{"id":897,"date":"2020-03-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/four-steps-towards-establishing-the-principles-of-positive-psychology-in-your-team\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:22","slug":"establishing-the-principles-of-positive-psychology","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/establishing-the-principles-of-positive-psychology\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Steps Towards Establishing the Principles of Positive Psychology in Your Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Mar 13, 2020 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Four Steps Towards Establishing the Principles of Positive Psychology in Your Team<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Human Performance<\/a> <\/div>\n
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We explore views from the worlds of the NBA, MLB, US tennis and British field hockey.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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When we talk about wellbeing and, tangentially, resilience, we are alluding to the basic foundations of positive psychology.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

The theory was first posited by psychologist Martin Seligman in the late 1990s. He and his colleague Mih\u00e1ly Cs\u00edkszentmih\u00e1lyi define positive psychology as: \u2018the scientific study of positive human functioning and flourishing on multiple levels that include the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life.\u2019<\/p>\n

Each of these can reasonably be considered priorities for athletes, coaches and performance practitioners alike and here, through the eyes of the United States Tennis Association [USTA], GB Hockey, the NBA and the Pittsburgh Pirates, we explore four steps towards establishing the principles of positive psychology in your athletes.<\/p>\n

1. Create a growth mindset on young athletes<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

A growth mindset is essential when losing is inevitable, as it is in all sport. Tennis players perhaps experience it more often than most, given that they either win a tournament or they fall short. The USTA Player Development department instils in its aspiring players a glass-half-full approach.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re here to get better every single day and that\u2019s our goal: to develop these characteristics, habits and values that are going to lead to consistent performance,\u201d Larry Lauer<\/u><\/a>, a mental skills specialist at the USTA, told the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cWhen they start to understand that it is a long-term journey, and if they can develop these areas, their resilience, their confidence their professionalism, their determination; they start to see how they influence performances. We talk about this after matches, after tournaments; they begin to buy-in; but starts with a growth mindset from everyone, including the coach, myself, the parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

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2. Cultivate an environment of \u2018safe uncertainty\u2019<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Athletes can explore the outer reaches of their talent with great confidence when they know that there are low consequences when they encounter failure. Danny Kerry<\/u><\/a>, the Head Coach of the Great Britain men\u2019s field hockey team, told an audience at Leaders Meet: Human Performance in 2018 that he promotes an environment of what he calls \u2018safe uncertainty\u2019 in training. He said: \u201cYou try to find the optimum point of safe uncertainty \u2013 or psychological safety \u2013 across a wide range of athletes where enough people are going to experience an environment where they\u2019re feeling challenged and need to success; and the desire to not lose is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The risks are obvious to Kerry, who won gold with the Great Britain women\u2019s team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. \u201cFor those who may switch off to an environment it cannot be too challenging to their sense of self.\u201d When \u00a0you find that sweet spot there is a, \u201ctacit understanding in athletes that takes them to their understanding of where they can go; and that increases the bandwidth around safe uncertainty. People implicitly understand what this environment is like; it will be a challenge to your sense of self. Normalising and talking to that then raises the bar higher and allows people to go further and explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

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3. Allow your staff to build trust with your athletes<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

To develop growth mindsets and push your athletes in their development they need to trust you and your staff. Psychologist Ramel L Smith<\/u><\/a>, who previously worked with the Milwaukee Bucks, recalls the time he walked into the building and was greeted with bafflement. In a Leaders Performance Institute exclusive, he wrote of the experience:<\/p>\n

When I had my first group session with the team, the players looked at me confused and with an extreme sense of trepidation. Most had never had a team psychologist. I told them frankly, you can trust me four reasons: 1) Trust the team has vetted me and my qualifications just like the team pilot; 2) I understood trust was fragile and if I broke it, no one else would confide in me; in addition, my professional reputation could be tarnished in a matter of minutes with one of their powerful tweets; 3) If I did something unethical or illegal, like disclosing confidential information, I would lose my license from the state; and 4) and lastly, simply just because my word was my bond!<\/i><\/em><\/p>\n

Smith likened his approach to a \u2018bridge and a vault\u2019. He continued: \u2018There would be some occasions where mis-communications and structural breakdowns would occur. In these cases, I would be a mediator, or a bridge, to help restore the organizational and interpersonal equilibrium. However, in other cases, information disclosed that was not germane to the team would be locked in a vault. And, information in the vault would not be released without the consent of the athlete.\u2019<\/p>\n

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4. Encourage athlete self-talk<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Baseball, Michael A Chernow<\/u><\/a>\u00a0writes, is a sport where players fail 70% of the time. In a Leaders Performance Institute exclusive, Chernow, who is the Administrator of Minor League Operations at the Pittsburgh Pirates, spoke to the team\u2019s Mental Skills Coach Andy Bass, who preaches the importance of athlete self-talk.<\/p>\n

\u2018When Andy first begins working with a player, they discuss the players\u2019 strengths and weaknesses,\u2019 wrote Chernow. \u2018As they progress further, they begin diving into self-talk. Once they start to peel back the layers, they move forward into developing training techniques to reframe thoughts as they begin to occur.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u201cSelf-talk control can be developed. Can we catch ourselves when negativity begins to spiral us down?\u201d Andy asks. He points out that self-talk for a baseball player looks different than it does for a cross-country runner, however the purpose is the same. Developing this skill can help prevent athletes from spiralling mentally when they are competing at the highest level.\u2019<\/p>\n

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What does the modern coach need to know?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We tackle this question in our latest Performance Special Report. Download Coachmaker: What the Modern Coach Needs to Know<\/em>, which features sports organizations as diverse as Ulster Rugby<\/strong>, the Geelong Cats<\/strong>, Minnesota Timberwolves<\/strong> and US Special Operations<\/strong> discussing personal development, creating performance environments, recruitment and using data in smarter ways.<\/p>\n