Harnessing the Power of Positive Psychology - Team-Based Case Study Follow Up

At AccessEAP we are always looking at how we can use our individual and collective strengths to achieve the best possible customer and business outcomes. Following on from the great benefit our Relationship Management team derived from their first annual strengths assessment and with the arrival of some new team members, the process was revisited last month. 

"My team members are always striving to do better and developing and growing their knowledge and skill base with every customer interaction/engagement. I want to make sure that as a team they are recognising each other's strengths and the best ways to work together to provide the best possible customer experience," says Eleni van Delft, Accredited Strengths Coach and Director Relationship Development, at AccessEAP.

We recently received very positive feedback from our customers on our response and support to those affected by the recent terrorist attack in Christchurch. Following the event and during our internal debrief I asked our customer experience team to reflect on the strengths they used on the day of the event and in subsequent days.

They responded with :

Perseverance, leadership, bravery, perspective, teamwork, kindness, judgement (decision making) and hope. It was important for the team to have the opportunity to reflect on their strengths, identifying and acknowledging the part they played in supporting our customers through a tremendously difficult time. This was not only very insightful for each individual but also reinforced that when things happen and we can all become overwhelmed in the moment they each have the strengths and resilience they need to see things through to the best possible outcome. One team member commented, “ I now know I can handle these sorts of challenges in the future”.  

Using a strengths-based approach in our coaching in our personal development of our teams helps build resilience, engagement and alignment with our vision and mission.

Below are some scientifically validated strengths-based tools available for use. We used the VIA Character Strengths in our team, please read more about how we applied these tools in our case study here.

Values in Action Character Strengths (http://www.viacharacter.org/www)

Strengths Profile (Capp Institute available via the Langley Group Institute (https://langleygroupinstitute.com/work/strengths-profile/)

Clifton’s Strengths (https://www.gallupstrengthscenter.com/)