The Heliotropic Effect of Abundance

The following article was written by Dr. Kim Cameron in 2008. The insights shared are as relevant today as ever. Currently Dr. Cameron is the William Russell Kelly Professor of Management and Organizations at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Prior, he was the dean of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.

To explain the heliotropic effect, let us pose the question: What happens over time when you put a plant in a window???The answer, of course, is that the plant begins to lean toward the light.??That is, a natural tendency exists in every living system to be inclined toward positive energy—toward light—and away from negative energy or from the dark.??The reason is that light is life giving and energy creating.??All living systems are inclined toward that which gives life.??

The heliotropic effect is evident in many ways within individuals and organizations—physiologically, psychologically, emotionally, visually, socially, and so forth (see Cooperrider, 1990; Cameron, 2003; Bright, Cameron, & Caza, 2006).??At the individual level, the heliotropic effect may be manifest physiologically as the?placebo effect.??That is, if a person believes that a medication will be effective, it will, in fact, produce the desired effect about 60 percent of the time.??Psychologically, the heliotropic effect is manifest as the?Pygmalion effect.??That is, not only does my system respond to my own positive expectations, but the expectations of others also can produce a heliotropic effect for me.??The essence of this effect is that the perception of a teacher appears to affect the performance outcome of the class. If thinks that learners are bright, they are. Those expectations are more powerful than any other single factor, including actual IQ scores (Rosenthal & Jacobsen, 1968) on performance.??

The heliotropic effect is also manifest emotionally.??Positive emotions have been linked to longer life spans (Snowden, 2002; Danner, Snowden, & Friesen, 2001). The heliotropic effect also occurs through positive energy.??This is supported by the strengths-based findings of the Gallup Organization (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001), the high quality connections research of Dutton and Heaphy (2003), and the positive emotions work of Fredrickson (2003). The heliotropic effect can manifest itself in?visualization.??When people visualize themselves as succeeding, they tend to succeed significantly more than otherwise (Kirschenbaum, 1984).??Still another set of studies shows the heliotropic effect that occurs when individuals are exposed—even temporarily—to?virtuous, optimistic, positive behaviors?(see studies by Ryff & Singer, 1998; Emmons, 2003; Seligman, 2002).??

Each of these streams of research confirms the same conclusions that emerge from the studies cited above, namely, that a focus on the positive and on abundance unlocks the heliotropic effect.??People do better physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally when exposed to abundance. While the referenced studies do not examine causal relationships between abundance and high performance, they do produce evidence that is suggestive of such a relationship (see Cameron, 2003).??

At the organizational level Cameron has conducted several studies and colleagues (for example, Cameron, 2003; Cameron, Bright, & Caza, 2004; Bright, Cameron, & Caza, 2006; Gittell, Cameron, and Lim, 2006) which do, in fact, lend support to the impact of a positive, abundance orientation on organizational performance.??That is, an abundance approach does appear to be associated with high levels of performance in organizations.??

This is the case with research conducted among organizations that had recently downsized (see Cameron, 2003).??The problem with organizational downsizing is that it almost always produces negative effects—most notably, the destruction of interpersonal relationships, shared values, trust, loyalty, and commonality in culture and values; reduced information sharing and increased secrecy, deception, and duplicity; increased formalization, rigidity, resistance to change, and conservatism; increased conflict, anger, vindictiveness, and feelings of victimization; and increased selfishness and voluntary turnover, as well as deterioration in teamwork and cooperation (Cole, 1993; Cameron, Kim, & Whetten, 1987).??As a result, most downsizing firms experience deterioration in performance.??

Amplifying and Buffering Benefits

The reason that organizations do better when exposed to abundance and virtuousness—that is, the reason that the heliotropic effect works in organizations as well as with individuals—is because of its?amplifying and buffering benefits.??Simply stated, when an abundance approach is implemented in organizations, positive consequences are amplified, and they become self-reinforcing.??Similarly, the organization becomes buffered from negative consequences and develops hardiness (see Cameron, 2003; Bright, Cameron, & Caza, 2006).???At least four explanations exist for why these benefits occur—the generation of positive emotions, the formation of social capital, the demonstration of prosocial behavior, and the creation of resiliency.??

Positive emotions.??An abundance approach to change and the facilitation of virtuousness in organizations produce positive emotions in individuals, which, in turn, lead to an amplifying effect.??Several studies (George, 1995; Fineman, 1996; Seligman, 2002a) have demonstrated that this amplifying effect is disseminated throughout an organization emotionally by way of a contagion effect.??

?Social capital.??A second reason for the amplifying benefits of an abundance approach is its association with the formation of social capital.??Building social capital reduces transaction costs, facilitates communication and cooperation, enhances employee commitment, fosters individual learning, strengthens relationships and involvement, and, ultimately, can enhance organizational performance (Adler & Kwon, 2002)

Prosocial behavior.??An abundance approach also tends to foster prosocial behavior or behaviors that benefit other people.??Observing and experiencing virtuousness helps unlock the human predisposition toward behaving in ways that benefit others.??Studies reported by Cialdini (2000) and Ashe (1952) support the idea that when people observe exemplary or moral behavior, their inclination is to follow suit.??Positive spirals of prosocial behavior tend to flow from abundance-oriented behavior.?

Resilience.??An abundance approach also buffers organizations from harmful events by fostering resiliency.??At the group and organization levels, an abundance approach enhances the ability to absorb threat and trauma and to bounce back from adversity (Dutton, Frost, Worline, Lilius, & Kanov, 2002).??It serves as a source of resilience and “toughness” (Dienstbier & Zillig, 2002) fostering a sense of collective efficacy, thus helping the organization absorb misfortune, recover from trauma, and maintain momentum in difficult circumstances.??Abundance helps replenish or renew organizations.??That is, observing or experiencing the abundance approach fosters positive energy and, hence, replenishes the human capital needed to capably absorb or recover from damage (Dutton & Heaphy, 2003).??

In summary?the success achieved extends well beyond even the most optimistic estimates of what would constitute a successful outcome.The primary reason for this success was the implementation of an abundance approach to change—meaning?a positive emphasis, or an emphasis on achieving the best of the human condition, striving for positive deviance, and working to fulfill the highest potential of organizations and individuals.??Adopting an abundance approach to change unlocks the heliotropic effect in individuals and organizations.??The heliotropic effect not only produces elevated performance, but also it provides amplifying benefits—escalating, self-reinforcing performance—and buffering benefits—the development of resiliency and the ability to absorb negative influences.??

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