Making Positive Psychology Work

Dr. Jillian Darwish currently serves as President and CEO of Mayerson Academy, a non-profit dedicated to transforming individuals, teams, and organizational performance. Under her leadership, the Academy has become the exclusive education partner to the VIA Institute, working with schools, universities, organizations, and communities to utilize the science of character strengths to transform cultures. The Academy's work has been featured in EdWeek, Live Happy, and US News and World Report and Dr. Darwish has been invited to share the Academy's work around the globe, including presentations in China, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, and Hong Kong. In today's episode, Dr. Jillian Darwish shares the surprising findings of a recent study with 1,000 American workers about if, how, and why people are using their strengths each day at work and the practical steps many workplaces may be missing. Connect with Jillian Darwish: https://www.mayersonacademy.org/ You'll Learn: [01:45] - Jillian shares what a recent study of 1,000 people representative of the American workforce has discovered about if, when, and why people use their strengths – the things they good at and enjoy doing – at work each day. [05:41] - Jillian explains why workers may feel that their workplaces are less committed to developing their strengths. [09:57] - Jillian outlines why having psychological safety in our teams, leaders who are able to have meaningful strengths conversations, and organizations who are committed to building our strengths is so important. [11:40] - Jillian offers some tips for helping more leaders have the willingness and confidence to have meaningful strengths conversations with their workers. [13:38] - Jillian shares the three important steps workplaces can use to help their people use their strengths each day at work. [15:55] - Jillian offers an important caution for workplaces trying to activate people's strengths. [22:41] - Jillian completes the Lightning Round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook The Strengths Lab 2019 Workplace Survey Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review of the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Jillian!

Dr. Margaret Heffernan is an entrepreneur who mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations and is lead faculty for the Forward Institute's responsible leadership programme. She is the author of five books including Willful Blindness which was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times, and in 2015 she was awarded the transmission prize for her book A Bigger Prize. Margaret's Ted talks have been seen by over seven million people. In today's episode, Dr. Margaret Heffernan shares what researchers have learned about the impact competition has on our performance and wellbeing, and gives us some practical tips on building psychological safety in our organizations Connect with Margaret Heffernan: http://www.mheffernan.com/?location=GB You'll Learn: [01:45] - Margaret explains what research William Muir discovered about how competition impacts productivity and why every leader needs to be mindful of this research in workplaces [05:41] - Margaret explains why leaders may remain willfully blind to the cost on performance and wellbeing of fiercely competitive environments in workplaces [09:57] - Margaret explains how willful blindness is driven by our theories of the world and how this impacts our ability to take in data that challenges our ideas [11:40] - Margaret offers some tips for nudging leaders out of their willful blindness so they can appreciate the importance of their people's wellbeing [13:38] - Margaret shares why and how institutionalizing dissent in workplaces can help to lower levels of willful blindness for ourselves and others [15:55] - Margaret explains how we can improve our ability in workplaces for "scrapping" as we learn to navigate conflict in healthy ways with each other [19:24] - Margret offers some tips for improving social capital in busy workplaces and the impact it can have on the bottom line in workplaces [22:41] - Margaret completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review of the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Margaret!

As Professor Emerita of Management at California State University East Bay, Loretta's research explores how people can discover their power over their mammalian operating system(laughs). The author of several books, including her newest one Tame Your Anxiety which is being released shortly, she has shared her research and talks all over the world In today's episode, we explore, how we can tame the anxiety our mammalian brains when facing challenges at work. Connect with Loretta Breuning: https://innermammalinstitute.org/ You'll Learn: [02:15] - Loretta explains how anxiety can impact us neurologically at work when we're facing challenges. [05:13] - Loretta explores why we might have become too anxious about being anxious at work. [06:43] - Loretta outlines how rewards can create a treadmill system for behaviors that can make us feel more anxious at work. [09:39] - Loretta explains how we can prepare ourselves to better navigate our feelings of anxiety at work. [14:31] - Loretta shares a tool she has created to encrypt self-soothing to help manage the anxiety that can come with learning in workplaces. [16:50] - Loretta offers some simple suggestions to help others tame their anxiety at work. [21:25] - Loretta outlines some of the pitfalls for taming anxiety in workplaces. [225:30] - Loretta completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: Chimpanzee Politics: Power and Sex among Apes by Frans De Waal Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review of the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Lorettaa!

