Category: Guidance

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Four evening questions - find your strength(s)

Invest 14 days, 8 minutes each - and consciously experience your day: Notice the positive moments, recognize the valuable contributions of others and become aware of your own strengths.

Scientifically sound

And, as usual with PERMA-Lead, the whole thing is scientifically sound: 95 % of the almost 100 participants reported that the exercise, which is available here in a slightly modified form for the Download is a positive change and enrichment. The first and third questions were perceived as relatively easy, while the second and fourth questions provided the greatest insight. Over time, the exercise became easier for many, and some began to consciously look for situations during the day that they could write down later. The fourth question in particular, which focused on strengths, had a deeper impact than a simple strengths question. Many participants only recognized their strengths after a few days and reported "chain effects" in which one recognized strength made them aware of others. The exercise led to a change in the focus of perception and helped the participants to get to know themselves better. Despite the small amount of time required - just two hours over two weeks - the exercise had a significant effect (Source: Ebner, M. (2024). Positive leadership in practice. Facultas. Vienna; Ebner, M. (2017). 4-Evening-Questions: A simple tool with a profound effect. Organizational Consulting, Supervision, Coaching, 24(3), 269-282).

Tetris effect

The exercise also has an exciting side effect: managers who complete this exercise will also try to recognize strengths in their employees. This is due to the so-called TETRIS effect. People begin to see these patterns in other areas of life through repeated exposure to a particular task or experience. The term comes from the video game "Tetris", in which players have to arrange falling blocks so that they form complete rows. People who played Tetris intensively reported that they also began to see and "sort" objects or situations like Tetris blocks in their everyday lives outside of the game. For me personally, I would call this effect the baby carriage effect because I have experienced it myself. If you look into buying one, you will only see baby carriages everywhere.

In our context, this means that when managers focus on their own strengths and try to make use of them, they automatically focus more on these positive qualities - including in their employees. As a result, they develop a greater awareness of their employees' potential and the likelihood that it will be actively utilized increases.

PERMA factors

This tool contributes to almost all PERMA lead factors. One consciously takes positive Emotions true. Essentially, it is about recognizing your own strengths (Commitment). This may also have an impact on employees through the Tetris effect. You also become aware of which people have contributed to positive feelings (strengthens sustainable relationships - Relationship) and you realize what you have achieved (Accomplishment). A great tool!

Download

You can find the exercise and instructions here free for download. I wish you great insights with this tool!

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Kudos board - making successes visible

How can success be made visible and how can the fifth PERMA lead element, Accomplishmentpay in? Is that also possible if you don't have a budget? It is possible! And with a Kudos board, it only costs a little paper and tape. The whole thing is even nicer with a whiteboard and magnets, but that's all you really need. But let's start from the beginning.

What is Kudos?

The term "kudos" has its roots in ancient Greek; the word "κῦδος" (kudos) means fame, honor or recognition. It became popular in the English language in the 19th century and was initially used in academic and literary contexts. In modern usage, "kudos" is often an informal term used in social media, business and personal interactions to express praise and recognition. The term has thus evolved from a classic, venerable term to an everyday expression of appreciation.

generated with AI

What is a Kudos board?

I got the basic idea from Dr. Markus Ebner's book "Positive Leadership in Practice." There, Mathias Posch from ICS describes in his chapter "International Conference Services: A dedicated team and a shared vision as a recipe for success" (pp. 223-234), that they have a Brag Wall in the kitchen on which, for example, praise emails from customers are posted so that everyone can take note of the successes. I have taken this great approach and developed it further. Because in my own working environment, we are also very lucky to receive a lot of thank-you letters. But do people actually read the one or two A4 pages when they are hanging on a wall?

Kudos cards

I have therefore developed the idea further and designed Kudos cards. The team leader can either fill them out and summarize the contents of the thank you letter, or you can send the sender a selection of cards as a PDF and ask them to fill them out by hand. This makes the Kudos board even more personal. Then all you need is a nice place in the lounge, ideally a whiteboard with a few casual magnets, and you're ready to go - with the visualization of successes.

Fictitious example of a completed Kudos card

Kudos cards download

I have a few different Kudos cards designed, which here for free use to make available. It is a PDF file with several templates, all in DinA5 format. Have fun visualizing your successes!

What makes me particularly happy: Police Commissioner Torsten Krückemeier took up the idea and had Kudos cards designed and produced for the Central Hesse Police Headquarters. and you can also download them here free of charge. free use download.

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Instructions for use for yourself

A tool for self-reflection and team integration

I am delighted to be able to support the great idea of the Central Hesse Police Headquarters under the leadership of Police Commissioner Torsten Krückemeier to share with you.

What is it all about?

I quote: "[The Manual of Me] is intended to be your personal "instruction manual" that helps other people to understand you better, to work together more harmoniously, and to make your life easier.
and communicate effectively with yourself. At the same time, by creating the manual, you reflect on yourself and your needs - which helps you AND others.
The manual should reflect your individual character, your ideas and preferences in a professional context. This can help to make topics that are personal to you (more) discussable."

