Sunday, September 23, 2012

Reflected Best Self Exercise(RBSE)

Dear friends of the past and present,

I created this blog to make it easier for you, my dear friends to provide feedback on my class assignment on Leadership development, which is part of a required course for my MBA program at UTD.   Maybe seeing others write, will help recall that magical time we spend together, whether it is solving a problem or just enjoying the time together with our friends.  

This Reflected Best Self Exercise(RBSE) highly encourage people to think about the good things of a person.  Of course that doesn't mean that the person has no flaws.  It is just that focusing on the strengths of people will help people succeed better when they focus on build on their strengths, rather than concentrating on improving their weaknesses.  My teacher put it this way,"If I was asked to be an chemist, I will fail miserably.  Why?  It's just not my thing.  Seeing a science or math book gives me headaches.  No matter how hard I try, I can't be "good" at it."   

The center for Positive Organizational Scholarship of University of Michigan created the RBSE to help individuals expand their understanding of who they are and what they do when they are at their best.  The RBSE is a unique story-, strength-, and contribution-based approach to feedback-seeking and analysis.  A former RBSE participant said of the process, "Besides feeling closer to my friends and peers for their positive views of me, it was very interesting to note the different impact that I seem to have made on each of them.  The specifics mentioned by them allowed me to see some of the mechanisms by which I influence and have had an impact on people."  

If you can provide me with two/three stories of when I was at my best in your eyes, not only would it help me with my class assignment,  but it would be very helpful for me to understand myself better and lead a more happier and fulfilling life in the future.  It will be like opening another window so I can see that "blind spot" that is not very obvious to me.  

Please make a comment below by Oct 12.  You don't have to write your full name.  You can just leave an initial or just be anonymous.  I should be able to tell who you are from your story whether it is recent or long time ago, it is OUR story.  If you would rather not share with the world, you can always email me.  Thank you very much for your help.  

Kind Regards,

PPM, the Wonderer
Additional Instructions:

This will require you to think about your interactions with me and to identify those times when I was at my best in your eyes.  In writing, please be sure to provide details so I can understand the context, what happened, and what my positive contribution was.  Best-self stories often capture things that people say or do in critical times or everyday routines that make a difference.  These stories are often unacknowledged publicly.  Best-self stories may describe someone's approach to people, challenges, tasks, or even a work environment.  If you would like to learn more about the Reflected Best Self Exercise, please visit:
http://www.centerforpos.org