We were thrilled to host the Shift Positive 360 training here in downtown DC with participants coming from as far away as North Carolina and Seattle, WA to participate!

Pete Berridge and Jen Ostrich wowed us with the level of detail, the content that they are sharing and the rarity of having training in a tool where there are no ongoing fees.

I have never felt more prepared to deliver a certification, than I did after this training.  And I’ve done a lot of certifications!  The combination of a positive/strengths focus and engaging a system makes it a very unique tool.  I used it on the Monday after the Friday training and got much deeper with my interview than I would have otherwise.

As one participant said, “It is more than a 360 – it is a framework for change!’

Let us know if you are interested in future certifications.

The benefits of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) glitter gold (see our previous blog post), but what do you need to assure success? While there is more than one way to host a productive AI summit, seasoned AI expert and summit facilitator Shannon Polly says that there are steps that you (or whoever would plan your AI summit) can take to prep for best outcomes:

• Know your organization – Is the organizational culture very top-down? Do you have buy-in from key leaders? Strive to get leaders on-board and solicit at least one of these people to lend their credibility to AI. This might look like a testimonial or keynote address at the beginning of the summit, and will certainly involve their participation in the four phases. If your organization doesn’t believe that focusing on strengths is the best way of approaching things, an AI summit won’t be useful.
• Make the time – Ensure that there is enough time to plan and execute the summit. There is no set formula on how much time you need. Consider reaching out to AI experts – like Shannon – to draft up a reasonable timeline.
• Secure the funding – As with time, there is not one financial model for making an AI summit happen. Consult AI experts, your financial team, and potential sponsors to figure out what you can afford. Modest AI summits can work, you just need to make sure that what you plan is within your means.
• Recruit the experts – You will want expertise both in facilitating the AI process, as well as in the industry itself. This may come from one individual, or (more likely) a complimentary team.
• Invite all stakeholders – The more stakeholders attending the summit, the better it will be. AI is a fundamentally democratic process that works best when as many organization stakeholders as possible contribute. If there are stakeholder cohorts that can’t or won’t participate, consider carefully whether an AI summit would be the best option for your organization at this time.
• Craft the question – Fine-tune the topic that will guide the entire summit. This will brand your summit internally and externally, and will orient the positive, transformative thinking of everyone involved. For example, the City of Cleveland has successfully used, “Sustainable Cleveland 2019: Building an Economic Engine to Empower a Green City on a Blue Lake.“
• Talk about it – Many people don’t know what AI is or they have misconceptions about it, making it critical that you can clearly describe for your people what AI is and what it isn’t. Talk about it with all of your stakeholders, framing things in terms of their lingo and interests. Each stakeholder is wondering, “What’s in it for me? What’s in it for our organization?” Make sure you can address those questions! Collect data and anecdotes to back up your claims and make them real for people. As an example, here’s how Shannon introduces AI.
• Know and use your strengths – Lots of practitioners leverage whatever strengths are their top strengths in order to facilitate an AI summit. Shannon names social intelligence, bravery, and creativity as qualities that facilitators can bring to the fore.
• Read the room – Ten years of professional acting experience equip Shannon to quickly and accurately read the pulse of a room. Even if you aren’t a professional actor, it’s important to get an in-the-moment sense of the group. This will help you to be flexible and rally energy, as well as notice and address questions and confusions if/when they arise.
• Trust the process – Shannon stresses that it’s key for you to believe in the AI summit process and that you can inspire this confidence in others. Positive transformation of the whole system won’t happen until the participants are open to it.

If you cover these bases, you’ll be well on your way to launching an AI summit that will spur your organization’s positive transformation. Be the catalyst! Reach out to AI expert Shannon Polly to start the revolution.

When you look at your colleagues, do you notice their best qualities? Even when you focus on others’ strengths, you may still feel like the organization is stuck. Maybe you’re mired in inefficient processes. Perhaps you contend with resistance to change. Do you see misalignment between your mission and daily practices? If you do, that’s normal! But it doesn’t have to stay that way. You can do better, because you’re already doing good.

If you’re grateful for other’s good points, and yet the organization seems stalled or stuck in some way, conditions are ripe for Appreciative Inquiry (AI). An Appreciative Inquiry summit is an organizational process intended to catalyze positive transformation by noticing what’s already going well, envisioning an optimal future, and leveraging strengths and creativity to get there. This happens when as many stakeholders as possible come together to design an actionable strategy in answer to a central positive question or topic.

En vogue fields like Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) have popularized promising-sounding processes like an AI summit, but what, if anything, can it actually do for you? In an interview with Gregor Nelson, seasoned AI facilitator and expert Shannon Polly offered insights on how the AI summit can work for you.