Reference to PERMA-Lead

The tool contributes to various PERMA elements. For example, it promotes Commitmentstrength-oriented leadership, because it is precisely according to strengths ("I can do this well and
gives me energy") is asked. And when you become aware of this yourself AND you share it with your team or team leader, this is an essential step towards putting strength-oriented leadership into practice.

But it particularly promotes RelationshipsThis is because it helps to get to know the characteristics of the other people in the team. However, the prerequisite is that you feel safe in this team, otherwise it is unlikely that someone will open up personally in this way. This is why the tool is only partially suitable for the introduction round. But if psychological safety is a top priority in the team and the manager promotes this, i.e. trust, a culture of learning and inclusion are practised, this tool is ideal for getting to know each other in a structured way at an initial team event.

Download

The "Manual of Me" is available herer including explanation for download.

Click to download

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Certification as PERMA Lead Coach

Finally - I'm a certified PERMA lead coach and consultant 🤗

Since I published the book "Positive Leadership" by Dr. Markus Ebner have read (here to the current, extended edition)1I am a big fan of this management approach. Why? For three reasons:

👩‍🔬Erstens, because Positive Leadership - PERMA-Lead is scientifically sound and many verifiable studies have shown that implementing the leadership style has a significantly positive effect on performance, health (=fewer sick days), staff turnover and much more.

⚙️ Secondly, because it is easy to put into practice (if you want to) - the model is easy to understand and apply and there are numerous examples of good practice. It is about promoting positive emotions (P for Positive Emotions), using employees in a strength-oriented way (E for Engagement), creating sustainable relationships (R for Relationships), explaining the meaning of work and decisions, such as changes (M for Meaning) and consciously recognizing successes (A for Accomplishement).

☺️ Thirdly: Because it's fun. PERMA is contagious and not only proven to be good for employees, but also for managers themselves.

🔖 For this reason, I really wanted to delve deeper and went to Vienna with Dr. Markus Ebner on 13 and 14 June 2024 to get certified as a consultant. Together with a great peer group, we then solved numerous complex tasks, I was allowed to do my first evaluation coaching and since the final online session on September 10, 2024, I am now officially certified. This means that I can use all the great Test procedure for PERMA-Lead and coach with them. If you are interested, just get in touch 😉

  1. This is a paid link, which means I get a commission if the book is purchased via the link. This way you support my research and work - thank you very much! Of course, this does not apply to works available for free. ↩︎

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Review of the Generation Z book

The current issue of pvt "Polizei Verkehr + Technik" contains a review of our book "Generation Z and Alpha. Understanding, winning, retaining. A guide for the police" published.

Here is a small excerpt from the review by Andreas Hohensinn, consultant at the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Vienna:

"Overall, 'Generation Z and Alpha' is a very informative and engaging book that makes an important contribution to understanding the coming generations. It provides a sound analysis and encourages reflection on the future of society and the police organization. For readers interested in sociology, psychology, futurology in a police context, this book is highly recommended."

The full review here with the kind permission of Dr. Uwe H. Wehrstedt (Managing Editor and Publisher pvt) here for direct download.

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Police work organization and its effects on (in)security in public spaces

Full version - shortened article published by the German Society for Time Policy, Zeitpolitisches Magazin No. 36 July 2020 (ISSN 2196-0356, download here).

"We stand up for people's safety and provide help around the clock."1Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, Leitbild der Bayer. Polizei - Handlungs- und Orientierungsrahmen für die Zukunft, https://www.polizei.bayern.de/wir/leitbild/index.html/3249, accessed on 01.03.2020

This quote from the mission statement of the Bavarian Police undoubtedly applies to all police authorities - they guarantee security in a society around the clock. Although the work is 24/7224/7 stands for 24 hours, 7 days a week, i.e. the provision of work every day at any time. This is not a unique feature of police work, as around one in six employees in Germany works shifts (Radtke 2020), but it is characteristic of police work. In order to understand the (time) organization of police work and its impact on public safety, it is also necessary to understand the effects that shift work, which is necessary to ensure the constant availability of the police, has on people. Even if some police working time organizers do not seem to take this into account, police officers are also human beings and the organization of shift work has a significant influence on their ability to perform and act and thus directly on (in)security in public spaces.

Continue reading „Arbeitsorganisation bei der Polizei und ihre Wirkungen auf (Un)Sicherheit im öffentlichen Raum“
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Click on the picture to view the book on Amazon.

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good LifeAs the title suggests, Manson wants his book to stand out from the usual life advice books. Because these usually emphasize what you could or should achieve - higher, faster, further (see, for example, the book "How to achieve more"). Game Changers). The downside, however, is that you are made very aware of what you have not achieved so far. You haven't achieved this or that, you're not exceptional. And the usual (American?) life guides are all aimed at helping you to finally be extraordinary and achieve all your goals.

In his book, Manson shows a different path to personal success. The book is also available in German ("The subtle art of shitting on it“ view at Amazon), but with this book in particular it should be almost impossible to convey the "spirit" of the book correctly in German. While "to give a fuck" is ambiguous in English and the author uses the expression creatively, that alone is difficult in German. Let's see if I have succeeded.

View on Amazon
Continue reading „The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck“