By Margaret Greenberg -

Researchers and practitioners seeking to bring positive psychology to the workplace have a new resource: the Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work* edited by P. Alex Linley, Susan Harrington, and Nicola Garcea. All three editors are from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. Alex Linley is also the Founder and Director of the Centre of Applied Positive Psychology (CAPP) and has been interviewed in the past by PPND author Timothy So.

BOOK REVIEW: Linley, P. A., Harrington, S. & Garcea, N. (Eds.) (2009). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. Oxford University Press.

More than fifty researchers and practitioners have contributed to this handbook from three continents (UK, US, and Australia), bringing a more diverse view of the workplace. Traditionally psychologists and consultants have viewed the world of work through a deficit lens, asking questions like: What’s wrong, what needs fixing, and why is morale so low? In this handbook the workplace is viewed instead through an abundance lens, asking questions like: What’s right, what engages each generation of workers, and what do positive team member relationships look like?

Audience

Have you ever wanted to be able to share the latest in research on positive psychology and business with a coaching client?  The handbook is a must-have for students, researchers, consultants, and coaches who seek to bring the latest thinking from positive psychology to the workplace. Human Resource professionals looking to revamp their practices will also find the handbook useful.

The editors suggest that the “lessons of positive psychology contained within this volume should be in the hands of every CEO, every manager.” Using the research in this book, PPND readers can translate the findings from research to practice, and the CEOs and managers will be grateful for the quick look into research results.  Some graphs may be in fact given to business people directly, such as the very specific mindfulness exercises on page 197.

Book Overview

The book is organized into six sections:

• Positive Psychology and the Changing World of Work
• Positive Organizational Leadership
• Positive Work Environments for Individuals and Organizations
• Enabling a Positive Working Life
• Models for Positive Organizations
• Looking to the Future: Challenges and Opportunities

Each section is further divided into chapters that are titled in such a way that the reader can easily find what he is most curious about. This isn’t the kind of book that you have to read cover-to-cover. Instead the reader can skim the contents and then quickly go the most relevant chapters. For example, if you are doing research or seek to apply the latest findings on leadership, meaning, strengths, or work-life balance you can easily find it in the handbook, along with a complete reference section at the end of each chapter to guide further research. Each chapter begins with an abstract, followed by well cited research and theories, and ends with two sections that researchers and practitioners alike will find helpful: Directions for Research and Implications for Practice.

One chapter I found particularly interesting was “Generation Me and the Changing World of Work” by Jean Twenge from San Diego State University and Stacy Campbell from Kennesaw State University.  The authors make a strong business case for implementing policies and management practices that take into account the personality traits and attitudes toward work of employees born between 1980-2000.  For example, in a recent study (Twenge, Campbell, & Hoffman, 2008), the largest change in generational differences was the valuing of leisure time by Generation Me workers.  I found myself thinking about the implications to the workplace:  How might a company adjust its policies on vacation time, flextime, and remote or virtual offices to attract and retain younger employees?

Another chapter that caught my eye was “What’s Wrong with Being Positive?” Could it be my own negativity bias that drew me to this chapter? I don’t think so. I’ve always scored very high on optimism tests. However, I was curious what a handbook of positive psychology would have to say about what’s wrong with it. The author, Samantha Warren from the School of Management at the University of Surrey in the UK, wrote a provocative piece about the darker side of organizations adopting a positive psychology approach. You may want to investigate this to see whether you agree.

Final Thoughts

The three editors make this appeal to the readers of their handbook: “Can you help us in making work a more positive experience for all?” As readers of Positive Psychology News Daily, I believe the answer is a resounding YES. Consider adding the Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work to your bookshelf in your quest to make work a more positive experience.

* This book is the latest addition to the Oxford Library of Psychology

References:
Linley, P. A., Harrington, S. & Garcea, N. (Eds.) (2009). Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work. Oxford University Press.

Tweng, J.M., Campbell S.M., & Hoffman, B.J. (2008).  Generational differences in work values:  Leisure and extrinsic values increasing, social and intrinsic values decreasing.  Unpublished manuscript.

Images:
Building courtesy of David Paul Ohmer

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Out the Door

While it could be said that this strength is subsumed under Persistence, I believe it is deserving of its own place among the other twenty-four strengths. Wherever people have work to finish or a product to deliver, there is a tension between making it better and getting it done. People with this strength are able to strike a balance between producing high quality work and knowing when things are good enough. A Get-it-out-the-Door person knows when to say, “It’s ready. I could work on this for another five hours (or years), but I’m proud of the state it is in now and I’m ready to get it out the door.”

Let’s look at some of the ten criteria that Peterson and Seligman use in their book Character Strengths and Virtues to see if, in fact, Get-it-out-the-Door measures up.

