Category: POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

If you’re struggling to ‘build’ or restructure your organisational culture, you’re probably grappling with a little-known paradox. You can’t shape culture from within that culture, because the culture is shaping you. As a positive psychology trainer with a background in anthropology, I see the task of redefining cultural norms is exactly the same as trying to see a blind spot.

Only people with a real blind spot (and I am one of them) know that you never can see a blind spot. So, the commonly used metaphor of exposing a blind spot in order to gain insight just doesn’t work. If you have a blind spot, although you know it is there, your perception is still always influenced by the ‘whole’ in your visual field. Thus, despite knowing you have areas of blindness, you will still inevitably collide with objects that fall into the blind spot. To prevent this happening, you therefore need to adapt the way you look at the world.

Exactly the same principle applies to ‘seeing’ problematic aspects of organisational culture. A trainer or facilitator situated within a business cannot fully understand the culture of that business, simply because they are part of it. This doesn’t mean internal efforts to build culture are doomed. However, it does mean it’s wise to broaden your perspective and get input from outside the system in order to accelerate your culture change efforts.

As a positive psychology trainer with a bent for the anthropological, here are three ways I suggest you do this.

• Pay attention to the gap between what people say and what they actually do. Culture change experts call this the gap between espoused theory and theory in use.
• Seek input from people outside your system. This can include customers, industry experts and culture change consultants.
• Focus your efforts on strengthening what’s working, rather than trying to eliminate what isn’t working. Being strengths focused shifts your attention to activities which will improve engagement far more than punishing people for so-called negative behavioural norms.

During the chaos of pandemic change that characterised 2020, did you notice how organisations with positive cultures thrived? This isn’t a coincidence. This is why all leaders and organisational development experts should take culture seriously. Make reflecting on and shaping culture an ongoing process, though. In this way, you will develop the reflective practices that we advocate in every session we develop in our Learn with Eleanor Shakiba online programs.

If you’re interested in using positive psychology training tools to develop thriving organisational cultures, download my free e-book, Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners.

About the author: Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor consults in the area of culture-building and behaviour change training. Her customers are people who want to embed positive psychology in teams and organisations. Since 1994, she has been teaching talented professionals how to think, communicate and lead in ways that build success. Eleanor holds qualifications in Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners. Download your free copy here.

Imagine a business where everyone is committed, engaged and inspired to do their best. A workplace where people are resilient, positive and creative. You can build that business by working on your organisational culture. The science of positive psychology provides concrete steps leaders can take to shape workplace culture and build flourishing teams.

Anthropologists define culture as ‘a way of life’. Culture impacts how people think, speak and behave. But what about ‘organisational culture’? It is probably a term you throw around regularly. Do you actually know what it means? The idea that the culture of an organisation influences the actions of workers was introduced in 1951, by Dr Elliott Jaques. He studied the development and impact of corporate group behaviours. His conclusion was that the overall culture of an organisation guides the actions of everyone working there.

A social psychologist named Edgar Schein made the term ‘organisational culture’ popular. He defined culture as the “beliefs, values and interactions followed by a group”. He also pointed out subcultures emerge in large organisations. For example, a business division or regional group may operate differently to other parts of the organisation. This point is particularly relevant if you work in a multi-national organisation.

In 2011, Flamholtz and Randle claimed that organisational culture is equal to the ‘corporate personality’. They defined organisational cultures as being an outcome of the beliefs, values and norms people adhere to. However, it is important to recognise that most people are not consciously aware of their beliefs, values and norms. As positive psychology trainers know all too well, gaps often exist between what people say and what they do. For example, a leader might claim to value employee input. At meanings, though, everyone might be afraid to speak up because the leader does not tolerate new ideas.

Over the years, positive psychology trainers have developed a variety of techniques and practices for driving a cultural change within an organisation. Before an organisation can change its culture, you need to have clearly defined values and behaviours for others to follow. People cannot fit into a culture if they don’t know that it exists. Translate the values that you want to achieve into actionable behaviours. For example, if you want to promote inclusiveness, provide real-world solutions for achieving this goal.

Leaders need to take a detailed look at current policies and practices to determine what works and what needs to change. Keep the elements of your organisational culture that work well and promote your goals.

Focus more on the strengths of your organisational culture. In positive psychology, identifying and enabling a positive trait is believed to foster greater resilience. By focusing on what works, you naturally begin shifting the culture of your organisation.

After devising a plan and setting a new agenda, it is up to the leaders to set an example. Supervisors and managers need to adopt the changes if you want the rest of the workforce to follow them. Measuring your efforts is also essential. You cannot evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies without monitoring the impact. Use concrete metrics to measure employee engagement, morale and productivity to determine whether your culture is shifting toward the positive.

You know as soon as you walk into an organisation with a vibrant culture. There is a buzz of positive conversation and energy levels are high. You notice people solving problems together and finding constructive solutions to challenging situations. If your business doesn’t have this type of culture yet, it’s time to start learning more about positive leadership and culture change. By actively setting the values and beliefs for an organisation, you can get others to follow the same vision. Contact Eleanor Shakiba for more advice on how to build a positive organisational culture, using positive psychology training techniques.