Benefits of the AI Summit

Savvy professionals like you want to see returns on their investments. Shannon explains why the AI summit is a valuable, viable tool for any and all groups:
• It’s well-designed – According to Shannon, the process always works if basic preconditions are met (see the next blog for more details). It happens in four phases:

1. Discovery: Recognize and appreciate what works
2. Dream: Imagine what might be
3. Design: Develop structures and systems to optimize what is and what might be
4. Destiny: Implement or the proposed design

If you have the resources and willingness for the AI process to work, it will!

1. It’s flexible – You can mute it in many different ways depending on the audience you have. You’ll likely get different layers of results depending on how much time you have, how many stakeholders you have in the room…but that the process itself always works.
2. It’s positive – The AI summit is positive in that it assumes that the organization and its associated individuals have strengths. The AI process focuses on what’s going right, and how you can capitalize on that to catalyze positive change in the entire organization.
3. It’s transformative – Rather than solving problems, AI transcends them by elevating the question from, “How do we fight this fire?” to, “How can we grow into the very best version of ourselves?” AI enables you to ascend to your highest mission, rather than merely weed-whacking mundane problems.
4. It’s actionable – The key to translating the AI summit into lasting success is to follow through and ask what you’re going to do with the information that you’ve created. You’ll start implementing your action plan in the final Destiny stage of the summit.

If you’re ready to lead your organization in unleashing its full positive strength, learn more from Shannon about how you can take advantage of AI and other positive psychology tools: http://positivebusinessdc.com/shannon-m-polly-mapp/

The situation was a friend and my boss has used an online software to collect data from our coaching sessions for purposes of billing and gathering themes from the coaching so that she may present data back to the client.  In addition, she has tried to have us put our coaching notes from the sessions up in two different pieces of software.  On a call a few months ago she asked the group if they would be willing to use the new software to put their notes on it – thus giving a way to find information more quickly and standardize the process for all the coaches.   A number of coaches on that call agreed to do so.  I subsequently called my friend and told her that I wouldn’t be willing to do that.  Her response was that she wasn’t going to read it.  I persisted in saying that I would not put my notes there.  It should be noted that my boss is not an ICF certified coach although many of the coaches on her team are ICF certified.

After perusing the ICF code of ethics for this class while thinking of this situation, it lead me to many questions.  The most pertinent clause for this situation is this one:

“11) Maintain, store and dispose of any records, including electronic files and communications, created during my coaching engagements in a manner that promotes confidentiality, security and privacy and complies with any applicable laws and agreements.”

To be fair to my boss, while my instinct is that this request does not promote ‘confidentiality, security and privacy’ I don’t actually know what she has proposed to her clients and what is involved in their agreements.  If they have agreed to this and it violates no laws, one would assume that the issue would be complete.  If my boss is not looking at the notes, would they still be considered secure and confidential?  Or is the mere fact that she has access to them a violation?  I also do not know if any of the other coaches complied by putting their notes on the site even though they said they did.

The next items that appear to be most pertinent are these:

“2) Commit to take the appropriate action with the coach, trainer, or coach mentor and/or will contact ICF to address any ethics violation or possible breach as soon as I become aware, whether it involves me or others.

3) Communicate and create awareness in others, including organizations, employees, sponsors, coaches and others, who might need to be informed of the responsibilities established by this Code.”

The challenge in the way the code is written is that the list structure implies that you are supposed to do all of these things, and some might say in the order in which they are written.  Am I supposed to contact the ICF regarding this apparent violation before I contact my boss?  And only after I do that contact my fellow coaches?

There is also no conditionality included in the content.  Should I contact the ICF even if I have contacted my boss and the other coaches and they have been made aware?  Should I contact ICF if I have contacted them and they have corrected the problem?  After digging a bit deeper the solution becomes less and less clear.  However, I have made a decision as to how to proceed.  I will contact my boss first, as that is more appropriate than contacting her employees (my fellow coaches).  After being made aware of the situation and letting her know the code that I am required to abide by, I will see if she wants to tell the other coaches or if she would like me to do that.  Depending on how she decides to resolve the situation will determine whether or not I contact the ICF.

Initially, I thought this was a cut and dry situation.  After peeling back layers of the onion, I see that regarding ethics there are many layers and many shades of grey depending on whom you ask.  I’d love to hear your thoughts…feel free to send a message to info (at) shannonpolly.com with your thoughts.

Here is the link to the recording that shares more insight on:

1) How to convince leaders to engage with the shift positive

2) Why a systems approach is the most successful for change

3) How using the Shift Positive 360 actually nets you more clients!

And don’t forget the to get a 10% discount on the certification (February 23-24 in DC) go to:  www.bitly.com/Pos360PBDC before January 31st.

Certification Training: February 23-24, 2017

Are you interested in being certified in the Shift Positive 360? The Shift Positive 360 is a narrative 360 approach used by executive and leadership coaches and HR leaders. This approach is grounded in positive psychology and focuses on engaging the client’s “people system” throughout the change process to ensure sustainable positive change.

