3 good things: how to use positive psychology during tenders
By Roshan Sahukar, Tender Specialist (Sydney)
Positive psychology is a branch of psychology focused on the cultivating the strengths and virtues that enable us and our communities to thrive. One of its most passionate advocates is renowned psychologist Dr Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania. I was re-reading Seligman’s book Flourish recently, which explores happiness and wellbeing through his team’s mental health research and their work with the US military as well as school students and organisations globally. And it made me wonder, could we be better using positive psychology to boost wellbeing during tenders?
In Flourish, Seligman talks about the power of optimism: ‘Positive mood produces broader attention, more creative thinking, and more holistic thinking… ‘When you’re in a bad mood, you’re better at “what’s wrong here?” When you’re in a good mood, you’re better at “what’s right here?”’ Better yet, he has shown that you can actually train yourself to look for the good in any situation, in our case as tender specialists, even during the most pressurised bid environments.
What went well?
Seligman teaches his students a what-went-well or three-good-things exercise: at the end of each day, write down three things that went well. For example, yesterday my three things were:
A clean and tidy house
A free box of beautifully plump ripe tomatoes
A lovely message from my workmate, Laura, from Tender Plus in Perth.
Next, for each item on your list, reflect on why it went well. Consider:
“Why did this good thing happen?” (This question gives you a chance to reflect on good things and analyse what leads them to happen to you.)
“What does this mean to you?” (A way to show gratitude for the good things.)
“How can you have more of this good thing in the future?” (Teaches you to be aware of your actions and how you can pave the way for goodness by proactively influencing good things in your life.)
So, using the above examples, here’s an analysis of my good things.
“Why did this good thing happen?”: In my case, a clean house ‘happened’ because I made an effort on the weekend and cleaned it! This has to be the singular reward for cleaning—I definitely don’t clean for fun. But you can’t deny, the results are immensely satisfying and, however fleeting, a clean house is lovely while it lasts.
“What does this mean to you?”: The tomatoes found their way to me because they were “out of date”. In fact, they were perfectly ripe, but I was thrilled to receive them and enjoyed the challenge of using up the whole box. (I roasted them in thick slices on an oven tray with a sprinkle of salt, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Blended with some basil and oregano, they made a lovely pasta sauce. But this is not a cooking blog.)
“How can you have more of this good thing in the future?”: With the lovely message I received from my colleague, Laura, I can make sure this happens again by letting her know how much I love hearing from her, and also by returning the favour in the hope that she gets the same enjoyment from my notes to her.
But, what about tenders?
This is all very lovely, I hear you thinking, but what does all this have to do with bidding? Well, this year, I’m committed to applying these daily reflections, even during the busiest of bids. It takes very little time and I’m assured it soon becomes addictive. By using this practice daily, within a tender process or in daily life, we train our brains to not only look for the good things in our day but also to seek out ways to (cue eye roll) manifest them.
Take the above examples. With the clean house, it is a good reminder that when you put the work in, especially for the boring tasks, you can reap the rewards. It’s a great example of hard work, and taking initiative. Some tasks, while dull, yield results and ultimately make your life easier. Something to remember the next time you update your tender management plan.
Then there are the tomatoes. It’s not quite ‘when life gives you lemons’ but it’s a good reminder that we can and should take the wins when they come along—a productive meeting, a rough draft response, a deadline met—and with a little bit of effort turn a good thing into something even better. (In my case, pasta sauce! But during a bid it might be a great second draft or a way to motivate the bid team). And we shouldn’t take these small wins for granted, we should celebrate them.
Finally, with the fun little Teams message, and the simple joy it brought me, it’s a little reminder that even in the depths of a stressful tender process, it’s important to remember that human connection, reaching out to someone, a family member, a friend, a client or a workmate, can make a difference to their wellbeing, and yours. In fact, it’s one thing I always try to do during a stressful tender. For my own wellbeing, I’ll pick up the phone and chat to a friend to have a laugh and blow off steam but also, I’ll make sure I check in on my clients and colleagues to see how they’re travelling, especially if I know they’ve been working long hours and are under the pump. It’s positive psychology in action. Now you try!
Want to learn more about wellbeing during tendering? Try The art of reflection and how it leads to better practice and 5 Strategies to Avoid Tender Burnout.
Tender Plus offers tender strategy, tender management and tender writing support nationwide via our talented teams in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Reach out to find out how we can help you win business.