Bringing the benefits of POS to the workplace

June 12, 2020

Center for Positive Organizations Impact Stories

Bringing the benefits of POS to the workplace

Jason Wilburn

“Co-learning about Positive Organizational Scholarship with so many types of organizations has been an incredible opportunity. I’ve learned how different companies tackle the same issues, like employee engagement.”

When Jason Wilburn enrolled in a Michigan Ross Executive Education course nearly ten years ago, his expectations were tempered: a chance to visit his undergraduate alma mater and nearby in-laws, and maybe take away a few interesting management tips. What he didn’t expect was that this course—taught by co-founders of the Center for Positive Organizations (CPO)—would be transformative.

As someone who studied organizational behavior in college, “The content aligned with my thoughts and ideas of how to run an organization and my personal views of the world,” he said. “That planted the seed.” He immediately started keeping a gratitude journal and following the academic research. He was determined to apply these concepts to his professional life.

While at Conco Services, he launched a “Year of High-Quality Connections” initiative that was inspired by CPO co-founder Jane Dutton’s research. This program, along with other positive-themed initiatives like a gratitude project, contributed to reduced turnover, increased revenues—from three million to eight million in less than three years—a reduction in safety incidents, and an increase in customer satisfaction.

Jason said that launching this program in the male-dominated manufacturing sector, which is typically averse to trying new practices, was especially challenging. But the outcomes wowed management. “The results showed that small gestures and changes can bring big results, leading to greater success. I absolutely believe it makes a difference,” he said.

Interested in learning even more about Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) and how to apply it, Jason joined the Center’s Positive Organizations Consortium, a peer-to-peer learning and networking cooperative. “Co-learning about POS with so many types of organizations has been an incredible opportunity. I’ve learned how different companies tackle the same issues, like employee engagement. It’s created a space where I could really get creative in generating new ideas and approaches,” he said.

When Jason’s career path led him to Foerster Instruments as their new president, a condition of accepting the position was that Foerster committed to becoming a member of the Consortium.

Jason has seen first-hand the way that incorporating POS concepts can completely transform an organization. “Identifying what’s going well and acknowledging and celebrating that is a difficult concept in the business world,” he said. “But when you can focus on what works instead of focusing on ways to fix what’s going wrong, it changes the entire attitude and culture of the organization.”

Jason Wilburn (AB ’94) is the president of Foerster Instruments and a Positive Organizations Consortium member.

This story and others appear in the Center for Positive Organizations 2020 Impact Report.