This Spring I'll be teaching a new course at the Stanford Graduate School of Business entitled The Art of Self-Coaching. Today I talked about the course with a few interested students, and above is a condensed set of my slides. The deck includes links to the books and articles I'll be using as readings in the course, and a more detailed syllabus is below.
CLASS 1: BEGINNINGS
- Neuroscience, Joyful Learning and the SCARF Model
- Safety, Trust, Intimacy
- How Great Coaches Ask, Listen, and Empathize
- Christopher Peterson, Pursuing the Good Life
- Ch 1, pp 3-6, “What Is Positive Psychology, and What Is It Not?”
- Ch 4, pp 14-17, “Blaming the Science Versus Blaming the Victim”
- Edgar Schein, Helping
- Ch 3, pp 30-47, “The Inequalities and Ambiguities of the Helping Relationship”
- OPTIONAL: Ch 5, pp 66-84, “Humble Inquiry”
CLASS 2: CHANGE
- Why Change is Hard
- Blocking and Tackling (Fundamentals of Change)
- Angela Duckworth and Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, True Grit
- Maria Popova, Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
- Babies, Bathwater and Goal-Setting
CLASS 3: EMOTION
- Richard Davidson, The Emotional Life of Your Brain
- Chapter 1, pp 1-12, “One Brain Does Not Fit All”
- Chapter 3, pp 43-65, “Assessing Your Emotional Style”
- OPTIONAL: Chapter 4, pp 67-90, “The Brain Basis of Emotional Style”
- OPTIONAL: Chapter 11, pp 225-252, “Rewired, or Neurally Inspired Exercises to Change Your Emotional Style”
- Daniel Siegel , Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation
- Introduction, pp ix-xvi
- Chapter 2, pp 23-44, “Crepes of Wrath: Mindsight Lost and Found”
CLASS 4: HAPPINESS
- Sonja Lyubomirsky, The How of Happiness
- Ch 1, pp 13-26, “Is It Possible to Become Happier?”
- Ch 2, pp 27-68, “How Happy Are You and Why?”
- Ch 3, pp 69-79, “How to Find Happiness Activities That Fit Your Interests, Your Values, and Your Needs”
- Christopher Peterson, Pursuing the Good Life
- Ch 21, pp 71-74, “Heritability and Happiness”
- OPTIONAL: Ed Diener, Myths in the Science of Happiness, pp 493-507 in The Science of Subjective Well-Being
- Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky)
- Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic (Lyubomirsky)
- VIA Survey of Character Strengths
CLASS 5: RESILIENCE
- Karen Reivich and Andrew Shatté, The Resilience Factor
- Ch 1, pp 9-30, “Resilience Matters”
- Ch 2, pp 31-47, “How Resilient Are You?”
- Ch 3, pp 48-62, “Laying the Groundwork”
- Linda Graham, Bouncing Back
- Ch 2, pp 29-45, “How the Wiring In of Resilience Can Go Awry”
- Resilience Quotient (Reivich and Shatté)
CLASS 6: VULNERABILITY
- Brené Brown, Daring Greatly
- Ch 2, pp 33-56, “Debunking the Vulnerability Myths”
- Ch 3, pp 59-111, “Understanding and Combating Shame”
- OPTIONAL: Brené Brown, Vulnerability, Empathy and Leadership
CLASS 7: UNHAPPINESS
- Oliver Burkeman, The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can't Stand Positive Thinking
- Ch 2, pp 23-50, “What Would Seneca Do?”
- Ch 3, pp 51-74, “The Storm Before the Calm” (I had to cut Ch 3 because of limits on copyrighted material)
- Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart
- Ch 2, pp 6-11, “When Things Fall Apart”
- Ch 11, pp 65-72, “Nonagression and the Four Maras”
- Ch 21, pp 137-142, “Reversing the Wheel of Samsara”
- David Foster Wallace, David Foster Wallace on Life and Work
- Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
- Section II, Logotherapy in a Nutshell, pp 108-115
CLASS 8: SUCCESS
- Sonja Lyubomirsky, The Myths of Happiness
- Ch 5, pp 115-143, “I’ll Be Happy When…I Find the Right Job”
- Ch 7, pp 163-181, “I’ll Be Happy When…I’m Rich”
- Peter Drucker, Managing Oneself
CLASS 9: ENDINGS
- William Bridges, Transitions
- Ch 4, pp 77-100, “Transitions in the Work Life”
- Ch 5 (excerpt), pp 107-123, “Endings”
- Ch 6, pp 133-155, “The Neutral Zone”
- Christopher Peterson, Pursuing the Good Life
- Ch 88, pp 289-290, “Days Are Long—Life Is Short”
- Ch 89, pp 291-294, “I Resolve to Take Benjamin Franklin Seriously”
- OPTIONAL: William Bridges on Transitions