A Research Paper By Ralitsa Antova, Transformational Coach, NETHERLANDS
Coaching With Character Strengths
Personal Relevance
Having lived with a chronical health condition, and the disability that came out of it, I`ve experienced first-hand how our experience of reality is determined by the focus of our attention and at the same time – impacted by the perspective that we take. After years of working out ways to tackle the acceptance of my diagnosis, understand potential root causes, and address patterns, I reached a level of exasperation. One thing was clear – constantly focusing on what is NOT working was not an approach that seemed sustainable in the long run. Without being able to put it in words, I intuitively felt that the right approach for me was to identify what was working well and build on it.
I first stumbled upon Positive Psychology via the work of Barbara Frederickson1, which was instrumental for my personal growth and also planted the seeds of what I now see as a bright new positive chapter in my career development. Experiencing the benefits of consciously cultivating and savoring positive emotions was literally life-changing. Initially, it had a visible impact on my overall mood and vitality, subsequently, it improved my overall outlook on life and finally allowed me to reach a stage where I could start accessing my inner resources and think about ways to improve my situation.
Over time I became more determined to learn more about Positive Psychology and further utilize its applications to improve the quality of my life. I did several courses on PP topics such as positive emotions and flourishing and soon after I got to know about the VIA institute2 and their character strengths assessment.
Identifying, exploring, and consciously applying my strengths was like learning a new language – one that brought me closer to myself; understanding and experiencing first-hand how character strengths and their application are linked link to job satisfaction, quality of life, and overall vitality was transformative. The aftermath of this was a change in all aspects of my life (work, diet, relationship, location, etc.) to align the external aspects of my life in alignment with my values and strengths. All of these changes effectively brought me in the direction of health and overall fulfillment.
Over the last two years, I have been on a journey towards certification as a professional coach. My current coaching approach is naturally informed by Positive Psychology and utilizes various underlying theories and evidence-based interventions. For the purpose of this research paper, I will focus on one area that I see as one of the cornerstones of my practice –coaching with character strengths.
Strengths-Based Coaching
Positive Psychology Coaching
Positive Psychology has been defined as “the science of the conditions that lead to optimal human flourishing (Gable & Heidt, 2005) and was officially introduced as a distinctive discipline in 1998 by Martin Seligman.
Subsequently, a distinction has been made between “Positive Psychology” as a research-based scientific discipline investigating the processes behind human flourishing (Gable & Heidt, 2005) as well as “Positive Psychology Interventions” which look at the application of positive psychology research into practice- the tools and techniques that aim to cultivate positive feelings, behaviors or cognitions (Sin and Lubomirskiy, 2009).
Coaching psychology has been defined as the “enhancement of well-being and performance in personal life and work domains underpinned by models of coaching grounded in child and adult learning approaches” (Grant and Palmer, 2002). Similarly to positive psychology and its applications in the form of positive psychology interventions, the applications of coaching psychology are in evidence-based coaching, defined as “the intelligent and conscious use of best current knowledge integrated with practitioner experience in making decisions about coaching delivery” (Grant and Stober, 2006).
The complementarity and scope for potential synergies between Positive psychology and Coaching psychology were first established by Robert Bieswas-Diener and Bean Dean in their book “Positive Psychology Coaching” in 2007. Since then, there have been multiple publications relating to positive psychology coaching, and various definitions and applications have been introduced. One popular definition of positive psychology coaching is: “Positive psychology coaching (PPC) is a scientifically rooted approach to helping clients increase wellbeing, enhance and apply strengths, improve performance, and achieve valued goals. At the core of PPC is a belief in the power of science to elucidate the best [methods for development].” (Kauffman, Boniwell, and Silberman, 2010, p. 158).
Coaching with Character Strengths
- Strengths-Based Coaching
Strengths-based coaching is based on the premise that positive attributes exist within every person, and these can be built upon to enable human potential. Recognizing the problems and weaknesses counterbalances the brain’s natural negativity bias to help clients focus on the true, good, and possible in every domain of life and supports them in taking practical steps in realizing their goals. This focus on strengths comes with distinctive types of assessments, interventions, and in-the-moment approaches (e.g. questions) that the coach draws upon (Linley & Harrington, 2006).