Distinctive and Stable

Isaac Asimov Writing

Criterion 6 Distinctiveness – Does this character strength collapse into another character strength? Erik Erikson proposed that certain strengths are prerequisites or foundations for other strengths. I believe the strength, Get-it-out-the-Door, is very related to Persistence, sticking to things when they get difficult. However, people may persist too long. Many people finish what they start, but they often take a lifetime to do it and often their works are only recognized posthumously, such as French painter Gauguin. People who possess the strength Get-it-out-the-Door are able to translate their ideas into something tangible in a reasonable period of time. To me, that is a real strength.

Who Has This Strength and Who Doesn’t?

Da Vinci Sketches

Criterion 9 Selective Absence – Yes, I believe Get-it-out-the-Door is indeed missing from many people. For some, like Van Gogh, their work is only recognized after their death because they didn’t Get-it-out-the Door. In our everyday lives there are people who always talk a good game, but never seem to leave that boring job, start their own business, write that book, or patent that really cool idea. Phrases like “He squandered his talents” or “She has analysis-paralysis” are two other ways we often characterize its absence.

How Is This Strength Encouraged?

Out the Door to the Sky

Get-it-out-the-Door may not be sexy or lofty, but it is practical and it does pay the bills for many of us. In fact this article is a testament to this strength. Why? Because I had to get this article out-the-door while juggling a business trip, book writing, and family commitments. I must confess there is nothing quite like hitting that “send” button.

I would love to hear who you believe possesses the Get-it-out-Door strength in the business world. 

References:

Erikson, E. (1963). Childhood and Society, 2nd edition. New York: Norton.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press. See page 202.

Images
Out the door – winter scene – courtesy of Hamed Saber
Isaac Asimov — from an article titled Science fiction novelists reveal their daily writing routines by Lauren Davis
Leonardo Da Vinci Helicopter and Lifting Wing sketches from Wikimedia Commons
Out the door to the sky – Puerto al Cielo – courtesy of L*u*z*a*

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Tom Rath

Barry Conchie

Margaret: To illustrate the four leadership domains (Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking) you interviewed four highly successful organizational leaders.  Can you tell our readers more about that?

Wendy Kopp

And Brad Anderson (CEO of Best Buy) is a very different guy.  He’s a big-picture thinker.  He’s all about ‘Where are we going to be in 10 years?’ and, ‘What do we need for the future?’

But the interview that was really striking for me was Mervyn Davies (Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank). When you think of a chairman of a large global bank in the UK you don’t think of a guy that leads with relationships. He talked about how the well-being of 70,000 families is depending on the company. I interviewed some of his direct reports and they described how Mervyn was there for them when they had a real personal challenge.  To build a global bank like that and do it all through a pretty heavy relationship orientation was really neat to see.

Margaret:  Did you find any common strengths among leaders?

Tom: No. That’s been one of the big takeaways for me.  We don’t see much of any consistency when we look at the most successful leaders.  I’ve yet to see two that have a very similar profile in terms of their top 5 strengths. In the general US database we see more themes of Learner, Relator, and Achiever, but not necessarily among leaders.

Margaret:  One question I am frequently asked by leaders I work with is how can we get employees to think beyond their department, beyond their function, and collaborate more with other areas in order to better execute and get the work done? How would you answer that question?

Tom: It might sound somewhat elementary, but just do some basic things to ensure people are talking.  I know this doesn’t happen anywhere near as much as it should, but just sit down, ideally face-to-face, and get to know the people that you’re going to be interfacing with on a regular basis. Spend a little bit of time talking about their strengths so they know what they each can contribute is important. I’m amazed at how often teams are formed, and that just doesn’t take place at all. Companies should see the value in doing that, if for no other reason than for the sake of speed. For example, I have four or five close relationships here at work. I can communicate something to them, or they can communicate to me, in 10 or 15 seconds versus 10 or 15 minutes if I didn’t have that close relationship.

Margaret:  Now that you’ve sorted the 34 themes of talent into the four leadership domains it would be interesting to look at a team’s make-up and see if they have any of the Relationship Building strengths.  Maybe that plays into how collaborative people will be?

Tom: It’s a great point. A lot of the top leadership teams we’ve worked with have been most thin in the area of Relationship Building. I know that I thought about that a lot a couple of years ago with my own team.  I have someone on my team who is ten times better than I ever will be at keeping us cohesive and building relationships. So I said to her explicitly ‘I may be the one managing the team, but I know you’re better at doing this’. And today she’s done so much to help us build a better environment with even a broader group of people.

Margaret:  Now that you’ve published Strengths Based Leadership, what are you working on?

Tom:  We’re doing a lot of work trying to connect how engaged employees are on the job and when people have a chance to use their strengths, how that relates to outcomes that are more about one’s own physical health.  We have a few experiments underway where we’ve been looking at when people become more engaged in their jobs, what happens to their total cholesterol levels, the tri-glyceride in their bloodstream, and their cortisol or stress hormone levels.  As much as productivity, profitability, customer scores, and turnover are important to organizations, and I’d call those hard or concrete metrics for companies, I think that our physical health is one means to look at pretty concrete outcomes for individuals.

Margaret: And for the company it would translate into healthcare costs which continue to be one of the largest expenses for most companies.

