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In your reflection blog, share instances where you have experienced a tipping point at work. When you experienced the tipping point, describe how positive or negative emotional attractors played a role in it.
What was the situation?
What did you do?
What was the result?
What would you do differently?
One particular situation where a "tipping point" was definitely realized for me at work came around three years ago. I was about six months into my new job and was feeling things out. My initial impression was not a positive one as the organization that I had just transferred to lacked vision and direction. The "old guard" was in place and not many people in the organization were motivated or looked to make improvements.
In my observation, my new organization was perfectly fine with doing the bare minimum in all aspects of its existence. Watching the employees more closely, I noticed that just showing up to work was enough to make everyone happy. While the organization was ok with the status quo on a day to day basis, the part-time employees who showed up to work at the organization on a quarterly basis were frustrated by the lack of communication and lack of work accomplished by the full-time employees.
Boyatzis, Rochford, and Taylor (2015) describe Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) and the Negative Emotional Attractor (NEA) as a series of theoretical propositions regarding the existence and critical role of two psycho-physiological states. Using complexity theory, they argue that these two states are strange attractors, each characterized by three dimensions: (1) a personal vision based on an ideal self is required if the vision is to lead to sustained and desired change; (2) in order to create a personal vision based on an ideal self, or among others, a shared vision, a person must be in the PEA; and (3) while the NEA is required to move a person from vision to action, a person must spend significantly more time in the PEA in order to achieve sustained desired change.
And now back to the situation... After observing my organization and getting a feel for their practices, I was disappointed and wondering how to approach the situation. Could I single-handedly change the organization? Would there be resistance or openness to change? In now understanding how PEA and NEA work, it became apparent to me that the situation that I encountered a few years ago was a "tipping point" for the organization.
As I started to deliberate heavily on what to do about the situation, I found out that an old co-worker was joining our organization. I had worked with this individual during a six month period previously and enjoyed working with them. We vibed during those six months. PEA started to creep in. Could this individual help me in positively turn things around? The answer was "yes", In a years time, the individual and myself were able to chance NEA to PEA person by person.
Even to this day, the organization continues to improve due to a "tipping point" that occurred three years ago. Month by month, our organization gets more and more positive and moves towards functionality. It took two like-mined employees with a vision for improvement to move past the "tipping point" and on to bigger and better things. Ultimately, I wouldn't have handled anything different in the situation, but often think... If the aforementioned individual hadn't come along, when and where would the catalyst for change and a subsequent "tipping point" come from? I'm sure it would have come from another source, but I'm glad that the "tipping point" happened when it did.
References
Boyatzis, R. E., Rochford, K., & Taylor, S. N. (2015). The role of the positive emotional attractor in
mvision and shared vision: Toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement. Frontiers in
Psychology, 06. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00670
What was the situation?
What did you do?
What was the result?
What would you do differently?
One particular situation where a "tipping point" was definitely realized for me at work came around three years ago. I was about six months into my new job and was feeling things out. My initial impression was not a positive one as the organization that I had just transferred to lacked vision and direction. The "old guard" was in place and not many people in the organization were motivated or looked to make improvements.
In my observation, my new organization was perfectly fine with doing the bare minimum in all aspects of its existence. Watching the employees more closely, I noticed that just showing up to work was enough to make everyone happy. While the organization was ok with the status quo on a day to day basis, the part-time employees who showed up to work at the organization on a quarterly basis were frustrated by the lack of communication and lack of work accomplished by the full-time employees.
Boyatzis, Rochford, and Taylor (2015) describe Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) and the Negative Emotional Attractor (NEA) as a series of theoretical propositions regarding the existence and critical role of two psycho-physiological states. Using complexity theory, they argue that these two states are strange attractors, each characterized by three dimensions: (1) a personal vision based on an ideal self is required if the vision is to lead to sustained and desired change; (2) in order to create a personal vision based on an ideal self, or among others, a shared vision, a person must be in the PEA; and (3) while the NEA is required to move a person from vision to action, a person must spend significantly more time in the PEA in order to achieve sustained desired change.
And now back to the situation... After observing my organization and getting a feel for their practices, I was disappointed and wondering how to approach the situation. Could I single-handedly change the organization? Would there be resistance or openness to change? In now understanding how PEA and NEA work, it became apparent to me that the situation that I encountered a few years ago was a "tipping point" for the organization.
As I started to deliberate heavily on what to do about the situation, I found out that an old co-worker was joining our organization. I had worked with this individual during a six month period previously and enjoyed working with them. We vibed during those six months. PEA started to creep in. Could this individual help me in positively turn things around? The answer was "yes", In a years time, the individual and myself were able to chance NEA to PEA person by person.
Even to this day, the organization continues to improve due to a "tipping point" that occurred three years ago. Month by month, our organization gets more and more positive and moves towards functionality. It took two like-mined employees with a vision for improvement to move past the "tipping point" and on to bigger and better things. Ultimately, I wouldn't have handled anything different in the situation, but often think... If the aforementioned individual hadn't come along, when and where would the catalyst for change and a subsequent "tipping point" come from? I'm sure it would have come from another source, but I'm glad that the "tipping point" happened when it did.
References
Boyatzis, R. E., Rochford, K., & Taylor, S. N. (2015). The role of the positive emotional attractor in
mvision and shared vision: Toward effective leadership, relationships, and engagement. Frontiers in
Psychology, 06. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00670
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