About the author: Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor consults in the areas of culture-building and behaviour change training. Her customers are people who want to embed positive psychology in teams and organisations. Since 1994, she has been teaching talented professionals how to think, communicate and lead in ways that build success. Eleanor holds qualifications in Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners. Download your free copy here.

Having a fixed mindset is a significant barrier to learning. It creates defensive reactions to feedback, resistance to change and an inability to concede or collaborate with others. This is why positive psychology trainers and positively deviant leaders focus on helping people develop the growth mindset attitude.

Growth mindset is characterised by curiosity, openness to learning and flexibility. For example, when Covid19 restrictions first hit Sydney, coffee shops experienced a sudden drop in trade. Many cafés in my area shut their doors, only re-opening when Jobkeeper subsidies were introduced. But one café stood out. The owners went into solution focused mode. First, they introduced a new range of take away meals and streamlined service delivery. Next, they started producing funny videos, in which they sent themselves up and kept customers smiling. While other coffee shops floundered, this one flourished.

What fascinated me was the owners’ natural response to adversity. Instead of dwelling on what was going wrong, they adapted. This is the essence of growth mindset. People operating from the growth mindset perspective naturally take solution focused responses to problems and setbacks. Often, they don’t even register that a ‘problem’ exists, because they are so busy creating pathways to success. When this happens, people become open to new ideas and take new approaches to both life and work. So how can a trainer or leader help an employee shift from fixed mindset to growth mindset mode?

The most significant thing we can do is teach the skill of cognitive reframing. Have you completed any programs in my Learn with Eleanor Shakiba training series? Then you’ll know that perspective-shifting is a skill I teach in every program. It involves changing your perspective on a situation or problem. Drawing on positive psychology training techniques, the simplest ways to do this are:

• Actively challenging flawed chains of assumption
• Looking for a context in which a seemingly problematic situation would benefit you
• Interpreting a negative in a positive light

Mastering even one of these techniques can significantly shift an individual’s mindset. This will result in higher levels of happiness and well-being, which inevitably translates into authentic engagement and participation in workplace activities. The bottom line is, cognitive reframing is one of the key positive psychology training techniques that can foster the development of a vibrant workplace culture.

If you’d like to find out more how to use positive psychology in your training and development activities, download Eleanor Shakiba’s Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners.

About the author: Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a positive psychology trainer and coach. Her passion is teaching skills for positive thinking, proactive communication and purposeful leadership. Her clients work in academia, education, IT, engineering, finance and health. Eleanor is qualified in Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming. She’s the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners, a free resource for trainers.

When dealing with a stressful situation, it’s easy to assume the worst. This is particularly true if you’ve taken on patterns of ‘learned helplessness’ or pessimistic thinking. However, you can extract yourself from worry loops by shifting your thinking habits. Instead of focusing on the negative, consider changing the way that you look at the problem. This is a technique you’ll learn in any resilience training or positive psychology workshop.

So, what is cognitive reframing? It’s one of the most-used stress relief strategies. Cognitive reframing involves changing the way that you look at something. By reframing your perspective of a situation, you minimise the perceived stress, allowing you to focus on overcoming your challenge. Here’s a closer look at how it works.

The use of cognitive reframing as a positive psychology technique comes from the development of cognitive therapy in the 1960s. Aaron Beck is considered the father of cognitive therapy. During his time working with patients who suffered from depression, Beck noticed a common theme among his patients. They often dwelled on negative thoughts and found negativity in everyday situations.

Beck developed a process called ‘cognitive restructuring’, which involves turning a negative thought into a positive thought. Over the years, psychologists have studied the effectiveness of Beck’s technique. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has become a recommended option for treating everything from eating disorders and depression to mental illness and marital problems.

In recent years, many psychologists have explored how negative thinking promotes stress and exacerbates mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. This group includes Harry Mills, Natali Reiss and Mark Dombeck. The trio has published work on the impact of stress and how cognitive reframing can help.

The group argues that ignoring the problem promotes decreased cognitive function and an increased risk of anxiety disorders and personality changes. Luckily, anyone can practice cognitive reframing techniques.

The concept behind cognitive reframing revolves around the fact that most people are hard-wired to focus on the negative more than the positive. Cognitive reframing involves replacing negative thoughts with positive ones to alter the way that you think about a situation or problem. 

There are many techniques for reframing your perception of things.

Self-monitoring

The first step of cognitive reframing is self-monitoring. You need to learn to recognise negative feelings before you can change them. Recognising negative emotions helps you detect the patterns that tend to trigger your anxieties and stress.

For example, if you tend to feel anxious about public speaking, you may notice that the anxiety increases in specific situations. Finding this common thread makes it easier to catch negative thoughts before they get the better of you.