Tom: I think that’s a big part of it.  We’re trying to figure out exactly how much of the variance of healthcare costs that individual engagement accounts for.  A lot of good companies like Standard Chartered, who I mentioned earlier, they’ll get to the point where they care about it for all the right reasons and the rest of the companies will get there for no other reason than they’ll see the reduction in healthcare costs.  The more we dive into the research we’re collecting, it might turn out that a person’s manager is a better predictor of their overall health than the quality of their physician.

Margaret:  Many people are surprised when I tell them that your grandfather, Donald Clifton, wrote Now, Discover Your Strengths. What do you think your grandfather would have to say about your latest book?

Tom: Right before he passed away he sent an e-mail summarizing some of his best thoughts on the topic of leadership.  He typed a long note describing some of his key findings and that note was probably the best outline and skeleton that served to guide us as we were working on this book.   He had done so much research over the years and had a lot of good thoughts that just never quite made it to publication in his lifetime.  I’m sure he’d be glad to see the continuation of some of that work and how much we’ve been able to help more people benefit from his work.

Author’s Personal Note:  Tom and I were classmates in the inaugural class of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) back in 2006. Part I of this interview is here.

References:

Rath, T. & Conchie, B. (2009). Strengths-Based Leadership. New York: Gallup Press.

Tom has also written other important books for people interested in strengths and love:

Rath, T. (2004). How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life New York: Gallup Press.

Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. New York: Gallup Press.

Teach for America, publicradio.org

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Love in a Business Book? For the last two years I have written about love on February 14th – Valentine’s Day! (“Using the L Word in Business” and “Love and the Capacity to Love”).  This year, I am taking a different approach and doing a combination book review and author interview.

Tom Rath

Barry Conchie

http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/margaret-greenberg/200902141542I was curious how Strengths Based Leadership differed from Rath’s earlier book, StrengthsFinder 2.0.  I learned that the 34 themes of talent outlined in StrengthsFinders 2.0 are now sorted into four domains of leadership strength:  Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.

Rath and Conchie bring these leadership strengths to life by interviewing four highly successful organizational leaders who each lead from a very different domain.

• Executing:  Wendy Kopp, Founder and CEO of Teach for America
• Influencing:  Simon Cooper, President of The Ritz Carlton
• Relationship Building:  Mervyn Davies, Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank
• Strategic Thinking:  Brad Anderson, CEO Best Buy

If you have already taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, you can get your own personalized Strength Based Leadership Guide by using the unique access code located at the back of Strengths Based Leadership.  If you wish to take the assessment for the first time or retake it, the same access code will allow you to do this.

What differentiates Strengths Based Leadership from other books on this topic is the new research on why people follow.  Four clear themes have emerged of what followers need and want from the most influential leaders in their lives:  trust, compassion, stability, and hope.

Margaret: What would you say are the biggest take-aways from this book?

Tom: From earlier research, we know great leaders never need to be well rounded, but great teams probably do.  The three main take-aways from this book are:

1. First, you need to know your individual strengths.
2. Second, you need to have the right people on your team and understand the strengths of the people around you.
3. And third, make sure you’re meeting your followers’ needs, which is the new published research in the book – what followers need in the first place.

Margaret: In the book you write, “You’re a leader of an organization if others follow.”  Typically when we study leadership, we interview leaders to get their opinions on what they do.  Rarely do we solicit the opinions of followers like you did in this book.  Tell me more.

Tom: We often glaze over the fact that leaders need followers, and the person who has the best vantage point to judge if a leader makes a difference or not is the individual who is following.  We asked 20,000 people from around the world to think of a leader that had the most impact in their life.  Then in a very open-ended way and in their own words, we asked them why they follow.  We then sorted and coded their responses.

Margaret: And their responses fell into four basic needs of followers – trust, compassion, stability, and hope.  What was the most surprising finding?

Tom: I was surprised by what wasn’t at the top of the list.  We didn’t see followers talking about vision directly, clarity, or purpose.  The irony is that is what the literature talks about most of the time.  Leaders do need to think about where the company is going strategically, but there are basic things they need to do on a regular basis to maintain relationships.

Margaret: What else surprised you?

Tom: The other finding we didn’t spend much time on in book is the median duration of the relationship between a follower and the person that had the most impact on their daily life.  It was ten years.  That kind of leadership takes place within the context of a really powerful relationship.  Leaders need to keep in mind that having that kind influence and building that kind of relationship with 5 or 500 takes a lot of time and patience.

Margaret: What about the “L” word — love?  Did people use that word when describing the leader that had the most impact on them?

Tom: People did use the word love quite frequently, along with caring and compassion when talking about great local leaders like mentors, managers, spouses, parents, and teachers.   The word speaks to just how close these relationships are.  When we asked about organizational and global leaders that had the most impact, people used words like caring and compassion.  I’ve learned that the word love is a lightning rod in organizations.  The minute you use that word it creeps people out.  The way love manifests itself in business specifically is in managers who care. Gallup has collected research on the topic of caring managers.  We’ve asked 15 million people:  Does your manager care about you as a person?  Not only do the very best managers have employees who say they care, but the managers themselves see the development of their people as being an end in itself, versus a means unto itself.