The availability of strength assessment tools in coaching has promoted the development of strength coaching. Some of the well-established and widely used tools are Strength-finder (2008), VIA Character Strengths (2004)2 as well as R2 Strengths Profiler.
As part of my coaching practice, I`ve chosen to focus on VIA Character Strengths assessment and methodology which will also be the focus of this research paper.
- About Character Strengths
Character strengths play an important role in positive development as enabling conditions that promote a good and flourishing life (Park & Seligman, 2004). As a theme within Positive Psychology, character strengths have received scientific attention as core ingredients of building a life worth living.
Character is a family of widely valued positive characteristics each of which exists in various degrees and manifests through actions, thoughts, and feelings. Character strengths were first identified as components of character by Park and Seligman in 2004 and have been subsequently used to convey multidimensionality in character.
Character strengths have been defined as “positive personality traits that reflect our basic identity, produce positive outcomes for ourselves and others, and contribute to the collective good” (Niemec, 2013). Character strengths are both identity (i.e. who you are at your core) and what you do in the world (your action and performance), hence they reflect our “being” and “doing”.The work in this space has resulted in the classification of Character Strengths, which looks at 24 positive attributes around 6 universal core values (Park& Seligman, 2004).
- Signature Strengths (Chapter on Character Strengths From Green Book)
One of the most significant findings in the field of positive psychology interventions is the value of helping the client identify and use their signature strengths (Park&Selgman, 2004), which come highest at an assessment and are usually considered to be defining to whom the person really is and are notable for the excitement, fulfillment they bring when expressed (Niemec, 2013). They are defined as involving the three E’s – essential, reflecting best what is at the core of the person, energizing, the strength leads to an increase in energy levels, effortless – their expression easily comes naturally (Niemec and Pearse, 2021).
- Strengths-Based Coaching in Practice
Strength-based coaching interventions can be infused into any coaching practice as a means to energize, empower, and connect the client to their authentic self, support the client in cultivating their strengths for goal achievement, boosting well-being, and handling adversity (Niemec and Pearse, 2021). Examples of character strength interventions are:
- Use signature strength in new ways (Seligman et. Al, 2005). Take the VIA assessment, identify a character strength and for one week apply that strength in a new way.
- Strength alignment – linking your signature strengths with your work tasks (Harzer & Rich, 2015).
- Self-concordant goals – linking signature strengths to goals (where strengths can serve as means or ends to a goal), (Grant, 2011).
- Finding the golden – mean –helping clients understand how strengths can be under and over-used and assisting them in finding a “balanced expression” of their strengths (Young, Kashdan & Macatee, 2014)
- Interventions that focus on specific character strengths – e.g. gratitude journal to boost gratitude recounting 3 funny things from the day to boost humor,(Seligman 2005).
- Weaving in character strengths and related concepts in the coaching process – e.g. using examples from character strengths being malleable to support clients in developing a growth mindset that helps them see challenges as learning opportunities (Dweck, 2007).
- Incorporating character strengths interventions in a broader coaching model, e.g. Aware – Explore – Apply (Niemec, 2013), OUTCOMES (Grant, 2011), Appreciative inquiry change framework (Gordon, 2008). Character strength interventions are also incorporated into my own coaching model, Rise & Shine.
Further examples and guidance on character strengths interventions can be found in Ryan Niemiec’s book, Coaching with Character Strengths (2018).
- The Role of Character Strengths in Achieving Goals, Meaning, and Well-Being
There is evidence that people who regularly use their character strengths in an intentional way can experience a variety of benefits related to achieving goals, improving their well-being, and higher life satisfaction. Examples of these are discussed below:
- Improved well-being – various measures of flourishing (positive relationships, meaning, life satisfaction, flow) are correlated with character strengths (Niemec and Pearse, 2021). Furthermore, a number of a number of strengths are referred to as “happiness strengths” due to their consistent link to happiness across several studies. These are zest, hope, love, gratitude, and curiosity.