Question your assumptions

Cognitive reframing also typically involves questioning your assumptions. You need to challenge your thoughts to determine if they are illogical or biased. For example, when you have a negative thought, you may ask yourself, “What evidence do I have to prove that this thought is accurate?” Questioning the reasons for your anxiety helps you change the way you deal with the situation.

Analyse the pros and cons

After questioning your assumptions, you may still hold on to negativity. In these situations, you should weigh the pros and cons in a cost-benefit analysis. Determine the advantages and disadvantages of your negative thinking. In most cases, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

Introduce alternatives

The next step is to introduce alternative thoughts. Generating positive thoughts helps you challenge your tendency to think negatively and find solutions to your problems.

If you’re tired of letting stress and anxiety overtake your thoughts, it’s time to focus on the positive. Cognitive reframing strategies and resilience training allow you to change your perspective. Consider working with positive psychology trainers to develop new methods for overcoming stressful situations. Contact Eleanor Shakiba to discuss the best cognitive reframing techniques for uplifting your team.

About the author: Eleanor Shakiba

Eleanor is a positive psychology trainer and coach. Her passion is teaching skills for positive thinking, proactive communication and purposeful leadership. Her clients work in academia, education, IT, engineering, finance and health. Eleanor is qualified in Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming. She’s the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D Practitioners, a free resource for trainers.

Want evidence that positive psychology can benefit your business? Then you need to read Positive Leadership. It’s my second-favourite leadership book (my top pick being The Fifth Disciple). Straightforward and easy to read, Positive Leadership looks at the theory behind positive psychology and transforms key models into a leadership toolkit. The book provides practical strategies for developing positive leadership in any organisation.  

Clear and to the point, the book is data–driven and includes clear objectives. Cameron argues that great leaders take action to create positive organisational climates, build positive relationships, promote constructive communication and help people find meaning in their work. He then provides a range of tips and techniques for using these steps in your business.  

Read Positive Leadership if you’re serious about organisational change, culture-building, innovation or capitalising on the power of positive deviance in your business. It’s a great resource for human resource business partners, OD specialists, leadership trainers and facilitators.  

About the author of this review

Eleanor Shakiba specialises in teaching smart people to use positive thinking and communication patterns to achieve success. She is passionate about using positive psychology to develop talented, high performing people. Eleanor’s qualifications are in the fields of Social Anthropology, Positive Psychology, Counselling, Coaching, Adult Education and Neuro Linguistic Programming. She loves working with people who make a positive difference to the world.  

What’s your first instinct when you receive a gift? To say “Thank you”, of course! But there are different ways to say thank you that can have different impacts on relationships. Interestingly, research has shown that the best way to show gratitude is by focusing on the gift-giver, rather than the gift. An interview with Barbara Fredrickson on ‘elegant social coordination’ revealed this. She found relationships improved significantly when thanks were given to the person, not just for the gift. Positive psychology trainers love examples like this, because they show how powerful everyday communication can be.

Next time you receive a gift, don’t talk about the details of the present. Instead, express your gratitude to the giver. Tell them they are kind and thoughtful and they put a smile on your face. Saying that will help put a smile on theirs.

About the author of this fast fact:

Eleanor Shakiba is a master trainer. She runs workshops in positive psychology techniques such as positive deviance, learned optimism, constructive communication and positive leadership. Eleanor can help your people build a thriving business, and a flourishing workplace culture. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs a range of retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators.

Higher motivation in employees leads to better work performance. This is no secret. However, there are ways to effectively manage motivation to accelerate team strength and productivity. Positive psychology is a powerful tool that can inspire teammates to motivate themselves, so the burden is not completely on the manager.

In fact, managers who understand that they alone are not the catalyst for team change often do much better in leading their teams. Inspiration should be outsourced to those who are really benefitting from the work that your organisation does.

Here is a great example. Harvard Business Review published a study on a growing body of research that shows how effective different types of motivation can be. It showed that the best way to inspire others is by having customers, patients and clients spread positive word about your organisation all on their own. A radiology patient showed a photograph of an x-ray to a team of radiologists who didn’t even work with this particular patient. But seeing that photograph inspired them to take a more focused approach to their x-rays, which improved their diagnostic accuracy by 46%.

This is effective proof that that hearing from the patients and customers is a great way to inspire a team towards more positive change. Managers and leaders are great at delivering speeches and pointing out positive deviants in their field. But when partnering with those who benefit from your organisation’s services, motivation can be boosted even further.

Here is another example. Wells Fargo bankers were shown a series of videos from customers talking about how much their lives improved since they were able to take debt-saving loans. This was the biggest catalyst of inspiration for these bankers, who improved their productivity rates afterwards.

Want to know how to stay motivated and inspired? Follow Eleanor Shakiba on Facebook or LinkedIn for more positive psychology facts!

About the author of this article:

Eleanor Shakiba is passionate about helping talented people flourish professionally. She coaches and trains high performers who want to excel in business. Her core expertise is in positive psychology. Eleanor is the author of the Positive Psychology Toolkit for HR and L&D practitioners. She also runs master practitioner level retreats and workshops for trainers and facilitators.