There is no doubt about it, 2009 has begun with a regular diet of bad news! And it will likely continue for a little while yet. Economic crisis, intractable wars, climate change and all of it seems to be heading in the wrong direction! It is going to be a challenge to rise above this wave of negativity and maintain a positive perspective on our lives, our work and our relationships. Yes, we do live in challenging times but we run the risk of creating a self fulfilling prophecy about the future that is limiting, restrictive and fear based. And that just spirals to nowhere.

One of the real challenges for leaders is to build a sense of confidence and hope – especially in difficult times. Interestingly, emerging research in the fields of Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry indicates that a focus on the positive is not just a case of ‘looking on the bright side’, a cute but essentially unrealistic thing to do, it’s actually a potent strategy for success.

Here are just 2 key principles from these fields together with some practical tips for integrating the principles into your leadership coaching approach...

#1 Positive Beats Negative

Much more than the power of positive thinking or mere ‘happiology’ this principle argues that the focus on positive strengths and past successes provides the energy for sustained change. Making change happen and sustaining it requires large amounts of positive energy.

Barbara Fredrickson’s¹ work on positive emotion has advanced thinking in this area through her ‘broaden and build theory.’ In essence Fredrickson’s research led her to conclude that certain positive emotions are not simply pleasant feelings but play a role in helping people ‘broaden’ thinking – creating more possibilities - and ‘build’ enduring personal resources that develop resilience and overall wellbeing. This increased resilience helps people bounce back from stresses and disappointments more quickly and more completely. Focusing on celebrating success and building on all that is currently working helps build confidence and resourcefulness for change.

Some ways of applying this principle include:

• Focus on the future and the positive things that you are moving towards, especially any positive emotions that will be experienced when the goal is achieved
• In assessing current Reality always encourage reflection on what IS working, as well as the barriers to success. This perspective highlights current positives and creates a sense of resourcefulness
• Help coaches reframe challenging situations so that other perspectives can enlarge the positive dimensions of any situation. You can help coaches reframe situations in a number of ways by helping your coachee consider the issue from the time perspective - “What will this look like in 10 years?” from the viewpoint of others – “How would this look through your manager’s eyes? To others in your team? To your friends?”
• Use humour and maintain a ‘lightness of touch’ in your coaching sessions

#2 Future Images Influence Current Behaviours

“People change in the direction of their images of the future”, claims David Cooperider, one of the founders of Appreciative Inquiry, arguing that the future is as much an influence on the present as the past. And positive images lead to positive futures becoming, in effect, self fulfilling prophecies. Positive images beget positive actions.

The GROWTH model leverages this principle with its focus on creating a positive image of the future in the form of the richly articulated, emotionally engaging goal it stimulates people to set. The more these images of future can be embellished using the whole range of sensory imagery the more powerfully they act as magnets pulling people towards that direction.

Some ways of applying this principle include:

• Build a repertoire of powerful questions to help your coaching partner articulate this outcome. Some you might start with include:
  
  
  • What specifically do you want to accomplish? How would things be better for you when that happens?
  • How will you know when you have achieved it?
  • What would you be hearing others say when you achieve this outcome?
  • Paint a picture of what’s happening when these changes are in place. Who will be involved?
• Use a 1-10 scale to precisely identify the end point your coaching partner is wanting to get to in the time period identified. Visualise ways of representing the gap from the current reality to the preferred future to provide a way of seeing ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’, a way of measuring progress and a way of building motivation to close the gap.
• Specifically explore what it will feel like to achieve the outcomes being considered and what it will feel like if the situation remains unchanged 6 months from now. The emotional dimension has a big impact on the level of commitment generated.
  
  Ask: “What benefits will you enjoy as a result of achieving this goal?”
           “What negative consquences will emerge if nothing changes here?”
  
  Tease out these ‘benefits’ and ‘losses’ in some detail to increase the tension between all the good things associated with success and all the less desirable things associated with non achievement.Thomas Chalmers a 19th century Scottish philosoher/theologian, argued for what he called the “...expulsive power of a new affection.” When we set our focus strongly and clearly on some new ‘affection’ it serves to expel the old, helping to make change possible.

So in 2009 we can make a big contribution to our team’s success by ensuring we counteract negative downward spiral thinking. And we can know that, while not ignoring problems and difficulties, the value of focusing on positive possibilities is more and more grounded in research. Doing this throughout the coming months will earn your team’s gratitude and increase your chances of achieving the results you are wanting.*

Have a big year of growth in 2009!


John and Mandy and the agc team.

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¹Fredrickson, B 2001, The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology. American Psychologist Vol 56, No.3

*This article is an edited version of a new chapter in the revised and updated Leadership Coaching Guide. It will be available on our webite in the next few weeks.