Many coaching approaches are based on positivity. Just don’t let it become oppressive, says David Megginson of the Coaching and Mentoring Research Unit of Sheffield Business School Positive thinking and positive psychology need to be differentiated. Positive thinking stems from the work of Samuel Smiles1 in 19th century America and more recently of Norman Vincent Peale2, 3. Positive psychology takes a rigorous, evidence-based approach to positivity. Like positive thinking, it turns its gaze towards the positive, but looks at...