Monthly Archives: July 2013

Are You An Effective Coach?

Contrary to popular belief, it appears as if cheering someone on to improve performance does not influence people as much as role modeling does. Studies cited by Harvard Business Review reveal that both approaches improve outcomes. People encouraged by ‘cheerleaders’ increased performance by 22% while those coached by the silent type improved by 33%. When you think about it, these outcomes make sense. It all has to do with setting expectations. A “C’mon, you can do it!” kind of coach frames the experience by counting down to an arbitrary end point. Their focus: Put in just enough time to ‘gut it out to the end.’ Silent trainers come from a completely different perspective. There is no stated end point. Instead, these trainers focus on the discipline needed to do your personal best. Thus, each style produces very different results. You…

Virtuous Business Practices – an interview with Dr. Kim Cameron

  Dr. Kim Cameron is the William Russell Professor of Management & Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and the co-founder of a field called Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS).  POS was separate in its origins from Positive Psychology (and pre-dates positive psychology).  I had the honor of having him as my advisor for my MAPP capstone at the University of Pennsylvania.  Louisa Jewell and I couldn’t ask for a fairer or tougher advisor.  I decided to interview him to see what he’s been working on. What subjects are businesses are most attracted to? Bottom line is the driver, of course.  All business executives say “If I don’t achieve profit, return to share, then I’m not doing my job and I will not last and nor will the organization.”  Their interest is:  ‘Is there any pay…

Positive Psychology in Practice in the DC Metro Area

Here at Positive Business DC we are always looking for organizations who are implementing positive psychology in the workplace.  As the nation’s capital we hope that we will set the trends for the entire nation.  We found one such company in the DC Metro area that needs a special mention. Freddie Mac has been implementing numerous projects in the area of positive psychology, from lectures by Shawn Achor that are available for internal viewing on their website, to more intimate workshops in resilience and strengths. I asked Michele Lockwood who is the Director of Talent Development what Freddie Mac interested in applying a specific approach to well-being that comes from research out the social sciences.  “We went to one company for change training and it wasn’t moving the needle.  To act as though change is a one-time thing is inaccurate.…

Positive Practices Around the World

Positive psychology training is being implemented in many countries around the world, and not only are we starting to see the positive effects but also which specific content is having the biggest impact.  Positive Matters, founded by Louisa Jewell in Toronto, Canada, and Plus Side Strategies have implemented various positive psychology tools and decided to test which ones were the most impactful on participants.  Five months after receiving a one-day training by Positive Matters and Plus Side Strategies, employees of Northern Lights Canada were surveyed.  It was discovered that the elements that partiipants found most useful were as follows: • StrengthsFinder (75% of respondents reported as either ‘very useful’ or ‘extremely useful’) • Appreciative Inquiry (62.5% of participants reported as either ‘very useful’ or ‘extremely useful’) • Specific solutions focused exercise (49.9% of participants reported as either ‘very useful’ or…