Should Coaches Be Focusing Only On Strengths? with Jeffrey Auerbach

Jeffrey Auerbach designs and delivers executive coaching and emotionally intelligent leadership programs.  He is the founder and President of The College of Executive Coaching, and past Vice President of the International Coach Federation Global Board of Directors. In this conversation, you will hear Jeffrey talk about the well-being coaching he does with people in the workplace.  The biggest part of well-being is career well-being.  Jeffrey explains the importance of using strengths intelligently, and when one can’t rely on their strengths, doing the work to learn something new.  A weakness is sometimes a strength that is overplayed.  Jeffrey shares examples of coaching clients to demonstrate how these strategies can be implemented to make positive lifestyle changes. Connect with Jeffrey Auerbach: Website: http://executivecoachcollege.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-e-auerbach-4155722b/ You’ll Learn: [01:45] - Jeffrey will be presenting at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology. He’ll be talking about coaching for executive well-being.  He shares what he hopes attendees will take away from his presentation.   [03:10] - Jeffrey shares how he coaches people to make changes to achieve well-being. He talks about a few practical applications people can implement. [06:02] - Jeffrey talks about his new book, Positive Psychology in Coaching: Applying Science to Executive and Personal Coaching. [07:59] - In his new book, Jeffrey talks about the dangers of over-using strengths.  In the world of leadership, people are hired and promotion because of their strengths.  But, when their careers fail, it’s because they rely on those strengths rather than being an agile learner. [10:50] - Jeffrey shares how he coaches individuals to build on their strengths, but also be aware of and owning their limitations.   [14:49] - Jeffrey cites Barbara Fredrickson’s work on the upward spiral of lifestyle change. He shares an example of how positive emotions can make lifestyle changes more likely. [19:33] - Jeffrey talks about situations where well-being or strength-based coaching approaches are not appropriate.   [21:07] - Group coaching situations are becoming more common. Jeffrey explains the reasons that he likes this approach.   [25:08] - The Lightning Round with Jeffrey Auerbach Your Resources: 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology Personal and Executive Coaching: The Complete Guide for Mental Health Professionals - Jeffrey E. Auerbach Positive Psychology in Coaching: Applying Science to Executive and Personal Coaching - Jeffrey E. Auerbach and Sandra L. Foster Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans - W. Bruce Cameron Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.   Also, please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! Special thanks to Jeffrey for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!