The impact of a positive mindset
Positive Psychology is a term you hear more and more often in connection with employee performance and optimizing work environment. The term refers to how can improve your motivation and performance through your changing your attitude in certain situations. The fact that management behavior have a big impact on the work environment in teams and organizations, has encouraged several companies to introduce their managers to positive psycology.
Together with our network partner Strandgaard & Co we facilitated a workshop for a group of managers from Lundbeck on how to use positive psychology to change unfavorable habits in their teams and support creative and positive thinking. Through theory and practical exercises, we supplied them with knowledge and tools for becoming more aware and alert in their management roles: How to identify and develop personal strategies for flow and energy in daily work situations and to positively affect their surroundings.
We’ve all experienced to feel stressed and drained of energy after a workday. We tend to blame it on the boss, the difficult clients or the daily traffic jam. However, little changes can have big effects. Meeting your colleagues with a positive attitude and optimism instead of stress and short answers creates a very different energy at your work place. We all make these choises many times a day, when we interact with other people. Some situations may be more challenging to change into something positive than others. But in the end it is our own choise, if today’s budget meeting is going to be a dread or a unique possibility to talk about opportunities and (positive) change.
Here is a good little exercise for you: For one day, try to be aware of and focus on things that make you happy, organize your space and devote some time to activities you enjoy. Alone or with collegues. What fosters “A good work day” for you? We think we could all need a new perspective these days
Create the best on the basis of the worst
January 20 framework identity received “Business in Berlin”, a new network for Scandinavians doing business in Berlin.
After a presentation about tangibility – how to make corporate identities and processes attractive, easy to understand and tangible it was our guests turn to brainstorm: How do we create an interesting, attractive network?
We decided to try out negative brainstorming: Asked people to describe the worst network in the world, to describe an extreme scenario. Quite fun, actually, an far away from our normal Appreciative inquiry approach, where we always focus on what organisations what more of or new – not what they want to get away from.
In brainstorming and development it is a fun tool to think in scenarios, in extremes. After the negative brainstorming we did a positive brainstorming and found out, that you can’t just turn the negative scenario 180°, make it positive and thereby create the perfect scenario. The negative scenario becomes a platform for thinking new.
I’m sure this is also usefull in these finansial crisis times!
