Positivity deficits as targets for coaching

1
Positivity deficits as targets for coaching
Elena Mandrikova Higher School of Economics
(Moscow, Russia)
e.mandrikova_at_gmail.com emandrikova_at_hse.ru

• SUMMARY
• The main purpose of this research is exploring
  the cross-cultural (Russian vs.
  International/Western) differences in leadership
  and management competencies of executives,
  comparing their influence on the employees, and
  suggesting ways for development/coaching. For
  Russian executives the 3 main targets for
  coaching have been revealed in concordance with
  different levels of positive functioning/living
  (pleasant, engaged, meaningful) enlarging
  emotional competence, developing relational
  skills, strengthening strategic thinking and
  visioning.

• INTRODUCTION
• Contemporary organizational context expected the
  openness to diversity, readiness for unexpected
  changes, learning agility, emotional competence
  from the employees on all organizational levels.
  Especially, the high standards are requested to
  the managerial team and executives as strategic
  leaders, role models for other staff. Leadership
  and managerial competencies of executives from
  different countries are quite heterogeneous and
  Russian leadership has its own specifics on which
  traditions and historical-economic background
  have influenced on (Prokhorov, 2011).
• Independently from the cultural context each
  level of positive functional/living pleasant,
  engaged, and meaningful (Seligman, 2002 2011)
  can be characterized by special mechanisms that
  can be cultivated and developed with the help of
  different tools.
• Coaching as the most efficient approach to
  positive development can be used in different
  ways depending on the level where its targets are
  located however coaching is mostly based on
  strengthening the personal resources and strong
  points.
• The personal strengths include curiosity,
  interest in the world, love of learning,
  judgment, critical thinking, open-mindedness,
  ingenuity, originality, practical intelligence,
  street smarts, social intelligence, personal
  intelligence, emotional intelligence, and
  perspective (Seligman, 2002, p. 140-160). In
  organizations such kind of employees personal
  strengths (as well as strength of character and
  virtues) could be more efficiently realized and
  have its impact on the performance in the
  organizational context with support of autonomy,
  coaching as a culture of management, charismatic
  leadership, self-determination, internal
  motivation (Deci et al.,2001).
• The absence of these characteristic of leadership
  and management reflects in the way of decision
  making and problem solving in the company, and in
  the organizational culture issues. As the result
  the lack of positive motivation, lack of trust
  and inability to rely on the followers and
  delegate them responsibility could be called as
  the positivity deficits.
• The investigation of the leadership and
  management peculiarities of Russian executives
  will be helpful in identifying foci for the
  coaching as a more appropriate tool for
  executives leadership development.
• METHOD
• PARTICIPANTS
• The participants (N52) were Russian executives
  with at least 3-year experience on managerial
  positions in local companies 45 males, 7
  females, average age 39.
• PROCEDURE
• The research was undertaken in Russia at 2010
  using an online questionnaires designed by
  Korn/Ferry International with the basement on the
  Decision Dynamics methodology (Driver, Brousseau,
  Hunsaker, 1993) and implemented by its Alliance
  Partner - RosExpert company and its Leadership
  Talent Consulting practice (Russian CEO Profile,
  2010 Mandrikova, 2010).
• The results of the participants were collected to
  profile which was compared with profile of
  successful executives (Best-in-Class) (based on
  the methodology it means the higher level of
  compensation) of 50 nationalities from 16
  countries. Thus, we have here global profiles,
  not only an Anglo-Saxon or American role models
  however, profiles havent specified by
  industries.
• The current study was designed as a qualitative
  one. The main purpose was to identify and
  describe the peculiarities of leadership and
  managerial approaches of Russian and
  International (mostly, Western) executives. It
  could help to identify potential targets for
  development through the coaching with considering
  psychological peculiarities of executives
  regarding their attitudes to development of
  themselves and their employees.
• INSTRUMENTS
• Using on-line self-assessment questionnaires
• there were assessed 4 parameters relevant
• for the leadership and management processes

