What we can learn from a successful and much-used form of cognitive therapy. — The basic idea behind cognitive therapy is that rational thoughts of the client can overcome their irrational beliefs. Therapists will “force” clients to think from different angles by asking many questions or by stating observations that contradict the beliefs of the client. American psychologist Albert Ellis (1913–2007) fell out of…

Immediate action is preferred in order to change behavior and thoughts sooner rather than later. — Au contraire to the psychodynamic approach, behavioral and cognitive therapies focus on the observable symptoms a client displays, rather than on the supposedly underlying issues that cause certain symptoms. Let’s say when you get gloomy, you start to eat too much. A psychodynamic therapist would try and find out why…

What we can learn from traditional forms of therapy. — Considering that true organizational change happens only when (certain) individuals within the organization change their thinking and behavior, it makes sense to explore the tools that psychotherapists use to bring about change in their clients’ behavior and reasoning. Before we dive into the world of psychotherapy, I want to set…

How to learn from the overlap of being a coach and being a therapist. — There are quite a few similarities between being a coach and being a therapist. …

Stakeholder communication can backfire in unexpected ways. — Common business habits are unwittingly influenced by psychological phenomena. One particular phenomenon that has far-reaching consequences is called loss aversion. In my previous article — about The Ultimatum Game — I told you about Dutch primatologist and ethologist Frans de Waal, who has done a lot of research over the…

We are not by far as rational as we like to think. — Game theory, the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction between rational decision-makers, saw the light of day in a 1928 proof written by Hungarian-American polymath John von Neumann (1903–1957) — considered by many to be the most intelligent person ever to have lived. In 1944, Von Neumann co-authored Theory…

When to cooperate and when not to, on the work floor. — Perhaps you’ve heard of the term “Prisoner’s Dilemma”, but maybe not in relation to a business environment. Find out about the prisoner’s dilemma, the iterated prisoner’s dilemma, and how to link them to stakeholder management. In social psychology, a small hypothetical story is used to point out a situation that…

With growing self-organization, be wary of the corporate bystanders. — In modern organizations, there is a growing tendency to strive for more autonomy and self-organization, for both teams and for individuals inside teams. This comes at a price. If you’re not careful, corporate bystanding lurks around the corner. Teams should be able to determine what work they can handle and…

Corporate messages often fall short of their intentions, here’s why. — All too often, management sends out company-wide messages to stimulate a certain type of behavior, or vice versa, to discourage certain behavior. If you don’t do this right, the results might be exactly the opposite of what you are aiming for. When we take part in any social setting, we…