Join the two-day certification training and become well versed in positive psychology, social systems, the method and methodology behind the Shift Positive 360, and experience your own shift throughout the training.

Register Here to take advantage of the special Positive DC Early Bird Special (Register by January 31, 2017) and save $250

In the certification process you will:

• Get grounded in key Positive Psychology concepts
• Feel confident in using the shift+ 360
• Be capable in garnering allies for your client
• Challenge the traditional 360 approach of confidentiality
• Be comfortable sharing feedback with your client
• Learn how to involve the social system over the entire engagement
• Understand how this approach actually leads to more clients
• Experience a mindshift for you—coach

You will receive 7.85 core competencies and 6.9 resource development CCEs from ICF for completion of this training.

Workshop Dates: Thursday + Friday February 23-24, 2017. AdvantEdge Business Centers, Downtown Washington DC.

Register Here by January 31, 2017 for the early bird discount.

Learn more about the Shift Positive 360 @ www.shiftpositive360.com

Pete Berridge and Jen Ostrich are both Hudson Institute PCC level coaches who co-founded the Shift Positive 360 method. Pete has a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and began this method five years ago to use in his own executive coaching practice. Jen brings 15 years of navigating people systems across the complex advertising industry prior to coaching, and has used the Shift Positive 360 method exclusively for the last three years in her leadership coaching business. Together they have a collection of positive outcomes and have developed a coach certification training in the Shift Positive 360 at the request of many coaches and human resource professionals.

While there can be many answers to this question, I suggest that perspective-taking is an important one of them. Perspective-taking has been defined as the “active cognitive process of imagining the world from another’s vantage point or imagining oneself in another’s shoes to understand their visual viewpoint, thoughts, motivations, intentions, and/or emotions” (Ku, Wang, & Galinsky, 2015, p. 94). Even though perspective-taking (which is a cognitive process) has been argued to be different from empathy (which is understood to have an emotional component,) this distinction does not seem to be universally agreed upon. For instance, Coleman (2007) writes about three different types of empathy – emotional, cognitive, and compassionate, and refers to cognitive empathy as perspective-taking. To clarify my usage in this post, I will consider perspective-taking to be different from empathy, and will use the term to refer to one’s ability to actively engage in the process of understanding someone else’s point of view.

If we consider the context of the US elections, perspective-taking would entail actively seeking out someone with a different political view than one’s own and listening to what they have to say with an open mind and a genuine desire to understand. Interestingly, to really put oneself in someone else’s shoes, one needs to first take off one’s own shoes: It is only by suspending our own judgments and preconceived notions that we can truly take another’s perspective. By demonstrating this skill themselves, leaders can encourage their teams to do the same. This isn’t easy, of course, and given the delicacy of the situation, requires skill.
However, perspective-taking of this sort can be an important step towards a greater understanding of the situation and of the other person, which is crucial for an institution that wants its people to connect and cooperate with one another. In fact, research on perspective-taking indicates that it leads to enhanced interpersonal and intergroup relations.

Perspective-taking has been shown to increase positive connections, enhance coordination, and increase generosity and helping behavior in interpersonal relationships (Ku et al., 2015). Perspective-taking has also been shown to improve intergroup relations by reducing prejudice, stereotyping, and discriminatory views (Ku et al., 2015). Difficult times in an organization can be filled with negativity and a lack of connection among people, and leaders can employ perspective-taking as a tool to infuse more positivity in such situations. Furthermore, perspective-taking can be a critical skill for organizations that value diversity: it can enable leaders to leverage the benefits of diversity while reducing the challenges that arise when people with diverse ethnicities, views, and opinions come together.

It is important to note that perspective-taking is not an unmitigated good and can even have a negative impact. For instance, perspective-taking seems to have different effects in cooperative vs. competitive contexts: it reduces egocentrism and increases moral behavior in cooperative contexts and increases egocentric and self-serving behavior in competitive contexts (Ku et al., 2015). Similarly, if members of a group deeply identify with their group, attempts at understanding another group’s perspective result in an increase in negative judgments about the other group, perhaps because the context appears to be one of competition (Ku et al., 2015). It is important, then, for leaders to be aware of the nuances of perspective-taking so that they can use this tool effectively to foster greater understanding and cooperation in their organizations, while preventing its detrimental effects.

In essence, there are pros and cons to perspective-taking and while the pros seem to outweigh the cons, an effective use of this tool to manage conflicting teams and individuals requires leaders to have a nuanced understanding of how and when to lead from someone else’s shoes.

