Fix your eyes forward on what you can do, not back on what you cannot change.
/ Tom Clancy /
Changes in the company are not always associated with positive feelings. However, there is a way how to break this stereotype – to approach change with a positive view. Why positive approach? Are you sure someone is using the negative approach? Directly – no. However, it is normal that our daily life consists of problems to be addressed.
The traditional psychology mainly deals with an identification and elimination of disturbing factors. To solve the problem, you first need to understand what type of problem is it. This principle is widely used in medicine: first, examine the patient and find the problem, then match the most appropriate treatment method and means.
This way of thinking has deeply rooted in human psychology, so often found in business organizations – to focus on search for root causes of problems and its elimination.
What are the alternatives?
The alternative is to focus on desired results and the solutions that contribute to the achievement of results. The point is the belief that it is more useful to focus on the advantages, opportunities and desired outcomes rather than on the problems, weaknesses and failures.
This does not mean that the problems therefore doesn’t exist. They exist, and it is natural that people want to get rid of them. However, the focus on the opportunities, benefits, on what the people really want to achieve, and on things that already work well, can provide much more rapid development and create positive change in company culture.
Some of you might argue that these are two sides of the same coin. Not quite. If you want to see a visible difference of these two approaches, just ask one of your employees, what he or she is doing wrong or bad in a particular situation. Write down the answers. After a while, ask the same person, what he or she is doing right or good (even if he or she is in a difficult situation). You’ll get answers that will be totally different from the first ones.
The power lies in the question: which of these answers best describes the resources and motivation necessary to achieve a desired results?
Positive psychology
In many organizations, employees’ strengths and talents are taken for granted and the focus is more on filling the gaps. Identifying weaknesses, employees are sent for training in order to improve them. But this is not employees ‘development’, it is filling the gaps.
According to management guru Peter Drucker, many people do not know what are their strengths and talents. When you ask them this question, they do not know what to answer, because they have not thought in such categories.
The positive approach method is characterized by the deliberate pursuit of the best in people, organizations and environment around them. The world today has many adherents and practitioners of this method. The method is based on ability to ask questions which promote awareness of the organization’s potential. Very effective solution to this situation is business coaching which can be easily obtained and used by every manager.
Focus on results
This method has three basic principles:
- do not fix what does not work;
- find what works, and amplify it;
- stop doing what does not work, and start doing something else.
The more problems are discussed, the greater is the tendency to sink deeper in them and, as a result, more time is spent for finding solutions how to prevent them. By contrast, the more there are discussions about the desired results, the more time is devoted to finding solutions how to achieve these results.
Problems by their very nature belong to the past, but solutions and results – to the future. The good news is that we can choose to which direction dedicate the most time.