What is Positive Psychology Coaching for Positive Leadership
The answer to what drives exceptional performance in business is considered the ‘holy grail’ and organisations invest millions in people, training and coaching to achieve this aim.
There is growing evidence that supports the link between happy employees and improved organisational performance (Lyubomirsky, King & Diener, 2005; Gladis, 2013; Cameron, Leutscher & Calarco, 2011). Positive psychology coaching focuses on the application of the scientific theory and research that supports the aspirations of positive leadership. Therefore it is not surprising that positive psychology coaching for positive leadership (PPCPL) has evolved.
PPCPL is both inward (self-leadership) and outward (leading others/leadership impact) focused. It can be applied to develop positive leadership in individuals and to support leaders to apply positive leadership strategies in their organisations.
It’s underpinning intention is to support holistic thriving at all levels. It encourages leaders to consider the climate they operate in and the climate they create to enable the conditions for exceptional performance.
A key focus of positive psychology coaching is to enhance wellbeing (Green & Palmer, 2019). There is a strong evidence-base for the impact of wellbeing on engagement (Witters & Agrawal, 2015) and a strong relationship between organisational climate, employee engagement and wellbeing (Viitala, Tanskanen & Soantti, 2015; Schaufeli, 2016).
It follows that positive psychology coaching in leadership could be applied to improve wellbeing, employee engagement and impact positive organisational climate.
Applying PPCPL in organisations has the potential to improve wellbeing both explicitly and implicitly. There are a growing number of research studies linking wellbeing and performance (Zelenski, Murphy, & Jenkins, 2008). Given that positive psychology coaching supports improved wellbeing (Fordyce, 1977; Lyubomirsky, Dickerhoof, Boehm & Sheldon, 2011) and higher levels of wellbeing are associated with improved organisational performance, one might expect that the application of PPCPL to support exceptional performance would be an advantage. Furthermore, PPCPL can support the application of wellbeing in organisations in a fully integrated way, becoming part of the ‘who we are’ of the organisation as well as the ‘what we do’.
PPCPL has grand ambitions, to unleash the heliotropic effect and create positive deviance. In my experience one of the biggest challenges to making this happen is getting the buy-in and support of the leadership team. Leaders, even with the best intentions, are measured on the achievement of short-term results. There is a constant conflict between balancing the demands of short-term, profit-driven, stakeholder requirements and positive relationships, positive communications, positive meaning and positive climate. For positive psychology coaching in positive leadership to truly impact those grand ambitions, the commitment of the executive team to fully embrace positive leadership is needed. To facilitate some of the shifts in awareness and behaviour that may be required, along with some of the ways of working, cultural norms and values to develop positive leadership and all that it entails is not a quick fix for any organisation. Positive psychology coaching in positive leadership takes time, effort and commitment on both the leader and the organisation’s part which can be a disadvantage.
When there is partial commitment, the danger is, that there may be significant improvements in pockets of the organisation with particular leaders/teams, however there may not be enough to create the momentum that is required to build across the organisation. This can be frustrating for the individual who has fully committed to the concept of positive leadership and finds their efforts blocked due to an inability to influence a positive climate. The result of this can be both an undermining in the credibility of PPCPL or a departure of talent from the organisation as they seek to find an environment where they can practice freely.
There is limitless potential for PPCPL in organisations. As an approach it offers flexibility in how and where it can be applied. It has the capacity to be used to support the individual leader in their self-development, in applying positive leadership strategies within their organisation and in applying positive psychology coaching skills with their teams. Additionally, for the positive psychology coach, PPCPL offers a wide range of tools and approaches to support their personal development and the development of their coaching practice.
PPCPL is in its infancy, yet there is a strong research base demonstrating the impact of many of the components of both concepts. Conceptually, that PPCPL would effectively support organisations to achieve exceptional performance creating a heliotropic effect makes sense. The concepts of positive leadership and positive organisations are attractive. This leaves PPCPL open to becoming the latest organisational fad with well-meaning individuals taking the concepts and applying them without full understanding of the underlying science. Therefore the need for further research to build the evidence base is necessary to give PPCPL the scientific backing and credibility it deserves.
References
Cameron, K., Mora, C., Leutscher, T., & Calarco, M. (2011). Effects of positive practices on organizational effectiveness. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 47(3), 266–308. doi:10.1177/0021886310395514.
Fordyce, M.W. (1977). Development of a program to increase personal happiness. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 24, 511–521.
Gladis, S. (2013). Positive leadership: The game changer at work. Steve Gladis Leadership Partners: Annandale, VA.
Green, S. & Palmer, S. (Eds.) (2019). Positive Psychology Coaching in Practice. London. Routledge.
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803.
Lyubomirsky, S., Dickerhoof, R., Boehm, J. K., & Sheldon, K. M. (2011). Becoming happier takes both a will and a proper way: an experimental longitudinal intervention to boost well-being. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 11(2), 391–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022575
Schaufeli, W. B. (2016). Heavy work investment, personality and organizational climate. Journal of Managerial Psychology 31(6), 1057–1073. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-07-2015-0259
Viitala, R., Tanskanen, J., & Soantti, R. (2015). The connection between organizational climate and well-being at work. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 23(4), 606–620. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-10-2013-0716
Witters, D. & Agrawal, S. (2015). Well-Being Enhances Benefits of Employee Engagement. Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/186386/enhances-benefits-employee- engagement.aspx?g_source=WORKPLACE&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles
Zelenski, J. M., Murphy, S. A., & Jenkins, D. A. (2008). The happy-productive worker thesis revisited. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(4), 521–537. Retrieved from https://doi. org/10.1007%2Fs10902-008-9087-4
Adrienne O’Hare
Executive Coach
To Be Coaching