References

Ku, G., Wang, C. S., & Galinsky, A. D. (2015). The promise and perversity of perspective-taking in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 35, 79-102. doi:10.1016/j.riob.2015.07.003

Goleman, D. (2007, June 12). Three Kinds of Empathy: Cognitive, Emotional, Compassionate. Retrieved December 12, 2016, from http://www.danielgoleman.info/three-kinds-of-empathy-cognitive-emotional-compassionate/

Yashi Srivastava can be reached at: http://yashisrivastava.net

Join us to learn how positive psychology and social systems can transform feedback from its current broken state into the constructive, energizing experience is was intended to be. Pete Berridge, MAPP & PCC and Jen Ostrich, PCC, co-founders of the Shift Positive 360, will talk about why feedback and 360s are not as effective as they can be. Learn how positive psychology and social support systems can make all the difference in your client’s success in creating sustainable change.

In this webinar you will learn:

• The benefits of a solution-focused vs problem focused approach to feedback
• To challenge the notion of confidentiality with feedback and why it’s less effective
• How to set your clients up for successful change by creating their own “people system”

Pete Berridge and Jen Ostrich are both Hudson Institute PCC level coaches who co-founded the Shift Positive 360 method. Pete has a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and began this method five years ago to use in his own executive coaching practice. Jen brings 15 years of navigating people systems across the complex advertising industry prior to coaching, and has used the Shift Positive 360 method exclusively for the last three years in her leadership coaching business. Together they have a collection of positive outcomes and have developed a coach certification training in the Shift Positive 360 at the request of many coaches and human resource professionals.

Did you know the right amount of positive emotion can lead to more innovation, less absenteeism, and better problem solving?

What are Emotions For?

Early research regarding the purpose of negative emotion has been generally accepted. Negative emotion alerts us to danger and focuses attention on self-preservation and problem solving. However, understanding the survival benefits of positive emotion has been less clear, even dismissed, until recently. Researchers, including Martin Seligman, Barbara Fredrickson, and Christopher Peterson, have shown biological reasons for positive emotions and how they relate to human survival and well-being. In my experience as a leader, I have witnessed the results of positive emotion and its effect on well-being in the workplace.

Emotions at the Workplace

Positive emotion affects our workforce in the most basic way: our health. Research studies conducted by Ellen Langer and Alia Crum showed that simple changes in mindset can have dynamic and self-fulfilling effects on health. This can be seen even at the cellular level. Steven Cole and Barbara Fredrickson’s joint study on the effect of emotion on the human genome suggests that high levels of positive emotion affect the immune system, reducing inflammation and correlating with a strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes. In turn, good health means reduced absenteeism from the workforce.

Positive emotion is also linked to more innovation, better problem solving, and a more connected workforce. According to Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden and Build theory, positive emotion is associated with more holistic thinking and skill enhancement.

I have seen broaden and build in action many times. One particular example sticks out in my mind. I was leading a marketing team of an Internet software company during the dotcom crash in March 2001. The timing of the crash, which struck fear in every tech worker I knew, was unfortunate since we were in the midst of planning an important launch. Not only was there worry about the impact on the launch itself, but people feared for their jobs. This all came at a time when we really needed to be engaged and at our most creative. Instead of members of my team bringing their best games to the table, the energy in the room was low. So, spontaneously I declared it to be the perfect opportunity for us all to go on a team outing. After several races at the local go-cart joint and some laughter and trash talk over a meal, we were all able to come back to the task with our creative juices flowing. I believed the change to be directly tied to the shift in emotion.

Negative emotion also plays an important role in well-being. Negativity constrains our experience of the world, narrowing attention and increasing analytical thinking. In emergencies, for example, we need to bring a narrower focus to the table. In fact, optimistic thinking is sometimes associated with underestimation of risks.

Achieving Balance

Fredrickson popularized the positivity ratio, the ratio of positive emotions to negative emotions as measured over time. To flourish, Fredrickson recommends a positivity ratio of about 3 to 1 (see references for more on the ratio***). The positivity ratio plots as a U curve showing that a higher positivity ratio is healthy and productive up to a certain point and then declines. In the workplace, I have witnessed this when excessive fun and games leads to decreased productivity. The key is a high positivity ratio without extremes, with 11:1 being the upper bound of the positivity ratio for flourishing.

Emotions (both positive and negative) are contagious. According to Sigal Barsade, a professor at the Wharton School of Business, we can catch moods. It only takes one of five employees to affect or “infect” the group. So, it is important to understand where excessive negative and positive emotions are originating in the company.
Ultimately, emotions have many implications for well-being in the workforce. Taking human emotions into account in workplace operation and reflecting on the implications in policies and programs could indeed improve well-being in the workplace. Interested in suggestions on just how this might be done? This topic will be discussed in the upcoming Part 2 of this article.

***Positivity Ratio: Many studies have shown the positivity ratio for flourishing to be above 3:1, including studies by John Gottman, and Robert Schwartz. Fredrickson has also acknowledged that the nonlinear dynamic model developed by Losada has been questioned, but stands by the Positivity Ratio.

References

Barsade, S. G. (2001, August). The Ripple Effect: Emotional Contagion In Groups. Working Paper Series on Organizational Behavior. Yale School of Management. New Haven, CT.