Today we're talking to Wayne Baker, who's a professor of business administration at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and faculty director of the Centre for Positive Organisations. Wayne's teaching and research focuses on social capital, social networks, generosity, positive organizational scholarship, and values. And his latest book is Permission to Ask, which is coming out in 2020. He's also a founder and board member of Give and Take Inc., developers of the Givitas collaborative technology platform. In this week's episode, we explore how individual and organizational levels of energy impact our performance and wellbeing, and the small steps we can take to boost, maintain, and our renew our energy levels at work. Connect with Wayne Baker: waynebaker.org You'll Learn: [03:06] - Wayne explains how emotional energy, relational energy, and organizational energy can impact our wellbeing and performance at work. [06:41] - Wayne shares what he and other researchers are finding about the benefits of intentionally managing our emotional, relational, and organization energy in workplaces. [08:34] - Wayne provides some examples of how workplaces are intentionally creating strategies to manage people's energy at work. [11:26] - Wayne explains how we can help people understand that unlike machines our energy ebbs and flows during a day, and the small things they can do to maintain higher levels of energy. [13:53] - Wayne outlines how psychological safety and the willingness to ask for help shape the levels of organizational energy a workplace experiences. [17:44] - Wayne shares why leaders often find looking after the energy of their organization so challenging. [19:36] - Wayne offers for some tips for leaders to embed behaviors that help people to renew and sustain their energy in their workplaces. [22:09] - Wayne explains how we can maintain our energy wisely, so we avoid burning ourselves or others out at work. [23:06] - Wayne completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: https://giveandtakeinc.com/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review of the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Wayne!

Today we're talking to Michelle Etheve, who specializes in enabling people to create purposeful, strength-based change. With a Master's of Science in Coaching Psychology from the University of Sydney, post-graduate studies in Positive Psychology and Education, and experience utilising human centred design and appreciative inquiry, Michelle is sought around the world for her ability to create and deliver highly engaging learning and positive change experiences that enable people and teams to thrive. In this episode, we explore how you can create more positive changes in your workplace by creating a coaching culture that supports continuous learning. We also explore where and why organizational changes often come unstuck. Connect with Michelle Etheve: The Change Lab You'll Learn: [02:26] - Michelle explains how new research has found that organizational approaches to change can improve people's wellbeing and create a virtuous cycle [04:01] - Michelle provides a practical example of how one company is fusing wellbeing and changes approaches together as they deliver business outcomes [08:09] - Michelle offers some tips for leaders to have more inclusive and meaningful conversations that invite people to take ownership of the changes that need to be created [12:12] - Michelle shares some simple questions to help us support continuous learning as changes are implemented in our workplaces [17:20] - Michelle shares an antidote to the "I'm too busy" stories that often bring change unstuck in workplaces [18:46] - Michelle completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Teaming by Amy Edmonson Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Michelle!

Today we're talking to Jon Berghoff, who is the co-founder and managing partner of the Flourishing Leadership Institute, and has designed and facilitated whole system change efforts through large group collaborative summits for the U.S. Navy, the United Nations, BMW and businesses and institutions of all sizes. Known for bringing out the "group genius" in high stakes, complex environments, with speed, ease, and playfulness, Jon is sought around the world for his ability to create powerful learning experiences around Appreciative Leadership, Emotionally Intelligent Negotiations, and Influence. In this episode, Jon shares the insights from the new Change Lab 2019 Workplace Survey including why the quantity of change is not the real challenge workplaces face when it comes to supporting people's wellbeing. Connect with Jon Berghoff: https://www.lead2flourish.com/ You'll Learn: [02:42] - Jon shares what The Change Lab 2019 Workplace Survey found when it comes to creating successful changes that support people's wellbeing at work [05:18] - Jon outlines why it is the quality of change experiences, not the quantity of change experiences that are burning people out in workplaces [08:58] - Jon shares why having a clear organizational purpose has such an impact on creating successful changes in workplaces [11:28] - Jon shares the three questions any workplace can use to help make changes more personally meaningful for workers [14:07] - Jon outlines the six strengths-focused questions that workplaces can ask to make change more successful [19:05] - Jon explains why 40% of workers might still believe that fixing weaknesses in their workplace is the best way to create successful changes [20:56] - Jon shares how organizations can use an invite-and-inquire approach to creating change to drive more ownership and accountability for action [24:56] - Jon outlines how the virtuous cycle between successful change and wellbeing in workplaces works and what we can do to harness it [28:56] - Jon completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Conversations Worth Having by Jacqueline Stavros & Cheri Torres Follow Your Different Podcast Episode 207 - Future Hacking w/ Bix & Joe Bickson Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Jon!

Today we're talking to Ron Fry, who's a professor of organizational behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University and former chairman of the Department of Organizational Behaviour, which has been consistently ranked one of the best in the world by the Financial Times. With 11 books and over 45 articles and chapters, Ron is widely published in the areas of organizational development, appreciative inquiry, team building, change management, executive development, and the role and function of the CEO. He's a co-creator of the appreciative inquiry theory and method and continues to both apply and study the applications of AI in organizations all over the world. In this episode, we discuss the simple questions that leaders can ask to help their people not just survive, but thrive, through organizational change experiences. Connect with Ronald Fry: https://weatherhead.case.edu/faculty/ronald-fry You'll Learn: [02:03] - Ron explains the three most important evidence-based insights every leader should know in order to implement change effectively in their workplace. [04:57] - Ron shares why the questions we ask as leaders set changes in motion and how we can be more intentional about the questions we choose. [09:14] - Ron outlines how creating opportunities to build new connections inside and outside of our organizations can power our change efforts. [12:38] - Ron explains how Appreciative Inquiry can build rapid trust in workplaces to help people work together to make their hopes for a change a reality. [17:39] - Ron outlines why stability and change have an interconnected and interdependent relationship, and why stability is as important for our success as change is in workplaces. [24:07] - Ron challenges our language about change in workplaces, and provides insights on why we need to think of change as a verb. [27:23] - Ron shares his tips for helping people to flourish through change in workplaces. [31:18] - Ron explains what it takes to build a positive institution and if this is possible in any workplace. [32:07] - Ron completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Approach to Building Cooperative Capacity by Ronald Fry & Frank Barrett The Universality of the Heliotropic Effect - TEDx talk with Kim Cameron Paul Zak on Youtube Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Ron!