Author’s Personal Note:  Tom and I were classmates in the inaugural class of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) back in 2006.  Look for Part II of this interview on March 14.

References

Rath, T. & Conchie, B. (2009). Strengths-Based Leadership. New York: Gallup Press.

Tom has also written other important books for people interested in strengths and love:

Rath, T. (2004). How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life New York: Gallup Press.

Rath, T. (2007). StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. New York: Gallup Press.

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

VIA Strengths Cards

For the purposes of this article, I am going to assume that you are already familiar with your own strengths, and now wish to introduce others to this empowering concept. Perhaps you are a coach working with corporate or individual clients, perhaps you are a manager working with a team of employees, or perhaps you are a parent of a teenager or recent college graduate. In every role, you will likely find the Strengths Card Sort a practical tool to help others understand, own, and apply their strengths.

I adapted this exercise from Dr. Karen Reivich, psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Karen first introduced me to the Strengths Card Sort as part of the Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program. Over the last two years, I have used this exercise dozens of times with both corporate clients and family members. Here’s how:

BEFORE THE STRENGTHS DISCUSSION

1. Take a strengths assessment – Ask clients to take either the Values in Action (VIA) Signature Strengths Questionnaire (available at no charge at www.authentichappiness.com) or the on-line assessment described in Tom Rath’s book StrengthsFinders 2.0.
2. Make up index cards – Ask clients to make up index cards – one for each strength. If I am having the strengths discussion over the phone, I ask the client to send me his top five strengths and I, too, put his strengths on index cards.

DURING THE STRENGTHS DISCUSSION

1. Introduce the concept of strengths – Start by asking the person what it was like for him to complete the assessment. Explain that the purpose of this exercise is to deepen his understanding of strengths and how they interact or fit together.
2. Identify a core strength – Ask the person to pick one strength card that is absolutely core or central to who he is – a strength that really resonates with him. Ask how he has applied that strength in the last day; last week; at home; at work; in his community.
3. Choose another strength – Ask the person to choose another strength card and reflect on how it relates to the first strength. Deepen the person’s understanding by asking for examples of how this strength plays out in real life.
4. Repeat for the remaining three strengths – Continue asking probing questions on how he uses these strengths and how they relate to one another.
5. Create a graphic with the cards – Ask how he would arrange the five cards to visually depict how his strengths relate or combine. The possibilities are limitless. Encourage people to use their imagination. I have seen cards sorted in such as way that they appear to be arrows, molecules, airplanes, and body parts to name a few.
6. Co-create an application assignment – Ask the person to think of a goal or something important that he would like to achieve (e.g. – finding a new career, starting or finishing a challenging assignment, improving a relationship). Then ask how he could apply these strengths to make it happen. Another option is to ask the person to choose one strength that he would like to amplify even more over the next week or so. Gain commitment on what specifically he will do to apply one or more strengths.

AFTER THE INITIAL STRENGTHS DISCUSSION

1. Follow-up on the application assignment – Ask for specific examples on how he applied one or more strengths. What did he notice?
2. Continue to expand understanding – Again, the possibilities are limitless. “I use the cards in many, many ways,” says Dr. Reivich. For example, you can ask clients to name an adversity or problem. Then deal the strengths cards and ask how he does or could use his strengths in this situation. You can also explore lesser strengths.

The Strengths Card Sort is a simple, interactive way to deepen understanding of strengths. I have found it to be an effective tool in both face-to-face meetings as well as over the phone, and can be completed in 30-60 minutes. Have fun with it! I welcome you to share your own experiences and adaptations to this exercise.

Image: Dr. Karen Reivich

References:

[1] Peterson, C., Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. New York: Oxford University Press.

[2] Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Earlier this month I attended a women’s leadership conference sponsored by The George Washington University (GWU) in DC. I didn’t go to the conference with the intention of writing a Positive Psychology News Daily article – I went simply to recharge my batteries, learn something new, and of course support my daughter who helped organize the event. However, I was so inspired by the keynote speaker, Barbara Hillary, I just had to share her story.

Barbara’s speech was called “Finding Your Own North Pole”. My first thought was maybe it was a metaphor for what we call in business BHAGs – Big Hairy Audacious Goals.¹ And, in the end, setting goals and living a fulfilling life was indeed her message. However, Hillary really did trek to the North Pole last year on skis no less – a true BHAG. But what made this goal even more amazing? Hillary is not only a lung cancer survivor; she was also 75 years old when she did it!

To achieve your goals Hillary says you need perseverance. From Positive Psychology’s classification system we know that perseverance falls under the persistence strength and is defined as “a voluntary continuation of a goal-directed action in spite of obstacles, difficulties, or discouragement.”²

“My dream was to stand on top of the world and unfurl the red, white and blue,” Hillary proclaimed – a goal fraught with obstacles: her age, her health, the harsh weather, and of course the $22,000 she needed to raise just to get to the North Pole.