Crum, A. (2014). Change your mindset, change your game. TEDX talk.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2009). Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive. New York: Crown.

Greenberg, M. & Maymin, S. (2013). Profit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business. McGraw Hill.

Peterson, C., (2006). A Primer in Positive Psychology New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New York: Free Press.

Fredrickson, B. L. (2013, July 15). Updated Thinking on Positivity Ratios. American Psychologist. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0033584

Gottman, J. M. (1994). What Predicts Divorce?: The Relationship Between Marital Processes and Marital Outcomes. Hillsdale, NJ, England: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Schwartz, R. M., Reynolds III, C. F., Thase, M. E., Frank, E., Fasiczka, A. L., & Haaga, D. A. (2002). Optimal and normal affect balance in psychotherapy of major depression: Evaluation of the balanced states of mind model. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 30(04), 439-450. Abstract.

A message from Robert Rosales

From Languishing to Flourishing at Work

Whether organizations and their employees languish or flourish largely depends on the quality of the social connections they nurture. We spend most of our waking hours at work and thus improving social connections will impact productivity, engagement as well as community, organizational and individual wellbeing.

The bottom line is that focusing on enabling high-quality relationships at work changes everything, for the better. Is it that simple? Yes. Is it easy? No. It takes persistence and hard work. But it’s worth it.

Learn critical skills to develop better relationships at work by watching the following webinar.

Connecting for Success with Robert Rosales.

After spending a year studying well-being and human flourishing in the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) program at Penn, I am more convinced that living a good life is like writing a good story. New chapters bring new possibilities, ideas, challenges, conflict, and resolution. Through experiencing each of these elements, I’ve learned and grown a lot since graduating in August 2015 and am excited to see what lies ahead.

Two exciting and unexpected things happened in the first six months following graduation: I was welcomed back to the MAPP program as an assistant instructor for the Capstone and Positive Psychology and Individuals courses and I was promoted to a new role at work that provides me the freedom and flexibility to use positive psychology to increase staff engagement.

Prior to this role, I worked as a case manager to help people with disabilities live independently in the community, which I absolutely loved despite the challenging experiences anyone in the social work field faces in their job. Unfortunately, during my nearly three years as a case manager, I witnessed the detrimental impact stress and burnout has on employees, an organization, and most importantly, the clients/consumers. After MAPP, I realized that helping social workers stay engaged, resilient, and connected to the meaning of their work may be the best way to sustain positive changes for both consumers and staff.

I’ve been working as an Organizational Engagement, Development, and Training Specialist for about 9 months now, and have been fortunate to pilot many new positive psychology interventions to keep staff engaged. I’ve worked with my supportive colleagues and two groups of Penn students through service learning projects to redesign our performance evaluations around the concept of Appreciative Inquiry, update our supervision templates, highlight successes in an internal newsletter, give monthly trainings on mindsets, post-traumatic growth, reciprocity, character strengths, and incorporate a 12 week long positive psychology based journal project into our new staff training curriculum. Currently, we’re gearing up for a project to create our core values, which will help solidify our new positive culture. To say the least, I am beyond grateful to work for an organization that is so eager and committed to increase staff engagement and implement new ideas.

When I’m not at my desk working on staff engagement, I’m out in the community helping individuals with hoarding behaviors throw away or donate some of their possessions. I didn’t originally plan on doing hoarding intervention work, but it has been one of the most rewarding and intellectually stimulating projects I’ve been involved with. The leading hoarding intervention model implicitly incorporates positive psychology concepts like designing your best future self, goal setting, and the cognitive skills of resilience, yet it is fundamentally designed to get rid of what’s “wrong,” i.e. the clutter. What if positive psychology could help hoarders build the life they want to live, thereby making it easier to declutter and downsize. Would teaching hoarders to use character strengths in the right amount make it easier to part with overly meaningful possessions or resist the rush of positive emotions in acquisition? Questions like these have yet to be answered.

I attended the annual OCD/hoarding conference this past July and had three full days to learn about the latest developments in hoarding intervention and meet the leading researchers in the field. I left the conference inspired and eager to blend positive psychology and hoarding intervention in theory, research, and application. I’m in no rush to fast forward, but I wonder if this work will carry into the next chapter of my story. Thanks for reading!

What is the greatest source of energy, creativity, and new business at work? People, provided they are fully engaged and supported by great leaders. In today’s workplace nothing of significance can be achieved alone. People are at the core of organizations because business, essentially, is about relationships. This really should come as no surprise. Relationships are central to well-being and a key feature of very happy people is the fact that they have good  interactions. Human beings are naturally social creatures and our interactions with others are just as vital as food and water. Over time, we have developed an innate ability to empathize and think socially in order to be able to cooperate with others. Surprisingly, research shows that most workplaces do not fully recognize the value of social in people’s lives. It’s time to rethink the importance of connections in our lives.

