We're Relying On 3 Specific Character Strengths

Research has shown there are 3 character strengths getting us all through the pandemic. It also shows that our personalities have changed. How are you faring?

Lead Into the Future Today (LIFT) is brought to you by Louise Mowbray of Mowbray by Design, the Creative Conscious Leadership Consultancy. If you’re reading this and haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so here:

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It’s always incredibly inspiring starting a new year - I feel like a kid with a whole new “something good” ahead of me! Saying this, I’m no shirker when it comes to extracting the learnings from the previous year and planning and designing the year ahead. If you haven’t yet done this for yourself, you can do so here: Wayfinder: Review 2021 | Design 2022.

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Have we really changed over the pandemic?

It’s no surprise that there has been a great deal of global academic research into our personalities and coping mechanisms throughout the pandemic. I thought I’d share a couple of these as we contemplate what might help us to lead ourselves, our teams and our businesses more effectively into the future.

The first is brought to us by Dr Dana Klisanin, award-winning psychologist, futurist, designer and social entrepreneur. Klisanin’s research into the “specific character strengths supporting our well-being” has revealed three strengths we’ve all found most helpful over the pandemic:

• Judgment/critical thinking

• Love of learning

• Creativity

“As we enter 2022, we can use these insights to support our wellbeing and that of our loved ones. In our personal lives, we can make resolutions to hone our critical thinking skills, ignite our love of learning and let our creativity loose.”

And a Q for you here: Do you agree - have these three character traits supported you? Do you need to further develop one or more of these?

And let’s not forget The Big Q:

Have our personalities changed over the course of the pandemic?

The simple answer is yes. Behavioural science-based organisations have also been hard at work measuring how our personalities might have changed over the course of the pandemic (thank you to those of you who participated in this research 🙏🏻 ).

In a study by Dr Stewart Desson, CEO, Lumina Learning, Dr Tatiana Rowson, Henley Business School and Dr Joana Suta, BPP University, we learn that CEO’s from across the sectors, around the world, have become more:

• People Focused (accommodating, collaborative and empathetic)

• Discipline Driven (reliable, structured and purposeful)

• Big Picture Thinking (conceptual, imaginative and radical)

All incredibly necessary, not only in the context of our world of work over the last couple of years but in the foreseeable future. I promise to share the final paper when it is published.

Why is all of this important?

From your own leadership development perspective, there are some key insights worth acting on:

1. At the heart of our ‘ability to change’ is a strong desire or need (as created by the context of the pandemic) to do so.

2. Contrary to popular belief that “people don’t change”, we have clear evidence that we do (if we have a desire or need, as in #1).

3. It’s absolutely worth intentionally developing the character traits and mental models you’re going to need more of.

Interested in doing this for yourself?

Talk to me about what you desire or need to develop in 2022 - all of Mowbray by Design’s services are designed to support you to fully realise your vision for yourself, today and well into the future. You can book a time in my diary or send me a mail.

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Please feel free to comment and share your insight with us and if you know of someone else who would also enjoy this edition of LIFT, why not share it?

Until next time, take good care of yourself.

Best, Louise