How Positive Psychology Makes You A Better Boss

The workplace is vastly different today from what it was in the 1970s. Globalization supplies a rich, complex, and diverse working environment. Success in this environment needs teamwork and effective communication. Folks from around the world with many divergent backgrounds work together daily. We understand that we need to support one another. Effective leaders understand positive psychology. However, it has never been as crucial as it is today.

If You Want To Be A Better Boss — Understand Psychology

If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.” — Abraham Maslow

Most people believe that the only job you can get with a psychology degree is a psychologist. However, it is a versatile degree. Psychology is helpful in fields like advertising and marketing, customer service, business leadership, and even engineering.

Previously I shared insight regarding how engineering education provides an excellent foundation for understanding the world through systems thinking. However, it is not enough. A full understanding needs diverse perspectives. Learning about the humanities and arts broadens our thinking. From an individual standpoint, it is essential to understand and offer our career capital to be a part of the solution. This insight applies equally to the fields mentioned above.

Having psychology training will help you learn how to become a better boss. You will improve outcomes within your organization.

Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success.” — Scott Adams

Make Yourself More Hireable

Understanding how humans think and behave makes you more hireable. It builds your talent stack and increases your career capital. Employers are experiencing first hand the value of psychology training in their leadership. Business leaders trained in this field job are in high demand. Moreover, you can be a better boss when your power skills include your ability to communicate with clarity, lead decisively, have empathy for other employees, build consensus and inspires others.

As identified in The CEO Next Door, those who reach top management share four key behaviours:

• They are decisive
• They are relentlessly reliable
• They adapt boldly
• They engage with stakeholders without shying away from conflict

You can master these behaviours. They are all strengthened with psychology training.

Create Ongoing Opportunities for Employees to Evolve

In Industry 4.0, workers want fulfilling work, not just a job. They want to:

• have jobs with purpose
• be able to advance in their careers
• take on new challenges
• evolve
• stay engaged

Thus, outstanding leaders need to be looking for opportunities for each employee. They must be able to see beyond what employees say. Most people will not tell you right out what they want.

Moreover, they may not even know what they want in the first place. So as a leader, you need to be able to read between the lines and understand non-verbal clues about what your team members need. I encourage clients to follow their micro-motives, seek learning feedback, and adopt a dark horse mindset. You can lead both groups and individuals to produce beneficial outcomes that will set you apart as a great leader.

Positive Psychology Promotes Growth

The aim of Positive Psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life. – Martin Seligman

It is not just employee fulfilment that demands constant growth and change from the workforce. The demands and job descriptions continually evolve. Your employees need to be able to keep up. In one employer survey, 61 percent of business leaders believed that employee job roles have transformed.

If positive psychology teaches us anything, it is that all of us are a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. No one has it all, and no one lacks it all. — Christopher Peterson

It is your responsibility to help your employees grow and improve throughout their time at your company. A person’s abilities and enthusiasm when they are hired should not be static. However, in many cases, it declines. Successful leaders ensure that this does not happen. People develop and change during employment, and leaders can use positive psychology to help ensure that this growth is positive.

It’s lonely at the top. 99% of people are convinced they are incapable of achieving great things, so they aim for mediocre. The level of competition is thus fiercest for ‘realistic’ goals, paradoxically making them the most competitive.”-Tim Ferriss

Using positive psychology, leaders find, develop, and use the strengths of their employees. They help team members manage their weaknesses. Leaders use the concepts of positive psychology to instil a “growth mindset” in their employees: effort, continual and collaborative feedback, and informal collaboration to improve. In today’s environment, working toward a shared purpose can help leaders develop and guide the growth process for each employee.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. — John Quincy Adams

In leadership, relationships are the most crucial factor

Positive psychology requires frequent communication between employees and you. I recommend weekly scheduled checking. This approach helps team members feel valued. You are creating a safe, productive, and friendly environment. There is nothing more potent than regular positive and constructive two-way communication.

To Manage People Better — Understand Human Behaviours

When I look at the world, I'm pessimistic, but when I look at people, I am optimistic." — Carl Rogers

If you are trying to know how to be a better boss, you first need to understand human behaviour. Understand where your team members are coming from and why they do what they do, enables you to empathize and communicate effectively.

A working grasp of the concepts of positive psychology provides you with the tools you need to manage people more effectively. You will:

• reduce turnover
• boost productivity
• better understand your team’s needs and know how to support them
• be able to develop each employee individually, helping them to feel valued, empowered, and fulfilled

Moreover, you will be able to create a sense of loyalty and camaraderie among your team. This support leads to business growth and success. Positive psychology can be the key to effective communication and better leadership!

We offer a behavioural competencies model — the ladder of leadership — for every level of leadership. Understanding the essential ten competencies needed for success is critical. You will understand your natural strengths that to need to use and know the other areas that you will need to develop strategies to manage.

Doing Hard Things Can Build Character

Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice." — William James

So, you think you are too busy to take psychology training; life is not always about travelling down the easy road. Our most significant learning experiences are those brought on by adversity and challenge. During these times, you learn a great deal about yourself, your strengths, and your weaknesses.

Sometimes it is vital for you to do things even if you do not necessarily enjoy or want to engage in the activity. For an ardent introvert, starting daily conversations with your team members would be an excellent example of an unwanted task that might lead to an unexpected reward.

So, challenge yourself to learn about and practice positive psychology. You may find it to be uncomfortable. However, see what skills and knowledge you gain from experience.