A message from Sandy. Building an inspiring work culture and investing in the health and development of the team is an additional priority for long-term business success. Positive emotions and related processes can lead to greater motivation, fulfillment with work, and the ability to cope with stress and uncertainty.

Whether you are experiencing particularly rough times economically or professionally, or perhaps you are just coasting along without much satisfaction or joy in the work you do——here are a few suggestions to advance your performance and work experience:

1. Strengths, virtues, and self-determination: Research shows that employees that are fully engaged in the work that they do, and who have a sense of intrinsic motivation, are likely to perform better and have a better work outcome. Allowing for  self-management which takes discipline and self-determination offers freedom and autonomy for team members to flourish and become absorbed in the work they do best. This involves the team member (which includes the doctor) to  uncover their strengths and have the freedom to use them. These traits also lead people to experience flow, where they are fully engaged in a productive challenge–they are now “in the zone.”
2. Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is the capacity to identify and regulate emotions in ourselves and others, and has implications for both internal and external customer relationships. It allows us to recognize our own personal tendencies, and better understand the personality traits of others so we can most effectively interact with them. More specifically emotional intelligence is the ability to manage counterproductive emotions, such as anger and stress, and begin to harness more positive feelings like optimism, hope, and creativity.
3. Positive Organizational Behavior: Have you ever wondered how to apply human strengths, resources, and psychological capacities to improve performance in the workplace? Four basic capacities that would typically be explored are: self-efficacy; hope; optimism, and resiliency. The higher the levels of these four, the more confident people are, the better they are able to manage stress and adversity, have higher levels of motivation and drive, and more likely to pursue growth and development.
4. Level of Innovation and Change: A major factor in a healthy organizational culture is the fit between the organization’s values and the disposition and values of the employees. Some businesses are prone to change where others are much more stable and stagnant.  How your employees respond to change and innovation is important to consider in order to have a good fit with the organizational culture. Having a good fit will help the team be energized, have a positive attitude, and feel safe and secure in their roles.
5. The Virtuous Organization: “Virtuous organizations infuse an ethical perspective into their cultures, have multiple bottom lines, promote self-management, emotionally intelligent, and team-oriented behavior patterns and develop supportive leaders that enable others to succeed, all of which can lead to productive and creative outcomes.” (Froman 2010)