In this transformative and entertaining webinar, Robert Rosales, advisor, coach, and founder of Lead Academy, a positive leadership consultancy, shares the latest research on relationships from neuroscience, positive psychology and business. 

In this webinar, you’ll learn: 

• How positive social connections lead to a workplace that is energized and thrives
• How to create strong relationships that will make people more creative, healthy, and productive
• How great leaders make teams more productive

Register for the webinar HERE.

Rest is a useful habit. Our waking brains constantly seek out clues and make connections. Sleep helps our brains consolidate memories. Writing my capstone, like the bar exam I took three years ago, wore me out. In both cases, I felt like I was carrying a 10-pound brick on my shoulders. Putting aside intellectual work for a few months while my brain did its work in the background helped clear the fog.

However, I haven’t been idle – I’ve been training to work as a public speaker and preparing to work on creating the organization I overviewed in my capstone.

Public speaking wasn’t my idea. Scott Asalone, an assistant instructor in one of my classes and an alumnus of the MAPP program, suggested it. Among other things, he noticed that I enjoy being onstage. This is true – I feel more freedom to express the animated, boisterous portion of my personality on stage than in everyday life. Granted, I work in a court and you can’t go around pranking judges, but even outside of the court, one is expected to maintain a level of decorum that I sometimes find restrictive.

Speaking also allows me to share ideas and talk to an audience on behalf of others. I served in this role in law school, speaking on behalf of the students as editor-in-chief of the newspaper. There, I learned the importance of digging beneath the surface of the various sides of a debate to underlying factors, issues, and questions that are most important, but often unconsidered. I hope to continue this mode of inquiry, looking to history, law, psychology, and other sciences to inform the topics I take on.

I

It is this mode of inquiry that informed the four years of work that led to my capstone, and to the business proposal that came out of it. What I am working toward now is an organization that will (to borrow from my capstone) “channel the river.” Specifically, I am looking to foster equal results for lower-income and minority students, starting with law school. The fundamental idea driving this focus is that we humans are significantly similar to one another. Given similar circumstances, we should all achieve within the same range. However, educational attainment (and thus career prospects) tends to track household income before adjusting for ability. I believe that the available data and scientific research can be used to help more students from the lower half of the income divide to perform more like their peers from the upper half.

For now, I have to continue putting the pieces in place. Hopefully, I’ll be ready to give my first talk by the middle of next year, and start my organization by the end of next year. Keep your fingers crossed.

Then when Chris Peterson passed away in 2012, more students came together and wanted to honor him with a scholarship and decided to combine with the earlier efforts to give back to students.  That little scholarship that could didn’t know that it would take a year to get over the ‘mountain’ of red tape at Penn in order to rename the ‘fellowship’.  (‘I think I can.’)  There was some treacherous weather on the mountain of some critiques.  People said that MAPPsters wouldn’t give because they had to pay their own high tuition bills, that maybe we were moving too fast and not letting people grieve, that many MAPPsters had founded their own non-profits and perhaps we should be giving money to those organizations, that we should give the money to the University of Michigan instead because that was Chris’ ‘first’ school.  But the Little Scholarship that Could keep plugging along (‘I think I can’) and it came over the ‘red tape’ mountain thanks to some help by Andrea Allmayer, James Pawelski and the committee (Shannon Polly, Kathryn Britton, Susan Hwang, Adam Mussell, Emily VanSonnenberg and Marsha Snyder).

And it came down the other side to give its first scholarship in 2014. (‘I thought I could.) It gave another scholarship away last year (‘I thought I could’) and 28 authors contributed to the book (Character Strengths Matter) that would give it’s profits to the Little Scholarship That Could.

Then this Little Scholarship created it’s own mountain.  Last year, in honoring James Pawelski, we set a goal of raising $10,000 to honor James’ 10 years of service.  This Little Scholarship That Could got over that mountain and down the other side.  In the last year, we not only raised the $10,000 to honor James.  Through book sales and donations last year we’ve raised $26,000!

The MAPP alumni and donors are the engine of this Little Scholarship That Could.  Their love, kindness, wisdom and perseverance are the fuel that has gotten this scholarship over those mountains.

Our big, hairy, audacious goal is to create an endowment that is self-sustaining.  If everyone  reading this blog donated something today, we would be that much closer to our goal.  Please continue to fuel this Little Scholarship so that may continue to increase the tonnage of happiness in the world.  You can donate HERE.

The third recipient of the Christopher Peterson Memorial Fellowship is a person who embodies the philosophy that Chris embodied in word and deed, that ‘Other People Matter’.  The Fellowship provides tuition remission to one new MAPP student annually who demonstrates service to others, academic merit and economic need, and who meets diversity criteria.

