If you’re looking for new ways to improve employee well-being or boost the health and engagement of your team, corporate optimism coaching may be the best investment you can make 🙂 Here’s a quick overview.
Combating Pandemic Mindset Challenges
I was inspired to create the group coaching program “Upping Your Optimism Game” by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and I feel that our ability to cultivate optimism is the most important skill connected to well-being.
Not only does optimism directly improve physical and mental health, but from a behavioral perspective it’s a double-edge positivity sword which increases the likelihood that we engage in health promoting behaviors and decreases the likelihood that we engage in more harmful behaviors.
And if that wasn’t enough Optimism breeds Hope, Courage, and Perseverance which are all necessary to unlocking our motivation to pursue worthy goals.
Upping Your Optimism Game In a Nutshell…
Optimism Coaching is like Personal Training for your Mindset.
Just like we might work with a personal trainer to guide us in physical exercises, we may choose to work with a wellness coach as a guide to help us develop mental muscles.
The program is based on 3 pillars. Optimism towards…
- Life
- Self
- Relationships
During Upping Your Optimism Game, participants will focus on developing mental skills and positive mental habits through a gratitude challenge, self-appreciation challenge, and appreciation of others challenge.
The tools/exercises that we’ll use will be some combination of writing/journaling, thinking/ meditating, conversation/mantras, and conscious doing.
I can support your team with
- Weekly coaching conversations and lessons (virtually or potentially in person),
- A guide book in pdf form,
- Inspirational email messages, and
- I will help to facilitate conversation in an online community.
The base time frame is 6 weeks, but I designed the program to be flexible in nature so that it can be molded to fit the needs and the culture of your organization. So think of the above as a flexible outline.
Who is this for?
If you’re concerned about the morale and overall emotional well being of your team, let’s chat.
If the ongoing pandemic is challenging the mental well being of your team, let’s chat.
Or if you’d like to create a more vibrant and thriving company culture, let’s chat.
Before deciding to bring the full Upping Your Optimism Game Program to your team, we could begin with just a keynote/ wellness workshop to gauge the interest.
Upping Your Optimism Game: Detailed Program Overview
To me, Coaching is like Personal Training for your Mindset.
Mental Skills are just like Physical Skills: The more you practice, the better you become.
Just like you do arm, core, or leg exercises to build up your body with a personal trainer, you can do mental exercises with a wellness coach to build up your mental muscles and mindset.
Upping Your Optimism Game is a Guided Coaching Program designed to help participants to develop an ability to cultivate optimism and increase positivity by practicing mental skills associated with optimism.
It consists of 3 pillars.
Optimism towards…
1) Life
2) Self and
3) Relationships
Classically people think of optimism as looking at the glass as half full. In some ways optimism is just a matter of shifting our focus.
Gratitude is looking optimistically at life. What do you have versus don’t have.
Self-Appreciation is looking optimistically at ourselves. What are we doing well versus what we’re doing poorly.
Appreciation is looking for the good in others. What are others doing right versus what others are doing wrong.
3 Pillars : 3 Challenges
When working together we’ll take on each of these 3 pillars in challenge format. Beginning with a gratitude challenge, then moving to a self-appreciation challenge, and finishing with an appreciation of others challenge.
There are 3 primary tools that I will suggest people use to develop their mental skills: 1) Writing/Journaling, 2) Thinking/ Meditating 3) Talking/ Conversation, and participants can use any method that resonates with them.
For example, during the gratitude challenge, someone may find that journaling and writing 3 things that they are grateful for each day helps them to shift their mindset to look for good things in life.
Or at times they may chose to simply be mindful in the moment, pause, and reflect on the good they’re experiencing. Lastly, they may chose to say out loud to themselves or to someone else what they’re grateful for.
We all have mental habits, so it takes some focus and practice to shift our mindset.
The good news is that these can be straight forward to practice.
Weekly Coaching Lessons and Conversations
In addition to what participants chose to practice on your own, I will conduct live weekly coaching lessons and conversations (7 in total) to present some information and talk with people about their insights and experiences, challenges or frustrations, and goals and plans.
For many people there is magic in a coaching conversation that can’t be duplicated in isolation. As your corporate optimism coach, I’ll do my best to listen mindfully to everyone’s story, highlight the good I see, ask evocative questions, keep participants focused on their vision, strategize with them, challenge them, answer questions, and provide support and structure so that they grow into a better version of themselves.
First Session: Depending on whether we begin with a keynote/ introductory workshop, our first group coaching session can be 30-120 minutes, based on the needs and availability of your team.
In the first coaching session, I would cover some introductory Optimism concepts, and help participants craft a wellness vision, establish goals for our time together, and set up their first challenge.
In-Person or Virtual option–The first session or Keynote can be done in person or virtually.
Weekly Follow Up Sessions: In the 6 week version, there are 7 total group coaching sessions. Beginning with Lesson 1 on day zero, and then 6 additional sessions 1 week apart. There may be some flexibility in scheduling, but I would recommend that we pick the same day and time for our live meetings.
If needed the program time frame can be condensed or expanded (down to 3 or up to 12 weeks), but 6 weeks tends to be a sweet spot to allow people the time to focus and feel an improvement in each area.
Generally, Group Follow Up Sessions will be conducted virtually.
If you would like to create the energy of a live in person experience, we could discuss doing the first and last sessions in person.
Online Community Support
In addition to the live group coaching sessions, I will also help to facilitate engagement and conversation in an online community.
I can create a private Facebook group or we can use whatever social engagement platform that you and your team prefer to create a space for ongoing conversation during the program.
There is power in community and conversation.
As the coach and facilitator, I would post ideas and questions to spark sharing and conversation, but the group can also network and share with each other.
Email Messages and Support
During the guided coaching journey, I can periodically send the team email messages with relevant or inspirational stories, quotes, ideas or additional exercises or activities they might try, if they like.
I think of the email messages as evocative journalism, that can deepen thinking around topics, and sometimes gently nudge people to re-focus, and encourage them to keep going.
Jump Start Guide Book
The Jump Start Guide book is a 30 page ebook/ workbook that I wrote to help guide participants through the process. It has key concepts, exercises, and coaching questions to reinforce what we talk about together.
Recapping
- During the Program, participants will focus on developing mental skills and positive mental habits through a gratitude challenge, self-appreciation challenge, and appreciation of others challenge.
- The tools/exercises that they will use will be some combination of writing, thinking, talking, and conscious doing.
- I will support the team with a guide book, weekly coaching conversations and lessons, email messages, and facilitation of conversation in an online community.
Let’s Chat First
I know that there is a lot to think about before deciding to partner with me as your corporate wellness coach, so let’s just chat first before you decide.
Tell me about your vision for your company, and I’ll share how I think I can help to make that vision a reality!
If you’re curious to learn more or have unanswered questions, simply Contact me to set up a discovery call.
I truly look forward to connecting with you, and I’m eager to help you transform your team through corporate optimism coaching 🙂
Yours in Health
