A study says whether it be weaknesses, deficits, or lesser strengths, practitioners are equally vulnerable to being biased toward what’s less strong and they will be pulled into the energy of the negative or the emotionality around a struggle.
Whether it be weaknesses, deficits, or lesser strengths, practitioners are equally vulnerable to being biased toward what’s less strong and they will be pulled into the energy of the negative or the emotionality around a struggle.
Study results!
I read a perfect example of this. Several years ago, two began consulting to local Boys and Girls Clubs in the region we lived. These clubs serve at-risk kids with programming, skill-building, and after-school.
The entire staff at each club participated; The two gathered the staff in a circle and engaged in exercises around signature strengths and strengths-spotting. Part of the approach involved the staff identifying and describing a child that was struggling, isolated, or difficult, in other words, a “lost child.
”When each person was asked to describe their examples we heard stories of fire-starting, selfish behavior, rude behavior, and disrespect; it was easy for us as the facilitators to get caught up in the stories and thinking about how difficult or problematic the child was.
The deficit-based thinking and discussion was contagious for the staff and it even fed our own deficit-based thinking, despite the topic being character strengths!
Returning to the story of two consulting at local Boys and Girls Clubs and running into our own “negativity bias” as we were swept up in the vicious circle of staff critiques of a “lost child” at the club.
When we noticed ourselves falling into the trap, we were able to shift the conversation with one simple statement and question: “OK, it sounds like there are many challenges you’re facing as a staff with Billy.
But, we’d like to ask you another question now – What do you like about Billy? What is best about him?” The staff quickly shifted in their perception of Billy, offering observations of his helpfulness at the front desk, teamwork on the basketball court sharing the ball, praising of other kid's artwork in art class, and a myriad of other examples.
We were then caught up in the strengths “positive contagion.” And, the staff was left surprised and pleased that they were not only able to do the simple task of strengths-spotting but that they were able to transform their perceptions of this child who clearly had suffered a lot in his life.