Still no response.

Then the guard said, “What are you doing here? Where are you going?”

The positive psychologist smiled and said, “How about if I pay you the $100 and come back next week? I want you to ask me those two questions week after week.”

And so began the history of professional coaching…   

Yes, you can define a meaningful outcome for yourself!

Based on my research, here are the top outcomes for business coaching. Pick one or two.

Top business coaching outcomes:

o   Banking and financing

o   Board of directors/advisors

o   Branding

o   Change management

o   Communication skills

o   Compensation and benefits

o   Computer security

o   Conflict resolution

o   Customer service

o   Ethics

o   Insurance / risk management

o   Leadership assessments

o   Managing growth

o   Managing others

o   Marketing

o   Net profit

o   Operations

o   Personal finances

o   Personal health and well-being

o   Presentation skills

o   Safety/ workers compensation

o   Sales

o   Talent development

o   Time/energy management

Now what?

Find someone who can ask you those two questions: “What are you doing here? Where are you going?”

Any thoughts or comments?

Schedule a 1:1 session now! I’d love to discuss your answers!

It’s Time for YOUR Annual Self- Assessment

Here is Annual Self-Assessment Form. Copy this. Print this. Post your notes with YOUR coach or accountability partner.

Date: _________

Step 1:

List the top 5 people who are most important in my life today.

Instructions:

For each statement below, imagine how those who know you well would score you. Use a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high). After scoring yourself, add comments for additional insights or actions to improve.

  1. Hope:
    “I have the “will and the way” to achieve my goals.
    Score: ____

Comments: ________________________________________________________

  1. Efficacy:
    “I feel confident in my ability to take on challenges and achieve desired outcomes.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  2. Resilience:
    “I can bounce back from setbacks and adapt to changes.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  3. Optimism:
    “I focus on the positive aspects of situations and believe in the best possible outcomes.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  4. Humility:
    “I value the contributions of others and admit my mistakes.”

Score: ____
Comments: ________________________________________________________

  1. Curiosity:
    “I actively seek new knowledge, ask questions, and explore diverse perspectives.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  2. Collaboration:
    “I work effectively with others, fostering trust, and contributing to collective goals.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  3. Accountability:
    “I take responsibility for my actions and follow through on commitments.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  4. Empathy:
    “I show understanding and compassion toward others’ experiences and emotions.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________
  5. Vision:
    “I communicate a clear and compelling vision that inspires others to act.”
    Score: ____
    Comments: ________________________________________________________

Reflection Questions:

  • What do these scores and comments suggest about your current leadership strengths?
  • Which area(s) do you most want to improve over the next year?
  • How can you leverage your relationships with the five most important people in your life to support your personal and professional growth?
  • 12 months from now, what are 1-2 important aspects of your life that you would regret losing? (These are the 1-2 aspects to focus on ahead).

Naturally, this self-assessment can be repeated at any time to track your growth and identify areas for continued development.

If you have advice on how to improve this self assessment, please comment or reply directly.

Schedule a free 1:1 with Doug here.

Or CONTACT us today!

How Can Positive Psychology Help You Be A Better Leader?

You may have heard about Positive Psychology. But, you may not know “What it is? Why does it matter to you? How can it help you or your team?”

Here are some quick answers and 5 riveting videos for you to share.

1. Let’s start with “What is Positive Psychology?”

In simple terms, it is the art and science of well-being. Think of you “at your best.” Maximizing your strengths. Asking, “What would make my life more meaningful” or “How can my team flourish?”

2. Why does it matter to you?

Here are some of the benefits of Positive Psychology:

  • Enhanced individual and organization learning
  • Improved social relationships
  • Better workplace performance and productivity
  • Enhanced problem solving and creativity
  • Increased job satisfaction

(Fredrickson, 1998E; Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005)

3. Now, how can it help you or your team?

Positive Psychology is a vast science with countless applications. The most inclusive model to describe well-being is called PERMA.

PERMA Model

The PERMA Model was developed by my favorite psychologist, Martin Seligman. (We have met twice and discussed my research on positive psychology coaching.) I strongly recommend his seminal 2011 book, “Flourish”.

“PERMA” stands for the five essential elements that contribute to individual or team well-being. These are:

1. Positive Emotion (P)
For us to experience well-being, we need positive emotion in our lives. Any positive emotion such as gratitude, satisfaction, hope, curiosity, or love falls into this category. We each have subjective experiences of positive emotions.
I made a short video on Positive Emotion (P) for you. You can watch it here.

2. Engagement (E)
When we’re truly engaged in a situation, task, or project, we experience a state of flow. Time seems to stop, we lose our sense of self. We concentrate intensely on the present. We excel at challenging tasks. You can increase engagement for yourself and your team.
I made a short video on Engagement (E). You can watch it here.

3. Positive Relationships (R)
Humans are social beings and good relationships are core to our well-being. You can develop meaningful, positive relationships with others. We can measure fMRI images that describe the quality of your relationships. We can develop better relationships and accelerate behavioral or performance outcomes. (That was my dissertation research.) Curious about the details?
I made a short video on Positive Relationships (R). You can watch it here.

4. Meaning (M)
Meaning results when we serve a cause bigger than ourselves. Your meaningful outcome may be quantitative (e.g., earn $100k/year or give away 15% of earnings per year). Your meaningful outcome may be qualitative (e.g., care for your loved ones or serve humanity in some way.) We all need meaning in our lives to develop well-being.
I made a short video on Meaning (M) for you. You can watch it here.

5. Accomplishment/Achievement (A)
Many of us strive to master a skill, achieve a goal, or win some competitive event. Achievement defines us. Or not. Accomplishment is another element that contributes to our ability to flourish.
For specific details, I made a short video on Accomplishment/Achievement (A). You can watch it here.

Now that you understand the PERMA model, I hope you will use it to increase your well-being and help your teams flourish.

P.S. Let me know how you are flourishing?

P.P.S. Let me know if you like this long-form email or if you prefer the shorter ones?

Action leads to learning.  What are you waiting for?

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

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?

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