One of the many topics covered in the recent Coaching in Leadership and Medicine conference I attended in Boston was that of "Positivity". Now like many people, I used to view the fluffy attitude of thinking positively as being rather non descript and very closely linked with new age pop psychology and not terribly grounded in research. Now I know I am wrong. After listening to Barbara Fredrickson speak for two hours and then reading her book called, yes, "Positivity" I have a completely different view of the value of creating positve emotions in ourselves, our client, our co-workers or any team that we are part of and have influence over! I'll let you read it for youself but in summary:
Extensive research shows:
* Positivity doesn't simply reflect success and health, it can produce success and health.
* Positivity broadens and builds (broadens our ideas about possible actions and builds new skills, new ties and new ways of being).
* How much is enough? 3 to 1 positive to negative emotions is the ideal ratio. Not 3-0. Negative emotions are part of life and help us deal with sadness, injustice, loss or other challenging situations.
* Positivity has to be "heartfelt" or it doesn't count!
* Your thoughts can create positivity. "What's working well for me right now?"
The research showed improvements in the following areas when participants were put in a positive state before experimenting:
* Creativity increases
* Scope of attention increases
* Positivity has an upward spiral effect
* Relationships improve due to the change from "me" to "we" view.
* Positive emotions eliminated racial biais in recognition experiment (you have to read this experiment to truly appreciate the impact it could have!)
* And this one I love - people in diverse groups are inspired by positivity to set aside divisive group identities.
I experienced this latter fact in the summit that followed the conference where 68 very different people came together to discuss and agree upon the future of health and wellness coaching. Read my refelctions below which I was moved to write after experiencing a process of appreciative inquiry which created a huge change in the group and helped produce unexpected outcomes.
"We went into the retreat as a group of individuals wearing our positions, experiences, our qualifications and knowledge as a cloak. Some people’s cloaks were bigger, better and more brightly colored than others. We shared on e thing – a desire to have an agenda met.
We left having discarded our cloaks, holding the structure of a plan which had turned all our individual agendas into a collective dream that could be realized.
Along the way we transformed by letting go of fear, by getting in touch with our strengths and by having blinkers removed that allowed us to see others’ strengths. We became the best of who we were and in this state everyone flourished. Fear, suspicion and competition were replaced by warmth, affection, humour and appreciation. Energy became contagious so that each person was engaged and inspired to offer their best.
How did this happen? By the process of appreciative inquiry, negativity was knocked on the head. Instead we agreed to take off our cloaks and appear vulnerable to each other. From this new place we saw who we really were and recognized commonalities not differences. It was a shining example of how a simple process can harness all that’s good in the world and infuse each individual with hope, love and excitement.
A truly awesome experience."
The ten identified positive emotions in Fredrickson's work are precise - joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love. Get to know each one personally. Your work and personal life could change. The conference I attended brought home to me how my work in wellnesss coaching is so parallel and appropriate for use in the corporate world. The very fact that the conference was focused on "Coaching in Leadership and Medicine" backs this up. It really was an amazing event and the speakers each brought the same message. We need a new approach to make a better world.
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