In Part 1 I explained what is post-traumatic growth PTG and that coaching and goal setting can support its achievement.
In this article I look more deeply at the personality traits that can facilitate PTG and explain how external support assists the ability to adapt positively to change.
Who has the best opportunity for Post Traumatic Growth?
Research shows that people who display openness, agreeableness, extraversion and conscientiousness function better after adversity. Being curious, remaining open to new ideas, showing trust and controlling your own impulses help you perform better.
PTG isn’t the same as resilience or bouncing back to where you were before. It’s about Thriving after the trauma. Going further than you ever did before as a result of your experiences.
How can Coaching help?
PTG is an emotional response to change. To achieve this, you need to review your beliefs and values in the light of the crisis. A coach can ask you the questions that will lead you to either affirming those beliefs and values or determining new ones.
Research has shown that people who actively seek out external sources of support are more likely to grow after experiencing trauma. Further, they are more likely to seek and achieve achievement across a variety of domains.
People who are coached effectively can flourish after adversity and their business can prosper. The coach would look at the individual, their business, their customers, their employees and their external partners to strengthen relationships and step forward together.
Goal Setting and Achievement
Coaches traditionally help people set goals and focus on achieving them. Post-traumatic goals need to align targets with what the individual wants. How do you as a business leader, then set goals for your team members that will take them and the business forward?
Business leaders need to understand what each member of their team is passionate about and be aware that this may have changed post Covid-19. If they are excited about their goals they are more likely to achieve them. Behaviours and work styles may also have changed. Some people for example have identified a need to work closely with others, others have found they are happiest being left to get on with something alone.
Leaders who actively encourage team members to be curious about new opportunities can spur innovation. Post-traumatic growth is a long process which will require a number of deliberate actions over a considerable period. A leader who takes a supportive coaching approach (rather than command and control) will reap the rewards by team members tackling and meeting more challenging goals.
The support of a coach to facilitate reflection and learning over an extended period will help you and your team achieve a bigger leap, further forward than you may achieve alone.
If you think you have the personality to achieve post-traumatic growth, contact linda@stepsforgrowth.co.uk to learn more.
Further Reading:
Tedeshi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (2004). Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence. Philadelphia, PA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.