POLITICAL COACHING
Self-Actualizing Politics and Politicians (2015)
L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.
NSP, $25
Never before has an entire book devoted attention to politics from the perspective of Self-Actualization Psychology. That means this book the very first book on Bright-Side Psychology Politics. Now through the lens of Self-Actualization Psychology you can view politics and politicians and begin to get a vision about our political potentials. Yes, the idea of self-actualizing politics and politicians is radical and revolutionary, yet not only a possibility, but something that has already happened.
Abraham Maslow wrote:
“The more psychologically healthy (or more highly evolved) person is a political necessity. He has to be a person who is not hated, a person who can get along and be friendly, deeply friendly with anybody … who are very quick to detect any condescension or prejudice or hatred. Certainly one of the characteristics that is necessary is that the citizen of the country which will lead and win out must not have race prejudice.” (1971, p. 92)
After you read Political Coaching, you will never think about politics in the same way. This will start a Self-Actualization Revolution in your mind and who knows where it will go from there!
From the back cover:
If your first thought when you hear the phrase, Political Coaching, is, “Coach a politician?! Are you kidding? What planet did you grow up on?” Then you will both love and hate this book. You will be surprised and then shocked. Shocked when you discover that you too are a politician! Surprised that to be human is to be political because we are political beings. Love because politics is about how we relate and get along with each other —it is a psychological experience that we all have. Hate because politics can so easily and quickly go wrong even when you have the best intentions.
The possibility of positive and healthy politics may seem utopian, yet it is a potential. That’s because the quality of politics in any and every group is up to us. We can have self-actualizing politics, politicians, and governments if we so choose and act. It may not be easy, yet it is possible. This book is about the how. We can innovate Self-Actualizing Politics one conversation at a time as we use the healthy Political Coaching Conversations described here to transform the politics in our families, organizations, and government. By these intense and deeply meaningful conversations, we can then design the way we interact and govern ourselves can be healthy and positive.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
Thomas Jefferson