_3 Positive Organizations

What about 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? I have anecdotal evidence from one company that they do – especially when a company rethinks who attends these events.

Many of those familiar with the treatment of disease and the world of positive psychology can readily appreciate some of the potential applications. Research continues to legitimize the notion that mind and body are connected. It is easy to speculate how positive interventions might augment traditional therapeutics. But can positive psychology alone be effective in treating severe maladies such as organ failure? […]

I recently flew from New York to Miami to visit my sister, brother-in-law and 3 amazing nephews (all under the age of 5!). It was remarkable to see my sister care for each child’s every need as though her own needs and desires hardly existed. Perhaps that’s why on my return flight to New York I was more aware of this FAA safety regulation. At first it sounded strange…”When traveling with children, if emergency oxygen masks deploy, put your mask on first.” Isn’t it always a parent’s job to put their child’s safety first? […]

How do you create a positive organization? What’s the formula? In this article I will focus on a few other factors – Physical Location, High Quality Relationships, and Meaningful Work – using specific examples from a company I recently visited in northern Italy.

What can we do about things that we do not like about our jobs? How can Positive Psychology help us be both realistic and optimistic at the same time? This…

Last month, I wrote about what I believe a leader must Do, Know, and Be. This month I’d like to use this same, three-part model to examine the role of a coach. The intersection of these three components, the shaded area, is where excellence in one’s profession can be found. It’s where action, feeling, and thinking are aligned and integrated into a consistent whole. […]

I was recently invited to speak at a support facility for adults recovering from the prolonged effects of psychiatric illness in Bridgeport, CT. The Bridge House offers a number of…

Institutions have many strengths. For one thing, they’ve been around awhile.  For another, they are usually tied to our values and even reinforce them.  But an institution can become “institutionalized”…

What do you do if you’re running a news radio station, and suddenly your new management which has heavy ties to the government comes in to tell you that you…

When I reflect on all that I learned last year in the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP), it sometimes makes my head spin.  I’m reminded of…

The Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship was perhaps the most thrilling conference I’ve ever attended. This global conference brings passionate people together from all corners of the globe, such…

In 1993, then relatively unknown Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner published a book, Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple Intelligences. This book and its 2000 sequel, Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences…

Few procedures are more complex, more demanding than organ transplantation. Few are more satisfying; seeing a patient leave hospital with a new lease on life is incredibly gratifying to those…

K-12 education is under the microscope in this country, and leaders in the field feel the pressure. Next month, I’ll be joining with Bill Robertson to present a one-day seminar to school superintendents. Two PPND authors have just made points in their posts that I have discussed with Bill as we prepare for that seminar.

Robert Wright proposes in his book Nonzero that there may be a “natural law” that people move toward – a natural law of interdependence and win-win scenarios that promotes survival. Wright’s natural law…

What would you expect to hear from a would-be superintendent if you asked him what he wants to change in the public school system?  Smaller classes?  Stronger academics?  Improved test…