We know from experience and also research that when people are positive and feel confident, they are better able to tap into their personal resources and perform at a higher level. When organizations can create positive cultures and environments where their people feel valued and safe, when they are aware of their personal strengths and the collective strengths of the organization, amazing things are possible. When we are looking for optimal results this is one of the keys to success. Organizations have long espoused that their people are their greatest asset, yet in most organizations we see little evidence of this in their actions. There is much talk about employee engagement, and again that seems to be elusive to many organizations. I think organizations want to accomplish this, but rely on traditional approaches that we know don’t work. When Corporation for Positive Change consultants partner with our clients to bring about an important change necessary for success, this is exactly what we help the organization to achieve. We create a safe space to conduct positive dialogue that helps the people and the organization to surface their strengths and beliefs in their ability to work together to bring about important change. This is true whether the desired change is focused on a day-to-day change, or involves a major transformational change. This is how the collective wisdom of the entire group can be harnessed in the interest of achieving extraordinary results. This confidence is exactly what is needed to stretch and imagine making a big leap forward, and accomplish the needed change. This confidence allows them to believe they together can achieve it, especially because they constructed it together. What people co-construct they are committed to. When this is coupled with leaders who believe in their people and are willing to give them the reins to move forward, things can be achieved that no one would have believed was possible.
Tenny Poole is Co-Principal of Corporation for Positive Change and Principal of West Coast Center for Positive Change in Orange County, CA.