Articles
Think Positive
All of us have already heard this expression at some point in our lives. What maybe we did not know is that these words are much more than popular wisdom.
Several areas of science have been studying the human behavior, proving systematically the value of thinking and of the positive images.
For many years, medical area has already been developing researches on the so-called “Placebo Effect”. The research starts by the random manufacturing of medication identical to the original ones, however, not containing active substances, by a pharmaceutical manufacturing machine. Not even the doctors and scientists conducting the research are able to identify which are the medications containing or not the active substances, before being taken by the patients.
After taking the innocuous medication without the active substance, the patients submitted to the placebo believe that they were medicated and show much higher recovery indexes than the patients who did not take any medication.
Nevertheless lower than the recovery indexes of the patients taking the medication containing the active substances, the number of people who feel better only with the placebo is very significant.
Another scientific study, this time in the area of psychology and behavior, is the “Pygmalion Effect”. In this research essentially carried out with primary school students, the teachers do not know the class to which they will later be teaching during the school year. They are taken to believe, through a previous testimonial handed in by the school, that there are two or more student profiles in that class, for example: "A" and "B", where "A" is a class superior in attention, quotient, intellect and speed of response, while class "B" is presented as having poor performance, intelligence and class participation. Through a differentiated treatment process and mistaken perception, the teacher transforms that lie, in a short period of time, into the purest truth, leading the students to behave as the “Best” and the “Worst”.
The situation is not different inside the organizations. People seek some kind of meaning at work, but after months or years trying to find a meaning and pleasure in what they do, they end up believing that work is a synonym of sadness and that nothing can be changed regarding this matter.
The Appreciative Inquiry is a constructionist social methodology based on four phases: Discovery, Dream, Project and Destiny.
This methodology seeks what is best, something that gives life to the organization and to the people and that might serve as a safe base to face eventual distress. After this initial phase of Discovery, the methodology motivates the participants to answer to a question of Dream, co-creating a shared vision of future.
With the strength of a powerful shared vision, it is possible to redesign Projects and processes, besides creating a new Destiny, with the development of action plans and systems, keeping the organizational learning alive.
In healthy companies and organizations, each person must become their own leader in conscious relationships and a “Positive Thinking” is a fundamental factor for the personal and professional success. In this new scenario, shareholders, collaborators, clients, suppliers, the community and the future generations will always prevail.
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