RESULTS Many of the leadership and managerial
competencies of the Russian executives are
matching with the international profile of the
successful managers. Key distinguishes of Russian
executives from the international Best-in-Class
executives are at the Leadership style (public
decision making and interaction with people) and
at Emotional competencies.
Fig. 3. The comparative profiles of Russian
executives and Best-in-Class international
executives.
Tab.1. Comparative description of profiles of
Best-in-Class and Russian executives
  Best-in-Class executive Russian executive
Leadership Style Interacts with others across hierarchical and functional boundaries, constantly expanding his circle of business contacts. Can exercise influence and achieve high performance, takes an interest in other peoples opinions, and can consider their feelings and desires. Encourages and takes part in teamwork. He knows how to build and develop teams at different levels, is tolerant to diversity, takes criticism on board, and is interested in others ideas and initiatives. In negotiations, they try to enforce their views, do not listen to others, and are often unwilling to seek a compromise or reciprocity, preferring to issue orders and give instructions. Have poor communication capacity and skills. Use mainly negative motivations, cannot, or see no need to, give credit to others, especially in public. Give little importance to the ideological and value basis of business, the inspirational function of the leader or to coaching. Give little attention to team development.
Thinking Style Thinks strategically but is not divorced from solving current operational tasks. Preferred balanced solution, even if it has been suggested by another person. Have high formal intelligence and use a technocratic approach, but they feel much less comfortable in interpersonal relations.
Emotional Competencies Can objectively assess his own capacity and that of other people, and make adequate conclusions about the strengths and weaknesses, motivation and attitude of his subordinates. Uncertainty, instability, and variety are seen by the executive primarily as new opportunities he is able to manage change and derive benefit from change. Try to come out confident, tough, and self-sufficient. Do not allow themselves to show doubt, ask for advice, admit mistakes, or appear incompetent in public. Thus, they restrict their own development and that of their subordinates.
Career Values and Motives Delegate experts roles to his subordinates who are specialists in their functional areas and to his team. He has a rather well-developed entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, and he is always on the look-out for new approaches. Ambitious and highly status- and reward-oriented. As a consequence, if their financial expectations havent met (as, for example, during a crisis), it negatively impacts on their motivation and loyalty.

• CONCLUSION
• Based on this qualitative research we could
  mention that Russian style of leadership and
  management could be characterized as lacking of
  positivity regarding dealing with people
  management issues, interpersonal communications,
  the ways of motivation employees.
• There were revealed three main groups of targets
  for development/coaching
• Enlarging emotional competence
  
  Pleasant
• Developing relations management and communication
  skills Engaged
• Strengthening strategic thinking and visioning
  
  Meaningful
  
• The lack in these competences could decrease
  subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and
  work efficiency of executives and their
  employees, and can be called as positivity
  deficits. These targets for coaching correspond
  to the three levels of positive living depicted
  above. The coach/coachee may consider these
  targets in defining differentiated coaching
  tactics/strategy depending on the location of
  individual positivity deficits at different
  levels of positive functioning/living.
• REFERENCES
• Deci, E.L., Ryan, R.M., Gagné, M., Leone, D.R.,
  Usunov, J., Kornazheva, B.P. Need Satisfaction,
  Motivation, and Well-Being in the Work
  Organizations of a Former Eastern Bloc Country A
  Cross-Cultural Study of Self-Determination //
  PSPB, 227, 8, pp.930-942, 2001.
• Driver, M., Brousseau, K.R., Hunsaker, P.L. The
  Dynamic Decision Maker Five decision styles for
  executive and business success, Self Discovery
  Press, Thousand Oaks, 1993.
• Mandrikova, E. Opyt izucheniya psychologicheskikh
  osobennostey rossiskih generalnyh directorov
  (The experience of investigating the
  psychological peculiarities of Russian
  executives), Book of Abstracts, HSE, 2010.
• Prokhorov, A. Russkaya model upravleniya
  (Russian management model), Studia Artemia
  Lebedeva, 2011.
• Russian CEO Profile. A Study by RosExpert
  Knowledge Management Center, March 2010
• Seligman, M. Authentic Happiness Using the New
  Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for
  Lasting Fulfillment. Free Press, New York, 2002.
• Seligman, M. Flourish A Visionary New
  Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. New
  York Free Press, 2011.

Fig.1. Parameters for the assessment
Fig.2. Decision styles
Leadership Style an executives learned
decision-making behaviors when interacting in
groups, influencing and motivating others, and
presenting information to an audience. These are
the behaviors deployed when the person wishes to
make a good impression and the self-presentation
style that may be observed in interviews. Thinking
Style an executives learned habits of
processing information and coming to conclusions.
Thinking Style occurs when the person is alone
and not concerned about making a good impression.
Thinking style cannot be ascertained from
interviews or from most psychometric tests.
Emotional Competencies an executives learned
capacities for getting along well with others and
effectively dealing with emotionally laden
situations. Our assessment measures six
competencies that research shows are correlated
with effective leadership Career Values and
Motives an executives career motivations and
goals understood in the context of his
organizations strategy, structure, reward
systems, and valued behaviors.
Second World Congress on Positive Psychology,
July 23-26, 2011, Philadelphia, PA, USA