When I returned home from DC I decided to email Barbara Hillary to see if we could arrange a brief interview. Before the day was over Hillary replied to my email with an enthusiastic “yes”. What follows are highlights from our conversation as well as from the speech she gave at GWU’s Women’s Leadership Conference “Challenging Limits, Reaching New Frontiers”:

Greenberg – “Did you ever want to give up?”

Hillary – “Of course. I’m human just like everyone else. But it’s not all about the self. It’s how I was raised.”

Barbara was born in Harlem and grew up during the Depression. I remember from her speech she had emphasized that although her family was poor there was no such thing as mental poverty. “We never heard woe is me. My mother taught us if you want something in your life you get up off your ass and do something – take the stuff you’re born with and do something with it.”

Greenberg – “Besides the obvious perseverance it took to ski to the North Pole, can you give me another example of how perseverance came into play?”

Hillary – “How about calling a company 25 times until I finally got to talk to someone about helping me fund my trip!”
From Positive Psychology research on optimism we know that when bad events happen (in Hillary’s case being rejected 24 times), optimists: do not personalize the failure, believe it is only a temporary set-back, and do not let the disappointment permeate the rest of their life. Barbara Hillary is a paragon of this virtue.

In Positive Psychology we talk about Contagion Theory and protecting yourself from corrosive people (see Kathryn Britton’s article Social Contagion: Spiral Up or Spiral Down?). Hillary has her own version of this theory: “Avoid doomers and gloomers. They are deadly. I had people tell me you’re going to die up there, you’re going to freeze to death, you’re recovering from lung cancer, and even, the polar bears are going to eat you.”

Another character strength that Barbara Hillary didn’t mention, but she so obviously possesses is humor, defined in Positive Psychology as a playfulness, “liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side; making (not necessarily telling) jokes.”³ Throughout her presentation Hillary had the audience in hysterics. For example, when asked by a woman in the audience why she chose the North Pole to celebrate her retirement from the nursing profession, she quipped, “Well I certainly didn’t want to be stuck on a cruise with a whole bunch of miserable married people.”

Greenberg – “Although your speech had a serious message you brought a lot of humor and playfulness to it. Although you didn’t cite humor as essential to reaching your goal, do you have any thoughts about what role it might have played?”

Hillary –“I used humor to turn around a lot of dismal days – both at the pole and before the adventure even began when I was trying to raise funds. Going to the North Pole is like Heaven and Hell and the Hell starts well before you leave. I guess I’ve been practicing positive psychology on a crude level for a long time.”

Lastly, Barbara Hillary applied another Positive Psychology principle: reframing. At the end of her speech she said, “I’m not a little old lady. But I am an older adventurer and I am an older athlete.”

Greenberg – “In Positive Psychology we study resilience and a technique called reframing. When else have you reframed situations?”

Hillary – “Reframing. Thank you for that term. After I found out I had lung cancer people would ask me what changes I wanted to make in my life or what realizations about life did I have. I didn’t make any changes. I didn’t have any realizations. I’ve always taken the best of life forward and have left the worst behind. I visit nursing homes and I see some women who are so depressed. And it’s not because of the physical limitations of aging. They’re incarcerated now and I know that’s a harsh word, but they’re looking in the mirror and there’s nothing behind or in front of them. I’ve tried to live a fun life, a fulfilling life.”

What’s Hillary up to now? Sitting on her porch in a rocking chair? Reserving her spot in a nursing home? Are you kidding! She’s planning to ski to the South Pole later this year! To learn more about this amazing woman visit her site, Prepare to be Inspired! So what’s your North Pole goal?

References:
Collins, J. & Porras, J. (2004). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. HarperBusiness.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Quotations from page 229 and page 30).

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Today is Valentine’s Day so to me there is but one topic to write about…

Capacity to Love and Be Loved is one of the twenty-four character strengths measured by the Values in Action (VIA) Signature Strengths questionnaire (available at the Penn Authentic Happiness site at no cost).

The Capacity to Love and Be Loved strength is defined by Peterson and Seligman (2004, p. 29) as “valuing close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people.” The Capacity to Love and Be Loved strength joins the Kindness and Social Intelligence strengths to form what Peterson and Seligman call the humanity virtue – “interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others” (p. 29).

We know from Positive Psychology research that using your Signature Strengths every day in all domains of your life, including work, correlates with greater happiness and satisfaction (Seligman, 2002, p. 161).
That’s why I ask executives to complete the VIA when they first enter into a coaching engagement – to create greater awareness of their strengths, which are often overlooked and taken for granted.

Within the last month two executives at two different companies had Capacity to Love and Be Loved among their top five strengths. Both men were not surprised by the identification of this strength in their top five and found the questionnaire and subsequent dialog validating. They both shared stories of how Capacity to Love and Be Loved shows up in their lives – with their spouse, children, family and friends. However, only one of the executives could readily see how he applies this strength in his work environment. “It’s in the deep connections I make with employees,” he explained.

For the other executive, Capacity to Love and Be Loved was the only strength he had difficulty comprehending how it could possibly be applied to the workplace. His assignment was to ponder this inquiry before we meet again: How might you use the strength of Capacity to Love and Be Loved not only at home, but at work, too?

From my experience the “L” word is rarely used in the workplace. Some may say they love their work; some may say they love their customers; but rarely do I hear “I love my employees, co-workers, colleagues or boss”.

Imagine what the world of work might be like if more people demonstrated the Capacity to Love and Be Loved strength?…

• Rather than feeling taken for granted, employees might feel truly appreciated.
• Rather than feeling isolated, employees might feel more connected to each other.
• Rather than focusing on one’s functional silo, employees might be more collaborative.
• Rather than viewing co-workers as enemies or competitors, employees might view each other as friends.

Considering that Americans spend more time with their colleagues at work than they do with their families, imagine the impact a work environment like this would have on an individual’s well-being. Also imagine the impact a work environment like this would have on employee engagement and ultimately productivity. One thing we know from Gallup research (Rath, 2004, p. 95) is “people with best friends at work have better safety records, receive higher customer satisfaction scores, and increase workplace productivity.” One way to build these friendships is to bring more of the Capacity to Love and Be Loved strength to the workplace.

Positive Psychology research has also found that Love is one of five character strengths (the others are: Gratitude, Hope, Zest and Curiosity) that “are robustly associated with life satisfaction as well as work satisfaction across a range of occupation types, from unskilled laborer to CEO” (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004). Even more recent research into the study of character strengths of a unique population – cadets at the US Military Academy – has found that “love predicts accomplishments as a leader” (Peterson & Park, p. 1151).

So, if Capacity to Love and Be Loved is one of your strengths, go ahead, be bold – give yourself permission to really live your strength not just at home, but at work too, and notice what happens when you do. Need some help? Try this simple exercise:

Step 1 Identification: People with this strength are likely to agree with the statement “There is someone whose happiness matters as much to me as my own” (Peterson & Seligman, 2006, p. 305). Identify at least one person you work with that fits this description.
Step 2 Reflect: Ask yourself “What’s one thing I could do or say that would demonstrate how I genuinely feel about him or her?”
Step 3 Act: Act on the above intention. Notice how expressing your Capacity to Love and Be Loved strength makes you feel and the impact it has on the other person.

If Capacity to Love and Be Loved is not one of your strengths, consider cultivating it by trying the same exercise described above. Too much of a stretch for you? Try this instead: Simply ask yourself before your next one-on-one meeting with a coworker or employee: If I really loved this person, how would I be with them? Again, notice what happens when you do.

Capacity to Love and Be Loved is my number one Signature Strength. I must admit, not only do I love my work, but I can honestly say I love most of my clients and colleagues. I love using the “L” word in business.

References
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. (2004). Strengths of character and well being. Journal of Science and Clinical Psychology, 23, 603-619.

Peterson, C. & Park, N. (2006). Character strengths in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 27, 1149-1154.

Peterson, C. & Seligman, M. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rath, T. (2004). How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life New York: Gallup Press.

Seligman, Martin (2004), Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York: Free Press.

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Heart in Hands courtesy of aussiegal

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

I had the pleasure of hearing Mike Morrison, VP and Dean of University of Toyota, speak at last month’s Global Well-Being Forum (formerly the International Positive Psychology Summit) at Gallup’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The room was jammed packed with both business and academic people interested in Mike’s talk “Personal Leadership: A Psychological & Philosophical Inquiry”.

Although the title may sound boring to some, his talk was anything but! I began scribbling notes: “We have a crisis of meaning in organizations today…Unfortunately the dominant image of leadership is that we are better, above, and ahead of everyone else which makes us poor integrators…Ninety percent of what we do doesn’t add value.” Now that doesn’t sound very positive, I thought. But it was the way Mike spoke that captured my attention – he cared, he was hopeful, and he believed as leaders we can “create meaningful change.”

Mike engaged us by telling a story – a story of how one of the best-run organizations in the world, Toyota, has integrated the science of Positive Psychology into its leadership development. Typically organizations focus their development on the knowledge and skills managers must obtain to be effective leaders.

But at Toyota the focus is on the personal leadership journey – discovering one’s strengths, values and beliefs to develop one’s authentic leadership voice.

Drawing upon his new book, The Other Side of the Card, Mike described this personal leadership journey comprised of two paths:

• The Me Path – whereby we discover through reflection what makes us special or what differentiates ourselves from others – our purpose, what gives us meaning.
• The We Path – whereby we discover how to integrate with others through our relationships – by choosing to serve, to care, and create meaningful change.

Morrison went on to explain that the other side of our business card is a rich metaphor for that undeveloped, untapped potential in all of us. On the front side of our card we have our name, title, company, and contact information. But what’s on the other side of our business card – the blank side?