Our 2016 recipient of the Christopher Peterson Scholarship is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a member of the top police cadre, the Indian Police Service, and since has served in the national capital, New Delhi, and other parts of India. He has investigated many perplexing, bizarre and sensational crimes and faced many unnerving and bloody riots. He has been awarded President’s Police Medals for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service. He is working on women’s protection, children’s rights and access to justice. Presently, as the Inspector General of Police, he is the chief of police of a city having a population of 1.3 million, and commands 7,500 policemen and officers.

◦                      He has initiated many community policing programs like ‘Yuva’ to impart vocational skills training to children-at-risk & place them on gainful employment.

◦                      In India, Police are generally perceived as rude and insensitive organization that only works for the privileged, but majority of policemen come from the middle & lower-middle classes of the society and do feel for the underprivileged. However, sometimes, they fail to understand others’ point of view & behave insensitively. In this backdrop, Tajender initiated a training program on – “The Art of Empathizing at Workplace” to make police more humane & empathic to win people’s faith. The program’s success encourages Tajender to understand the result of positive emotions on human behavior.

Tajender is also a poet and writes in Hindi, though his mother tongue is Punjabi. His anthology was published in 2012. His poetic sensibilities travel from the comfort of home to the rude extension of urban spaces. His poems treat both realism and sensitive human relationships equally well. Now, he is trans creating his poems into English.

Congratulations to the 2016 recipient of the Christopher Peterson Scholarship – Tajender Luthra!

Yet empathy, the ability to walk in someone else’s place and truly feel what they experience, gives children a way to understand the world differently. That’s where RedRover comes in. This organization has invested in building a program that teaches empathy to third and fourth graders.

The Restricted Adventures of Raja, written by Nicole Forsyth and illustrated by Bryan Huff

Empathy Goes to The Dogs… and Cats

Let’s suppose we’re part of a class. The teacher tells us that we are trying The RedRover Reading Program today. Everybody becomes involved and you find out that our best friend has an amazing human-animal bond. He never told anyone about his relationship with his pet before because… who talks about feelings? You also discovered that the girl who lives down the street throws sticks at dogs. She never thought about it before, but now as you describe your own experience with Heidi, your pet Doberman, she starts to see that maybe the dog has feelings after all.

As the children get involved, critical questions cause them to look more deeply into their own lives. They draw on their own emotions and personal experiences to bring life to the story. They see that how they treat animals has an impact on others… and the learning environment become rich. This unique discussion about feelings and their pets sets the stage for change.

That’s when the magic happens. Why would our youth talk about anything so personal? They wouldn’t unless being prompted by a teacher or parent. Kids talking about their cats, dogs, or other animals (and how they make them feel) just doesn’t come up in normal conversation. But everyone has a perspective on animals. Having a conversation about animal behavior and emotions lets children practice some self-awareness and emotional recognition. Kids and teachers love it.

An e-Book Today… that Supports Tomorrow

The folks at RedRover have found that teachers are the best resource for the RedRover Readers Technique. About 750 teachers have taken classes online or in person.

RedRover has also taken extra steps to reach out to the community and created a mini version of the RedRover Reading Program. An e-Book called The Restricted Adventures of Raja is available through both the Android and iTunes stores. RedRover has slated the second e-Book to come out by the end of the year. Both are available in English and Spanish.

Through the e-Book, parents can get involved in the story. Or, the graphic novel offers kids a great device for learning and experience it on their own. Critical questions stop kids to make them think, “What would I do in this situation?”

The analysis provides a key element for third and fourth graders. Their brains have developed enough so that cognitive thinking skills can understand, and show, empathy. This helps us build a better tomorrow.

And, building a better tomorrow is what RedRover’s all about. Think what it would be like to prevent abuse, neglect, and cruelty to animals. If our children can put themselves in the other person’s shoes for a split second, then they are really unlikely to do something physically wrong toward that person.

Rebecca Bridges takes time out her busy schedule to talk.

Meet Rebecca Bridges. Wife. Mother. Management consultant at FMP Consulting. Rebecca has also been blind from birth. Knowing the unemployment rate is 70% for people who are blind, how could she grow up with the hope of finding a job that she would enjoy? Is it luck or is it something else?

We have all heard the statistics. According to Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last, 1 in 3 employees seriously consider leaving their jobs. Of that number, only 1.5% of employees actually leave voluntarily. They feel safer with the job they hate then the unknown. With these types of statistics, I wondered how Rebecca found the courage to fulfill her dream.

You Have to Be Better than Anyone Else

Rebecca remembers her Dad giving her advice as a little girl when she complained that being blind wasn’t fair. “Too bad. You just have to be better than everyone else,” he said. That piece of advice stuck. When talking with Rebecca, she comes prepared for everything.

She didn’t have any inkling that she would go to grad school. Then one day, as she browsed around the Web looking for something that her husband might like, she found a program that changed her life: Organization Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University. It piqued her interest.

