Everybody’s Worthy of Respect

“The eternal problem of the human being is how to structure his waking hours.” 

Eric Berne

Philosophy

Transactional Analysis (TA) is a cohesive collection of concepts that can be broadly applied to any situation engaged with by human beings! The model describes human beings and our patterns of thinking, believing, feeling and behaving. There is no other model of psychology that was developed to be applied as much to professional groups and business organizations as to individuals, couples and families. It was initially developed over 50 years ago for psychotherapists, psychiatrists, organizational consultants, leaders and coaches.by Canadian born Psychiatrist Eric Berne, born in Montreal and educated at McGill.

The language of Transactional Analysis is simple and yet describes the depth of complexity inherent in being human and how we relate to ourselves and how we relate to other people. It is a comprehensive, scientific, and effective way to communicate with influence, resolve conflict, and problem solve at your highest level.

The three assumptions of TA:

• Everyone is OK: we all have inherent value and are worthy of being treated with dignity and respect regardless of behavior or life circumstances.
• Everyone makes their own decisions and these decisions can be changed. Everyone has the capacity to think clearly and take responsibility for their thoughts feelings, actions and can decide for themselves how they will solve their own problems.
• Everyone was born with an inherent capacity and desire to grow and develop.

Everyone is OK

The concept of OKness is one of the most enduring and powerful ideas in Transactional Analysis. Being ‘OK’ has a deep and profound meaning that everyone has value and worth, and as a human being, deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.

Okness is unconditional at birth, until someone puts conditions on what is an inherent right of being human. It is your birthright to be treated with dignity and respect: Ok is the truth of who you are. The idea that ‘Everyone is OK’ is a profound philosophical stance. Easy to say, hard to live.

Sometimes we believe ‘Not OK’ – either about ourselves or about others or both. This can happen in the moment to moment interactions between people – at work, and in life. With enough experiences of being treated as Not OK, a belief starts forming in out core, in our sense of self that distorts reality. Transactional Analysis methods helps people change their approach to life and work with strategies to support a movement back to the experience and behaviors that align with I’m OK, You’re OK.

The idea of OKness is simple and straightforward. Living it takes awareness, practice, commitment and love. In an organizational setting, okness is demonstrated when a culture of psychological safety devoid of shame and blame is created. Mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn, feedback is sought and given because seeing growth is in our DNA, achievement and contributions are celebrated and the system has clear structures and opportunities to grow.

Everyone has the capacity to think

Everyone has the ability and capacity to think for themselves. They can solve their own problems, know their own truth, and take action. This means it is not necessary to ‘do the thinking’ for others or attempt to solve their problems. Several concepts within Transactional Analysis describes what happens when this simple idea is not upheld, and how to change.

As coaches, trainers, and facilitators at The Change Institute, this means we do not come into a role to ‘save the day’, or rescue the client with our expertise. Rather, we teach clients concepts they can implement to achieve their desired outcomes. This is true in our training programs, as well as our consulting and facilitating work. The power is in the client.

‘Physis’ – We want development

‘Physis’ is a Greek word referring to growth and change in the natural and human world. People’s and organizations’ natural state is to grow and develop and achieve success. Even the most significant of problems and challenges have options. We all hold deeply embedded cultural beliefs from our family of origin about what is acceptable behavior, whether to trust or not, and how much honesty and openness feels safe. Likewise, organizations hold collective beliefs and values embedded in the company’s culture. These beliefs affect every interaction.

Transactional Analysis philosophical stance is that our normal natural state as humans, and thus also organizations, is to develop and grow towards autonomy. – in the words of Rudolph Steiner the goal is to be free (autonomous) taking full responsibility for our experiences and our lives and be full contributors to our organizations, our communities and our world.