After his lively talk, he was swarmed by members of the audience. I decided to exit the room and head to the next workshop to get a good seat, all the while wishing I had personally connected Mike. On the flight home that evening, I reviewed my notes from the various sessions I attended over the three day conference, and I kept going back to Mike’s. I was left wanting more. That’s when I decided I would order his new book, The Other Side of the Card, and contact him to see if he would be willing to be interviewed for a Positive Psychology News Daily story. What follows are the highlights from our interview:

Margaret Greenberg: Can you tell me, Mike, about some things University of Toyota is applying from the science of Positive Psychology?

Mike Morrison

Greenberg: Many organizations look to Lean Six Sigma and other ways to streamline processes to improve productivity. I know Toyota has transformed its organization by focusing on these methods, too. What are your thoughts on focusing on leadership and engagement as a way to improve productivity?

Morrison – In organizations like ours, and my guess is just about any kind of organization, where we’re seeking operational excellence and really executing consistently well and be process focus, often the mindset becomes around managing – making process work better. But the missing ingredient is leadership – the counterbalancing effect – about making what is traditionally impersonal and actual, to making it more about what’s personal and possible. Systems break down and when they do you have to shift from (wearing the) manager hat to (the) leadership hat.

So clearly we have a dual responsibility – the ability to shift gears, to shift the mindset of getting product out the door to I’m creating meaningful change. In managing we’re executing and there is not a lot of deep problem solving going on. But when we’re leading it requires thinking skills and emotional intelligent skills because you’re now dealing with emotions and helping people get comfortable with change. I try to embed leadership discussions into everything we do so we don’t get caught in the trap of over-managing.

Greenberg: In your book The Other Side of the Card you write “Busyness has replaced purposefulness in our work lives.” Can you say more about that?

Morrison: We are all now connected to all the information we need or can have. We’ve built up bad routines and bad habits. People will interrupt their own work to see if they have a message. So everyone is connected to everything. What happens is they interact with (the information), but don’t do anything meaningful with it. We all get a million emails everyday and never get into a flow. We get caught in the busyness and get over involved in all of the information we have access to and don’t have clear routines on how we can add value.

Greenberg: The main character in your book, Seth, relays a story to a group of newly promoted managers and says “People don’t care about what you know until they know you care.” Tell me more.

Morrison: Employees are always looking up at leaders and asking, perhaps unconsciously, (questions like): Is this something bigger than her? Can I be a part of that? Will she invite me in? Or is it really about you and looking good? If you can’t show that it’s about something bigger, people don’t engage fully, it just becomes transactional. Once they see there is a plan for them a different part of them engages. They want to be more accountable because it draws them in.

Greenberg: Seth goes on to explain that “We simply cannot be happy in life unless we can find meaning in what we do.” What have you found?

Morrison: In our consumption based culture, the focus is on having. We can numb ourselves overtime as we move up the success ladder (because) that drug is pretty powerful. So we can have the new degree, have the cool friends, have the new condo, and we can go with that but after awhile it doesn’t provide the same level of satisfaction. When we look at the internal drive to achieve and mix that with what our culture values – having – we can find that we’ve had some level of success, but we haven’t found the meaning that’s attached to who we are – the more we differentiate in the ‘me’ path, the more we’ll seek out better integration in the ‘we’ path.

Greenberg: Any final advice for our readers?

Morrison: Be aware of what’s on the other side of the card – don’t lose sight of it. Live on the other side of your card.

Greenberg: So what’s on the other side of your card, Mike?

Morrison: Visionator…I create the picture of a thousand piece puzzle so people can start to put the pieces together. I love creating a compelling picture that can draw us forward.

So, what’s on the other side of your card

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

It’s September and that means back to school time for American kids and business planning time for American businesses. In most organizations the business planning cycle is in full swing preparing for the upcoming year and beyond:  and that means lots of meetings!  Unfortunately, planning meetings are often met with huge groans as executives recall last year’s mind-numbing, PowerPoint presentations.  Energize your business planning?  That can sound like an oxymoron. 
 

Business Meeting

BEFORE
·        Create a Strengths Team Profile – to illustrate the diversity (or lack thereof) of the team, have participants complete some kind of self-assessment (e.g. – StrengthsFinder 2.0, Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument, VIA Signature Strengths).  Compile individual results into a Team Profile and share the results at the first planning session.
·        Conduct an External and Internal Scan – enlist others to prepare both an external scan (e.g. – trends) of your industry and an internal scan (e.g. – Strengths, Problems, Opportunities & Threats) of your business.  Spending time up front gathering this information will prepare participants for richer dialogue and ultimately better decision making.
 