“The program description talked about organizational change and transformation, process consultation, and really meeting people where they are and taking them where they need to go,” expressed Rebecca. “I went to the information session and applied the next day. I was so excited because I had found my calling!”

As she went through the program, Rebecca learned a lot about herself. How she dealt with situations both good and bad. How she dealt with conflict. What kind of leadership style made her unique.

“I really enjoyed the courses that I took as part of the program,” Rebecca said. “I wanted to work with organizations and clients to help them achieve results that were even greater than they anticipated. At the end of my program, consulting seemed like a logical step. I started looking and I found FMP Consulting. It seemed like a good match.”

Did I Get the Job?

When Rebecca went to the interview with FMP, she paid close attention to what she wore. She also thought about their perceptions as she crossed the room. It seems as if her Dad’s voice whispered in her ear. “You just have to be better than everyone else.”

“We have to be more prepared than any other person interviewing. We have to show up with our technology and be prepared to answer any of their questions whether we want to or not,” says Rebecca. “It’s a balance because you don’t want to be too defensive, but you also want to show that you are competent and capable because there are questions that they are not supposed to ask you in the interview process.”

When a week-and-a-half went by after her second interview, Rebecca summed up her courage and called the Human Resources Manager. Her heart dropped when he said there were a couple more things they wanted to know.

“The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I thought, Oh no, this is it. They are looking for something to weed me out today,” said Rebecca.

He started asking me about my technology and how I work with applications such as Excel and PowerPoint. She had two ways to go. Rebecca thought about not answering the questions, but took a deep breath and answered them honestly. She needed to elevate the game because, although it might have seemed unfair or felt uncomfortable, it was important that she provide every assurance within reason that she would be a good fit.

“Whether you think it is fair or not, being blind makes it harder because you need to be more skilled than other people in certain areas. You have to demonstrate your competence and ensure to the hiring manager that you are capable of doing the job. Once you have the job, the other challenge is keeping it. There are a lot of things that are still not accessible to us,” commented Rebecca.

Her husband, Eric Bridges, has put accessibility squarely in his sights. Although relatively new to the Executive Director role, he has been working with the American Council of the Blind since 2007, and he had made some significant progress.

Rebecca thinks of her landing a job with FMP as skill and luck. As a consulting firm, they appeared more accessible to her than a Booz Allen Hamilton or Deloitte, who have thousands of employees. With less than 100 on staff, FMP seemed like they could make a difference in their client’s lives. In fact, Rebecca feels like their organization works really hard to do the things they tell their clients to do. The amazing thing? FMP was the only place she interviewed post grad school.

The Most Important Thing In Her Life? Family

When asked about her biggest achievement, Rebecca laughed and said it was her child. She remembered bringing the baby home, holding him in the rocking chair and thinking, “What in the hell am I going to do now.” She says that little Tyler has been the world to her and Eric since he’s entered their lives. Rebecca proudly says that they have full-time jobs, keep a clean house, and have a child who is fully sighted, fully functioning, and just plain awesome. And they’re both blind.

With respect to her work, Rebecca would like to be there for a long time. It’s important to be gainfully employed doing something you love to do. “No one likes to pay taxes,” Rebecca laughs. But it’s clear that she’d gladly pay them than be a burden on society. She is now looking at getting her PMP certification.

“At the end of it all, I want to look back and say that I had jobs doing what I enjoyed and I contributed to the well-being of individuals and organizations,” remarked Rebecca.

So… now I’m wondering. How many more people who are blind are out there looking for work and not finding what they want. Is it because they aren’t as prepared as Rebecca is at being better than her competitors? Or, was she just one of the lucky ones?

Imagine my surprise when only one CEO manned his company’s booth throughout the two-days presenting founders had to show off to venture capitalists, service providers, journalists (aka me), and others who may be interested in their companies. Kudos go to Gary Tyermann, CEO of Univa Corporation. You stood out. Your counterparts blended in with the crowd. Talk about missed opportunity.

You know want I found, Gary? I think you actually fit the bill regarding empathy. I’m going to say you also exhibited stick-to-itiveness and a sense for what’s really important… connecting with others when you get the chance. We’ll call that social awareness and relationship management, two pillars of emotional intelligence.

For those of you who think those who blended in with the crowd didn’t miss that big of an opportunity, think again. During lunch I sat with three sponsors and two venture capitalists. We all attended CapCon looking for something specific. We noticed your absence, and this gets directly in your way of getting business done.

It also dampened energy within the venue. Interacting with you, sensing the passion and excitement you have for your business draws us in and makes the event something special. You’re not just on stage when you’re in the round. You’re on stage the entire time you’re in the building.

The companies featured during the presentations had very interesting technologies, and many of them have demonstrated real traction in changing industries. So, the flat energy had nothing to do with the business opportunity. We’re there to meet you. Choosing to hide when you should be choosing to stand out sends a subliminal message that may be wholly inaccurate. Just wanted you raise awareness that we missed the