Developing The Inner H.E.R.O

by RD Kosor

Greetings! I wanted to share something with you that applies to everyone: developing the inner HERO!

What is the inner H.E.R.O.? Put plainly, it is the psychological strength and know-how necessary to take on the unknown. Consider the current economic environment. Program cut-backs, corporate mergers, downsizing, and lay-offs have littered the landscape for nearly ten years. No industry is immune to the reality of the new global marketplace. Hence, no one’s job is truly secure because no one can, with any certainty, predict what will happen tomorrow.

A little over five years ago, social science researchers began looking deeper into the psychological makeup of those individuals who calmly pull through challenges and don’t allow adversity to impact their output. What they landed on was the existence of four key psychological components necessary to withstand the professional unknown: Hope, Self-Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism. Once discovered, they set out to determine whether those four psychological characteristics could be developed in people. The results of the research overwhelmingly support the development of psychological capital.

Unfortunately, social science researchers are not trainers. Their interest is purely empirical. As a researcher myself, I understand the necessity of being removed from the process. However, my background is all about taking the impact that human capital has on businesses and molding it in such a way that improves competitiveness and strengthens the bottom line. How better to do that than to train.

The Metamorphosis leadership training program begins with the development of each trainee’s inner H.E.R.O. Hope development is very goal-focused. Once individual goals are defined, hope is created through the process of crafting specific and multiple pathways toward the end result. From there, willpower becomes the focus of the overarching theme of Hope. Self-Efficacy requires task-mastery and understanding how to pull strength from teammates engaging in the same activities. Resilience requires learning how to bounce back stronger that before after experiencing disappointment. Learned optimism is a shift in the mindset created by fear of the unknown. Perception and reality are primary learning topics during this portion of the training.

The results of developing the inner H.E.R.O. include diminished occupational stress (considered an epidemic by the World Health Organization), decreased negative turnover, and increased job satisfaction. For an organization, it is imperative to have employees who feel value and purpose in their jobs on a daily basis. Taking it a step further, organizations can help each employee develop a psychological skill set that will enhance their performance and create positive attitudes in the workplace.

I’ve seen people who walk through their daily jobs with negative attitudes and fear of the unknown. That kind of fear can be debilitating, not only to a person’s outlook and positive approach to life but to a company! Owners want to employ the kind of people who will add value to their product or service. Being an employee is so much more than collecting a paycheck! It’s about being an essential part of producing a product or service that someone truly needs. It is when that connection is made that employees become part of the solution rather than the problem. It’s my job to make that happen and the development of psychological capital is step one toward achieving that goal.

Metamorphosis is not your traditional training company. Our purpose is to elicit the kind of change that takes time and continues indefinitely. Each trainee is equipped with the knowledge and skill to implement their learned material immediately upon returning to work. Our pull through program brings the trainer back six weeks after training ends to ensure that implementation is occurring, that challenges to the change process are discussed and overcome, and that each trainee is focused on continuing the metamorphosis over the long term. For six months following training, each trainee has continued access to the trainer for advice or to bounce ideas off of.

Awesome, isn’t it? And that’s only half of the program! The second half is just as amazing. I haven’t even begun to explain the kind of workshop activities that engage our learners! Metamorphosis is the only training company in the country with this curriculum. I never tire of hearing how unique this curriculum is or how effective it is at building innovation and team creativity. This experience truly packs a punch!

When you’re considering the training needs of your internal customers, take a moment to shoot me an email. I’d love nothing more than to schedule a conversation that will undoubtedly launch you and your workforce into an exciting shift from the status quo.

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RD Kosor PhD, Trainer, Author and Transformational Leader, is an Adjunct Professor at the Arkansas Tech University, and founder of Metamorphosis.

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