by Janette Kirk-Willis | February, 2022 | coaching, Janette Kirk-Willis
Why use Appreciative Inquiry in your coaching practice? We have so many positive psychology interventions to choose from, so why would we choose appreciative Inquiry (AI)? Positive psychology has a close relationship with AI, both start at a positive standpoint and look at the positive over negative, the potential of an individual rather than their weaknesses or areas for development and it’s forward-thinking – it really focusses on the future rather than dwelling on and revisiting the past. What is AI? AI was developed in the United States by David Cooperrider, originally as a change methodology for organisations going through transformational change. AI was then ‘adopted’ by the Positive Psychology movement as a tool for individual development because AI helps people to create an image of the future that will help to ‘pull’ them towards a new, preferred way of living. The position that AI comes from is that every situation offers the opportunity for learning, development, and personal happiness. AI is a person-centered approach to change, and a form of ‘positive questioning’, focused on the individual, they are actively involved in their ‘change process’ from the very start. The process of positive questioning enables them to reframe their personal narrative and grow as a person through their current challenges. AI and strengths AI is a process that looks at life through a strengths lens. Strengths are defined as qualities that we have and use such as creativity, curiosity, wisdom, compassion, persistence, love, tenacity, perseverance, courage and kindness (as opposed to a skill like using Excel or being good at woodwork) We know that when we use...
by Lisa Jones | November, 2020 | coaching, Lisa Jones
Do you ever think about who you are? Do you say you are an introvert, extrovert, creative, energetic, or some other descriptor? Often we speak of wanting to be our ‘best selves’, or we might say we ‘we weren’t at our best’. That indicates that who we are at any given time is not fixed, yet we often give ourselves a label as though we are static. People who recognise that they are more complex than a simple label tend to learn and grow more easily than those that fix their identity. This post looks at the psychology of the multiple self and how it is a far more accurate and healthy to think of ourselves as organisms with complex brain networks that live within context. Starting with our brains Recent neuroscience has demonstrated that the brain and the neurological network that operates it are very complex and multifunctional. Out of this complex network comes our thoughts, emotions, memories, perceptions and actions. Importantly this is possible because we make meaning from our experiences. The brain doesn’t have pre-programmed parts that trigger things like emotions, thoughts, or actions. Instead, each of us constructs ‘categories’ that have been formed by the experiences we have. We have many of these categories that are used to predict which one is more suitable for the moments we have. Our brains are primarily a predictive organ that makes sense of each moment and does its best to find the right thought, emotion, or action for this particular moment. Living in context It would be more accurate to see ourselves as beings that use predictive categories...
