Positive Interventions

I visited the website featured on a recent newsletter (Click here: :: Authentic Happiness :: Using the new Positive Psychology founded by Dr. Martin Seligman, author of  Learned Optimism, and was captured by his latest research on happiness interventions.

What does this have to do with coaching, you may well ask.  After all, it’s hard enough to help someone change negative behavior; are we now expected to help them change negative feelings as well?

But as we’re all learned from experience (our own and our clients’), our actions are based on our feelings and never stray too far from one another.  So if our executive client is hyper critical of her co-workers, it’s very likely she’s even harder on herself.  Or if our coachee is finding it harder and harder to keep the balls in the air, chances are he’s not very happy or fulfilled.

The findings by this research suggest some useful exercises.  If they helped increase happiness, lowered depression, and lasted over six months time, they must have some powerful mojo.

For the full article (start halfway through a much longer article) Click here: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/images/apaarticle.pdf Out of five exercises they tried, the two with the biggest payoff were “Three good things in life” and “Using signature strengths in a new way.”  It’s the second that clearly connects to our coaching, but both have direct application, especially as we deal more and more with helping our clients find balance and fulfillment in their lives.

Three good things in life: Each night for a week, participants were asked to write down three things that went well that day and identify their causes.

From the definition of happiness in the article, a) positive emotion and pleasure, b) engagement, and c) meaning,  one can infer that recalling actual pleasant events from the day helps a person feel more positive or item a; feel engaged by delving into the reasons, item b; and in some cases see one’s own role in those happy events, and finding meaning in what has happened, item c.

At any rate, it beats drifting off to sleep worrying about the 153 emails awaiting you at work tomorrow or re-running your embarrassment in that meeting today.

Using signature strengths in a new way: Participants were asked to take the online inventory of character strengths (Click here: :: Authentic Happiness :: Using the new Positive Psychology) and receive individualized feedback about their top five. or  “signature,” strengths.  They were then directed to use one of those top strengths in a new and different way every day for one week.

These are likely things we already ask our coaching clients to do, perhaps in a less structured way.  See the article for the other three exercises that had less payoff or whose payoff was transient.  They are also similar to things we do to help our coaching clients access and build on their strengths.

The importance of these findings is that the outcome was more significant and longer-lasting for some than others.  The research gives us a jump start in finding ever more effective ways to help our coachees leverage their strengths.

* * * *

Yes! You may use this article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Martha Tilyard has spent nearly 25 years in her own consulting business, while at same time working as adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership. She has international experience, working with many types of businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Martha has developed an exclusive process for dealing with crises and difficult situations and envisioning a positive, powerful future. Using metaphor, clients are able to gain insight, perspective, and to see new possibilities. Martha holds a B.A. in English from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com.