Today we're talking to Marie McLeod who fuses her qualifications in social work, adult education, and positive pschology with her extensive experience in community culture change. As the director of PoPsy, Marie makes positive psychology practical for individuals, organizations, and families, and as the founder of The Kindness Company, she uses kindness and compassion to cultivate community level wellbeing. In this episode, we explore why and how community-level kindness can be an active ingredient to improve wellbeing to workplaces and the frameworks and practical steps we can take to make this a reality. Connect with Marie McLeod: www.kindnesscompany.com.au You'll Learn: [03:07] - Marie explains why we need to think about improving people's wellbeing, at an individual and at the community level in workplaces. [06:40] - Marie shares how she's been using the Community Kindness Challenge to help wellbeing be taught and caught in workplaces at the levels of me, we, and us. [12:01] - Marie outlines why she's finding kindness is the superpower of wellbeing approaches. [16:10] - Marie outlines the BEACON framework for improving wellbeing at a community level and explains how this build shared accountability for the wellbeing actions people choose to take. [21:09] - Marie offers some practical tips for improving kindness in workplaces. [24:43] - Marie completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: MPPW Podcast on Facebook Michelle Mcquaid's Books The Compassionate Mind by Paul Gilbert Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Marie!

Today we're talking to David Zeitler who uses the latest research in neuroscience, adult development, and leadership development to help people find ways to embrace the process of change and create transformations for themselves and others. After beginning as a psychotherapist and later spending two years as a lay monk, David went on to train executives and life coaches in the Immunity for Change Coaching Program at Mind Works with Harvard Professor Lisa Lahey and Robert Kegan. In this episode, we explore why we might be immune to creating the changes we want for ourselves and our teams in workplaces and how a simple mapping exercise can help us overcome our resistance to change. Connect with David Zeitler: http://www.mindfulnesscoach.biz/ You'll Learn: [02:25] - David explains that our mind has its own immune system that impacts our ability to create changes in our lives [04:51] - David outlines the three plateaus in adult mental development that help us navigate work and life [11:17] - David offers some tips for different ways to approach technical challenges and adaptive challenges when it comes to creating change [14:19] - David outlines how a psychological immunity map can be used to embrace adaptative challenges and make change a little easier [19:47] - David outlines some of the common worries that drain people's commitment for change [22:40] - David shares how behavior change experiments can help us test our worries and concerns about creating change [27:58] - David completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: http://www.theorangestoolkit.com.au/ Immunity to Chang by Robert Kegan & Lisa Laskow Lahey Tim Ferris Podcast The Further Reaches of Adult Development - Robert Kegan Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you David!

Today we're talking to Tegan Davies, who's a self-professed wellness geek, who has embedded positive psychology practices in the not-for-profit sector for over 10 years. Previously the head of Learning Development and Culture at Camp Quality, Australia's leading childhood cancer charity, Tegan is now the manager of operations at The Oranges Toolkit, a social enterprise dedicated to helping individuals and teams to realize their potential. She's also a board member for Action for Happiness in Australia, a business coach, and a qualified yoga teacher In this episode, we discover how HR leaders can introduce and embed positive psychology approaches across workplaces, and the importance of establishing a common language, evidence-based practices, and wellbeing champions. Connect with Tegan Davies: http://www.theorangestoolkit.com.au/ [free_product_purchase id="44348"] You'll Learn: [02:21] - Tegan explains how Camp Quality – an Australian not for profit that helps children and their families who are impacted by cancer – has leveraged positive psychology approaches to look after the wellbeing of their staff in these sometimes very challenging circumstances. [05:38] - Tegan shares how as an HR leader for Camp Quality she began finding ways to embed positive psychology approaches in the organization [10:31] - Tegan provides some examples of the positive psychology approaches she has found works best in organizations. [15:03] - Tegan shares her tips on finding wellbeing champions in your workplace and how you can harness their commitment and strengths to improve wellbeing across your workplace. [20:49] - Tegan explains the importance of celebrating the successes of wellbeing journeys. [23:53] - Tegan offers some cautions on taking a one-size fits all approach to organizational wellbeing programs. [28:23] - Tegan outlines how common language and frameworks can help people to tailor their own wellbeing journey. [30:50] - Tegan completes the Lightning round. Your Resources: http://www.theorangestoolkit.com.au/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post. Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them. And don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free! You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing. Until next time, take care! Thank you Tegan!