Top 15 posts of 2011

As an end-of-year tradition here is a list of what I think are this year's best posts. This year I wrote fewer posts on this blog than in previous years. While, of course, I can't objectively say how interesting and useful this year's posts were, I can say that some of the posts I wrote this year belong to my favorite things I have ever written. I learned a lot thinking and writing about these topics and by reading your comments. I am glad that you, reader, appear to have found some of them useful and interesting, too. If you want to let me know what your favorite post was, that would be nice.

What I think were this year's best posts:

1. Testing the Association between Solution-Focused Coaching and Client Perceived Coaching Outcomes - in which I present a recent paper in which I describe the results of a web-based survey which was administered with 200 clients of coaches. SF coach behaviors were strongly positively associated with positive coaching outcomes. 9 assumptions suggests that these variables effectively describe a solution-focused mindset
2. Results of the mini-survey on solution-focused assumptions - in which I describe a study testing a set of 9 solution-focused assumptions I had formulated. The study suggests that this list of 9 assumptions effectively describes a solution-focused mindset.
3. Developing a Growth Mindset - How individuals and organizations benefit from it - contains an article in which I explain the basic ideas behind Carol Dweck's concept of mindset. The article suggests ways to build a growth mindset in organizations. 
4. The Solution-Focused Fields of Attention Framework - presents a framework I developed which shows how a process of asking solution-focused questions helps to gradually facilitate a shift from talking and thinking about negative things to thinking and talking about positive things.
5. Improving science - argues that the scientific enterprise is extremely important and that we should continue to improve scientific practice; also suggests how.
6. Five macro-trends overarching all of human history - shows five long term trends which suggest that humanity is slowly but surely uniting and benefiting from it.
7. The shift from direct person compliments to indirect process compliments - in which I suggest how the solution-focused way of complimenting should shift.
8. Contaminated mindware- how can we protect ourselves against it - in which I reflect on how we may protect ourselves against thinking which is bad for us. 
9. 21 Solution-Focused Techniques - in which I explain many well-known and several lesser known solution-focused techniques. 
10. Solution-Focused Conversations Flow Chart - in which I present a simple chart which suggests how to help clients develop a clearer sense of what they want in conversations. 
11. Tiny task to unstuck yourself - in which I suggest an extremely simple but powerful technique to get going again when you feel stuck.
12. 9 Solution-focused starting points of organizational change - in which I suggest how solution-focused principles and techniques are relevant for helping organizations change deliberately. 
13. Finding the Plus Behind the Minus - in which I present a technique to deal with, apparently, negative words and behaviors. 
14. Promoting freedom and influence around the world - in which I show my gladness with the abolishment of dictatorships and argue that establishing and defending freedom and influence keeps asking attention everywhere, also in the 'free' world. 
15. The word 'talent' - in which I explain why I'd rather not use the word 'talent' a lot.

The rest of the posts I thought were this year's most interesting:

1. The Solution-Focused Circle Technique
2. 10 Tips to make your written communication more solution-focused
3. 4 Essential ingredients of solution-focused change
4. Usefulness and necessity
5. 4 Questions for solution-focused self-coaching
6. Like juggling the conflict away
7. Solution Focused Language Matching
8. Two dimensions of rationality
9. On truth: we can distinguish between false and falser
10. Objective reality as an asymptote
11. The map is not the territory
12. Deliberate practice: crucial factor behind top performance
13. Do recent publications prove Anders Ericsson and colleagues wrong about the importance of deliberate practice? No.
14. Focusing Flashlights on Different Corners
15. 10 solution-focused lists
16. Redirect: terrific book about story-editing
17. The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us (review)
18. The primacy of progress
19. Does the problem need a name?
20. Overdiagnosed: too much diagnosis is turning more and more of us into patients
21. The WHAT, WHO, and WHEN of successful organizational change
22. Routes to wellness
23. "Can't you just give me some advice?"
24. What can you do when clients describe an unrealistic desired scenario?
25. The word 'purpose'
26. Challenging yourself as a teacher
27. 5 types of homework suggestions for solution-focused career counselors
28. "Only the third time these questions are asked you can really answer them"
29. What habit do you want to build and how can you succeed?
30. How can we help individuals to internalize and integrate external values and demands?
31. Evidence of the motivational impact of progress
32. 2 Teachers' tools to help build an autonomy supportive classroom: SVE and FIV
33. Structure and autonomy
34. Interview with Heidi Grant Halvorson
35. Autonomy-support in organizations: what, why, and how?
36. 10 misconceptions of solution-focused coaching
37. 3 Dimensions contributing to human wellness
38. My 10 top rated videos on the solution-focused approach
39. On diagnostics in personnel selection
40. Applying solution-focused interventions in a fluent and natural way
41. Organizational Change Exercise
42. Hypothetical questions: when is it morally defensible to use them?
43. A model of success
44. Coaching Research
45. In praise of task focus