- Goal-attainment – application of signature strengths can serve as a catalyst for the achievement of goals. Nieminen(2018) discusses multiple interventions for goal achievement with strengths.
- Resilience– character strengths knowledge and use predict resilience over different phenomena such as higher self-efficacy, self-esteem, positive affect, social support, optimism, and life satisfaction (Martinez-Marti and Ruch, 2016).Niemiec (2013) documents studies linking each of the 24 character strengths with resilience.
- Work performance- the workspace has been a thriving domain for character strengths studies. Examples of strengths-related outcomes are work – satisfaction, engagement, and work well-being (Miglianico et. al, 2019), improved workplace climate, employee levels of self-efficacy and proactive behavior (Wan Woerkom et. al., 2016), and improved coping with stress at work (Hartzer& Ruch, 2015). The importance of strength awareness, alignment of character strengths with work tasks, and strength appreciation amongst colleagues is extensive (Niemiec & Pearce, 2021).
The Strengths-Based Practitioner
In their article, Niemiec and Pearce (2021) elaborate on the characteristics of strengths-based practitioners:
- Embodies character strengths – displays awareness of character strengths as they interact and practice and serves as a role model for the client.
- Educates on strengths – offers to provide more information about strengths, explains their rationale and impact as well as pathways for character strengths use.
- Energizes – engages in strength-spotting to uplift and fuel the person out of autopilot tendencies, entrapped mental and behavioral routines, and strength blindness.
- Empowers -shifts the focus from what is wrong to what is strong and helps use what is strong to address what is wrong.
- Faces adversity – acknowledges problems and struggles and when appropriate explores them further, but does not get lost in them and applies strengths to approach them.
- Connects–a strengths-based practitioner supports the client in becoming more connected to others, the world, and effectively themselves.
- Plants seeds – the practitioner offers an orientation of planting seeds rather than pulling weeds and prioritizes building awareness to explore and help the client grow towards positive action.
Alongside applying strengths-based practices to their client work, it is important for the practitioner to apply the practice to themselves and have an experiential understanding of its nature, specifics, and benefits. Four main pathways for a practitioner to do this have been identified by Niemiec (2018):
- Formal – having a regular practice with strengths periodically (e.g. practicing gratitude journalling daily, having a strengths- -appreciative conversation with a partner weekly, etc).
- Informal – applying character strengths interventions when needed (e.g. when experiencing high levels of stress to pause to breathe and consider which character strength can be applied at the moment).
- In the moment – looking to daily routines and areas of life that have been taken for granted for character strengths to be discovered (E.g. while reflecting the person realizes that they have already been using their humor, prudence, etc. while taking their dog for a walk).
- Cued – using an external environment to cue or remind the individual to use their character strength (every time they hear a bell, they will use one of their signature strengths).
The Study of the Principles of Character Strengths
The science of well-being or Positive Psychology can be seen as a bridge between academic scholarship, practical wisdom, and applied psychology/self-development (Niemiec & Pearce, 2021). The study of the principles of character strengths occupies a prominent space within Positive Psychology and there is a convincing amount of evidence that character strengths play a substantial role in both increased well-being as well as achieving goals and handling. I have myself experienced the benefits of character strengths interventions – both first-hand, but also from my work with clients. I am therefore keen to continue my exploration in this space to deepen my knowledge and experience and to add more value for my clients.
Appendix: Personal Experience and Observations From Coaching With Character Strengths
The language of strengths – new positive language to understand myself (e.g. appreciation of beauty and excellence is my signature strength, for which I did not have a language) and also – how strength overuse and underuse can impact our lives and balance.
Understand why my goals are not aligned with my values.
Understand that I am not applying my strengths at work
- Insights about Authenticity – the client approached me with a need to develop as an authentic leader and I used character strengths to help her connect to her authenticity expressed by her character strengths.
- Pathways to goal attainment (Julio) – The client approached me with a request to further understand and improve their
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