DURING
·        Use Icebreakers – kick off planning meetings with a positive exercise like:  What are you most proud of?  Or, name 3 things you accomplished this year and who on this team or elsewhere in the organization helped you?  Notice the energy in the room shift to a positive, upward spiral.  Share with the team that they just experienced Dr. Fredrickson’s Broaden & Build Theory in action and how this positive energy will help them as they embark on planning discussions.
·        Tap into Strengths – rather than focusing exclusively on gaps, focus on what the organization is already good at and discuss how to leverage these strengths even more.  Use the Team Profile you developed in advance of the session to talk about individual and team strengths. 
·        Build in Time to Dream – we know from Appreciative Inquiry (see Kathryn Britton’s May 7, 2007 article ”Taking Positive Psychology to Work, Part 1:  Positive Core & Strengths“) how inspiring a dream or vision can be.  When it comes to planning, don’t just focus on the next 6-12 months – dream a little.  Use visualization exercises like:  It’s 2012 and you’re the keynote speaker at a (name a conference your participants would most likely attend) conference.  You’ve been asked to share how your organization has become such a leader in the industry. 
·        End the Session on a High Note – we know from Kahneman and Fredrickson’s peak-end rule that endings do indeed matter (see Derrick Carpenter’s June 22, 2007 article “On Adventure and Filet Mignon“).  Build in time at the end of the meetings to share individual commitments (using the Stop/Continue/Start model), express what people are most excited about and/or what their “elevator speech” will be.
 

You really can energize your business planning and through the process, energize your workplace.  This list of tips is by no means exhaustive.  I welcome your ideas. 

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Business Meeting courtesy of llawliet

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.

By Margaret Greenberg -

Last year at this time, Dana Arakawa and I were writing up our Capstone study.  We found that managers who were in the top quartile for providing frequent recognition and encouragement had teams that were more engaged and productive (see May 10, 2007 Gallup Article for more detailed findings).  What we studied were “informal” forms of recognition, such as expressing appreciation for a job well done.  But what about those more “formal” forms of recognition, such as trips and conferences, that companies use to reward top performers?  Do these programs positively impact employee engagement and productivity, too?  While we haven’t conducted an empirical study on this topic (yet), I do have anecdotal evidence from one company that they do – especially when a company rethinks who attends these events.

Rethink Participation

If you have ever worked in a corporation, you know that expensive trips are fairly typical IF you are in the ranks of senior leadership and/or in the Sales division where top producers are whisked away to exotic destinations.  But how do companies recognize those employees who are really the face to the customer – those front-line customer service representatives who wear a head-set eight hours a day?

Fireworks Show at Disney World

Keep in mind, this conference isn’t the only form of recognition this company sponsors and is not a substitute for recognition by an employee’s manager.  The conference is but one element of a more comprehensive recognition program that rewards employees for providing high quality service to its customers.  Employees are selected to attend based upon a set of service attributes (Positive & Enthusiastic are two of them!) that must be consistently demonstrated throughout the year.  This conference is one of the ways Unum demonstrates to its employees that they are truly valued and appreciated.  Is there also a link between feeling valued and one’s personal well-being and happiness? 

Feeling Valued and Happiness

According to Randstand’s 2006 Employee Review, conducted by Harris interactive, 86% of US employees cited feeling valued as an important factor for happiness, while only 37% said it exists in their job.[i]  Following are a couple of quotes from Unum employees who attended the most recent Training & Recognition conference in May.  How valued and happy do they sound to you?

I cannot express in words the effect that the SCORE* conference had on me.  To be able to work for a company that cares enough for its employees to be willing to send them to a conference such as that is inspiring.  Furthermore, to be able to experience what customer service means from the company that truly wrote the book and set the bar on customer service – Walt Disney World – indicates that our company knows where to go to train and motivate its employees to achieve the best level of customer service there is.  How can I go back!?

I want to express my sincere gratitude for the time I spent at the S.C.O.R.E. conference last week.  Not to sound too cliché but it was a “Magical” time.  From the breakout sessions, guest speakers, accommodations, entertainment, etc. everything was wonderful.  Several of the IT guys were walking around Downtown Disney on the last night and ran into several people who asked who we were and what “S.C.O.R.E.” stood for.  It was such an honor to tell them about our company and why we were there.  They were astonished that a company would go to such an expense and headache to reward their employees for their accomplishments.  I look forward to applying the knowledge gained last week to both my personal and professional life. 

*S.C.O.R.E. is an acronym for:  Service Excellence, Customer Focus, Ownership of Issues, Relationship Development & Risk Management, and Every Customer…Every Time 

The Bottom Line

Many companies talk a good game about the importance of quality customer service and yet, when it comes to investing in the very positions that have direct customer contact, they often fall short.  Service employees are often recruited at minimum wage, and training and recognition are limited.  Consequently, service jobs experience high turnover[ii] and the customer’s experience suffers.  Think back to the last time you were on the phone with a customer service rep.  What was your experience?  Could you discern how the rep viewed his role?  Was it just a job, a career, or a calling?

Companies like Unum clearly see the link between engaged employees and quality customer service and their financial results prove it – Unum is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and services, and the largest provider of group and individual disability income protection insurance in the United States and the United Kingdom. 

This article first appeared on Positive Psychology News. To see the original article, click here. To comment on this article, click here.