Coaching Blog
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By Rebecca Muller, Assistant Editor at Thrive Global

​It’s incredibly gratifying to achieve a goal you’ve set for yourself, but the real challenge often begins after you hit your target, when you have to maintain the practices you have begun in order to see prolonged success. According to a new Stanford study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, individuals are more likely to continue their positive habits after the fact if they see their goal achievement as “completing a journey” instead of “arriving at a destination.”

The researchers looked at people who managed to reach their individual goals and continued succeeding afterward, and asked which mindset allowed for their continued wins. “This question is critical, because it helps us to redefine success,” study co-author and General Atlantic Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Jennifer Aaker, Ph.D, explained in a statement. “It moves us from focusing on the short-run win associated with attaining a goal, to the longer-term benefits associated with continued improvement after the goal.”

Dianna Anderson,
Dianna is the thought leader behind Cylient's unique, comprehensive approach for instilling coaching cultures. 
Is building a coaching culture for your enterprise a strategic priority for your organization in 2019, or does it fall further down the list in the “nice to do someday” category? If building a coaching culture isn’t at the top of your priority list, here’s why I think it should be:

I believe that many of the top priorities that Learning and Development professionals focus on are actually symptoms of using traditional “direct and correct” leadership approaches to try to manage our current multifaceted, ever-changing work environments.
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Here’s why I think that:
When people lead by telling people what to do, and then correcting them when they think they are “wrong,” it teaches the people they are leading to:

• Wait to be told what to do, which causes inertia, particularly when it comes to making any kind of change happen.
• Avoid taking initiative because they may be sanctioned, sometimes in subtle but impactful ways, for choosing the “wrong” approach.
• Only propose ideas that their manager will understand and grasp quickly because those are “safer,” resulting in lack-luster innovation.
• Avoid being accountable for things they can’t control, which can become a pretty long list as the most pressing issues become increasingly complex.

By Zaria Gorvett
The Power of One Hour
There’s a scene in the classic sitcom The Office, where David Brent – the ultimate cringe boss, with zero self-awareness – is doing some motivational speaking. “Laughter is the best medicine,” he says, explaining to his staff that it reduces stress and that he likes to do it several times during the working day. He demonstrates the technique by bursting into a solo manic cackle; though it only lasts about 30 seconds, it seems to go on forever. The whole room stares back in lethal silence.
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It turns out that, for once, Brent may have been onto something. He was inadvertently describing what experts call a “microbreak” – any brief activity that helps to break up the monotony of physically or mentally draining tasks. They can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes and involve anything from making a cup of tea to stretching or watching a music video.

Though the breaks are tiny, they can have a disproportionately powerful impact – studies have shown that they can improve workers’ ability to concentrate, change the way they see their jobs, and even help them avoid the typical injuries that people get when they’re tied to their desks all day.

By Suzie Doscher, Executive Coach and Life Coaching focusing on Personal Development, 
Self-Help Author 
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You have a goal, but are worried you will not achieve it.  So many issues are popping up that need dealing with, obstacles and other unexpected ‘stuff’ keeps interfering with your daily plan and / or overall daily structure. Stress kicks in, which means focusing is harder and so less is achieved … sound familiar?
 
All of these thoughts and mind chatter do not have to result in you getting off track or losing sight of your goal.  The trick  is to take charge of your thinking and push the ‘reset’ button. By this I mean, ‘reset’ the moment, not the direction you are heading or the goal you intend to achieve. 

Resetting the moment means handling whatever is causing you stress. Stress is an emotional issue and will not vanish with the flick of a switch in your brain. Unless, of course, you already....

By Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO
In 2016 I founded Thrive Global “to end the stress and burnout epidemic,” citing the Belgian philosopher Pascal Chabot’s definition of burnout as “civilization’s disease.” And this week, burnout was elevated by the World Health Organization from a built-in feature of our always-on world to a fully defined “occupational phenomenon” that stems directly from our collective crisis of workplace stress. 

It’s a real milestone to have the World Health Organization for the first time include burnout in its handbook International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Burnout, according to the entry, is “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It is characterized by three key factors: “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”

by Katie Santamaria
What’s your most cherished value? We all have driving forces that keep us inspired and motivated, whether it’s supporting our loved ones, giving to those in need, finding fulfillment in our work, or making a difference in our community. 
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Determining your most cherished value and using it to your advantage can drastically change your approach to your work, infusing you with additional internal motivation, says Rebecca Greenbaum, Ph.D., professor of human resource management at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations.

That’s where value triggers come in. Value triggers are items that represent something that matters deeply to you — for example, ...

by Megan Grant
There's something about waking up to sunshine, birds chirping, and warm air that puts many of us in a better mood. But why do we notice such a shift in our feelings and emotions when the seasons change? It turns out that there actually are scientific reasons you're happier in the summer; the warm weather and your sunny mood are no coincidence. It's rather common to feel more satisfied during the hotter, brighter months, and when this season gives way to the longer, darker days of winter (depending on where you live, of course), we'll once again experience a shift.

I personally noticed a huge change when I moved from Michigan to Las Vegas earlier in my 20s. In Michigan, rain is abundant. You're frequently stuck under a ceiling of gloomy clouds. Summers are short and winters are long, freezing, and downright brutal. There are days when it's too cold to be outside, and driving is pretty much impossible due to the snow. But upon arriving in the desert, where it almost always feels like summer and the air is hot and dry, I immediately picked up on something: People here seem happier.
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So what is it about summer that puts us so at peace? Why are we so much happier this time of year? Here's what we know:

1. Our Sleeping Habits Change Due To Light Exposure
The number of hours of daytime and nighttime have been found to have an effect on how and when we sleep. One study compared Norway (a country with large seasonal variation) to Ghana (a country with little seasonal variation). During the summer months in Norway, not only did people go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, but the rates of insomnia and fatigue were noticeably lower than in the winter. These differences were not noted in Ghana.

by Suzie Doscher, Executive Coach and Life Coach focusing on Personal Development, Self-Help Author

​Coaching your team? 
​Add this skill to your coaching style – being non-judgmental.
​There is an abundance of articles on being a coach to your people. I enjoy reading the quality information provided by the Harvard Business Review.  
The desire to increase, enhance or maintain the quality of work, and in some cases even the quality of life at work, is evident.

The article in the HBR: Most Managers Don’t Know How to Coach. But They Can Learn, offers wonderful insights on what coaching is all about and aims to achieve.
Your responsibilities include leading, motivating, inspiring and with your coaching you hope to further their growth, development and enhance their skills.