Through positive psychology's movement in workplaces, a tool called the Reflected Best Self Exercise was developed by the Center for Positive Organizations (Ross School of Business, University of Michigan). The power of the Reflected Best Self Exercise ("RBSE") instrument is not just that it reveals who a person is at their best and how they most contribute value to others, but it reveals to them who they are already at their core at this very moment in time. This is not an exercise of aspiration for an unattainable future, it is an exercise of authenticity.
Here is how it works: Through the RBSE website, an individual invites 15-20 people who they have known in different meaningful capacities through their life to offer stories of them "at their best." The stories are compiled into a report along with the individual's own self-reflection. The resulting portrait contains themes and insights which are nuanced, profound, and deeply true. This portrait can be much richer than a mere strengths analysis. It is not uncommon for someone to read their portrait and be brought to tears. The individual next reflects on the conditions and contexts that enable and block them from being their best selves and builds on that to create these ideal conditions in their life.
As a coach, I guide a participant through the various steps of the exercise and assist in clarifying their strengths and identifying the conditions needed to thrive in work and life authentically. This tool could be used for someone looking to "job craft" their current role, shaping it to better fit their strengths and bring further meaning to their work or to sharpen what they are looking for in their next role.
This tool is appropriate for anyone looking to live and work in alignment with their strengths, their values, and their authentic selves. This tool does not take the place of a 360 feedback process for someone who is looking for that level of detail from colleagues or feedback on a particular issue. The RBSE stories are written from one prompt rather than gleaned through a multi-question interview. It serves an entirely different purpose from a 360.
To take the Reflected Best Self Exercise, please visit https://reflectedbestselfexercise.com.
(1) Caza, A & Cameron, K. (2008). Positive organizational scholarship: What does it achieve? Working paper prepared for 1st IESE Conference on “Humanizing the firm and the management profession.”
(2) Carucci, R. and Shappell, J. (2020). How to Job Craft as a Team, Harvard Business Review.
(3) Dutton, J. E., & Glynn, M. (2008). Positive Organizational Scholarship, The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Behavior, vol. 1, ch. 36.
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