Making Positive Psychology Work

Dr. Timothy Sharp runs one of Australia's most respected clinical psychology practices, is a highly regarded executive coaching practice, and is the founder and chief happiness officer of the happiness institute, Australia's first and now largest organization devoted solely to enhancing happiness in individuals, families, and workplaces. An adjunct professor in positive psychology at the University of Technology in Sydney and RMIT University, Tim is a sought-after public speaker who makes frequent media appearances, and is the author of, among other things, "100 Ways to Happiness: A Guide for Busy People" and most recently, "Live Happier, Live Longer: A Guide to Positive Ageing". In today's episode we'll discuss how to help people find the time to integrate wellbeing practices into their workplace. Connect with Tim Sharp: Connect with Tim Sharp: Website: www.drhappy.com.au/ [free_product_purchase id="25009"] You'll Learn: [03:28] - Tim details the acronym CHOOSE, which relates to the idea of choosing happiness for our own lives. [08:07] - Tim gives tips on how to make time for happiness practises. [12:27] - Tim discusses how a workplace could embed happiness practises into the everyday lives of their employees, using the approach of mental health organisation Batyr as an example. [17:48] - Tim talks about making happiness practises work for the long term, by embedding and reinforcing key principles within the organisation. [21:03] - Tim gives examples of some support and activities that can be provided to improve mental health in the workplace. [22.58] - Tim explains how to navigate the cynics when trying to implement wellbeing practises within a workplace. [25:25] - Lightning round with Tim Sharp. Your Resources: 100 Ways to Happiness by Tim Sharp Live Happier, Live Longer by Tim Sharp 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 Tim!

Stella Grizont is a graduate at the University of Pennsylvania's Master's of Applied Positive Psychology programme and is an executive coach who has worked with over 14,000 people in 21 countries. Stella has also delivered workshops to organizations including Google, Johnson and Johnson, Young & Rubicam to inspire their employees to develop a positive work culture. Her unique approach to loving your work has been featured on MSNBC, ABC news and the Today Show. In today's episode Stella explains the power of playful mindset to help us avoid getting stuck in the common mind traps most of us struggle with at work. Connect with Stella Grizont: Website: www.woopaah.com You'll Learn: [05:06] – Stella explains how the playful mindset can help approach uncertain situations with curiosity rather than fear at work. [10:38] – Stella shares how complaining can become a common mind trap, because it triggers our negativity bias over and over again. [11:56] – Stella talks about how comparing yourself to others is another mindtrap in which people often become stuck. [13:56] – Stella outlines her "Vision Generator" exercise, and how it can help you to generate your vision and clarify how you want to be to avoid comparisons with others. [14:34] – Stella explains how criticism – especially of ourselves – gets many of stuck when it comes to our work and what we can do to be more supportive of ourselves. [19:29] – Stella shares what she wishes she known when she first graduated from the Masters of Positive Psychology program. [21:24] – Lightning round with Stella Grizont. Your Resources: www.workhappinessmethod.com/vision 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 Stella!

Dr. Diana Whitney is the founder and president of Positive Change, a global consultancy that helps executives and their teams design and facilitate high engagement, appreciative inquiry processes in support of business goals, strategies and innovation. Diana is also the co-founder of the Taos Institute, an education think-tank with over 500 international associates, teaching and doing research into constructive, relational processes in business, education families and communities. Diana is also the author of 18 books and dozens of articles and chapters including the Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change. She has more than 30 years of experience in helping make change happen, and teaching people how to make change happen around the world. In today's episode, Diana shares how she uses appreciative inquiry approaches to help organizations have a curious mindset and discover what gives life to their people to help systems create changes that work. Diana shares several case studies and what her research has found enables appreciative inquiry approaches to improve relationships and bottom-line business outcomes. Connect with Diana Whitney: Website: positivechange.org You'll Learn: [02:22] - Diana talks about how to introduce appreciative inquiry to clients that you work with. [04.24] - Diana gives an example of how this could be approach could be applied in an organization. [07:40] - Diana talks about the fear surrounding things that aren't working well in an organization if they aren't openly discussed. [09:42] - Diana explains how successful organisations "nurture out" their staff into roles that are most suitable to them. [10:46] - Diana discusses the key skill of flipping or reframing the narrative, to shift the organisation and the thinking of people from what the problems are, known as deficit, into more life affirming, positive possibilities. [14:45] - Diana shares the the incredible case study of Hunter Douglas Window Fashions. [19:18] - Diana talks about why appreciative inquiry delivers these kind of outcomes. [22:00] - Lightning round with Diana Whitney Your Resources: 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 Diana!

Reuben Rusk is the founder of Mind Quip, a social enterprise in Christ Church New Zealand whose vision is to create a happier and more productive workforce. Reuben is a lifelong learner and a big picture thinker who's passionate about teaching people to improve their lives and their wellbeing by distilling large amounts of research into down to earth training about what matters most. An experienced presenter and recognized expert in well being and resilience, Reuben's research has been published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, the psychology of wellbeing, and the Journal of Happiness studies. In today's episode, we'll be talking about the five domains Rueben's research has found lie at the heart of more than 18,000 peer-reviewed positive psychology intervention articles and how these can be combined to create a synergistic and holistic approach to create wellbeing behavior changes that work. Connect with Reuben Rusk: Website: mindquip.com [free_product_purchase id="24176"] You'll Learn: [02:00] - Reuben identified more than 18,000 documents, and here talks about what he found that can help us to improve our well being? [03:47] - Reuben discusses the five clusters of terms that he identified. [07:09] - Reuben talks about how the synergistic change model might help to shape our wellbeing. [08:59] - Reuben explains how the synergistic change model provides a framework to think through some important complexities. [11:41] - Reuben talks about how he helps people understand how to navigate emotional and social complexities. [12:50] - Reuben discusses the concept of relapse. [14:45] - Reuben explains how to think synergistically across those five domains of emotions, attention and awareness, comprehension and coping, goals and habits and social relationships, when trying to make a positive intervention. [15:58] - Reuben talks about the environmental factors that can affect positive interventions. [18:38] - Reuben discusses how the simpler option is not necessarily easier, and how simplifying complex systems can do more harm than good. [21:37] - Lightning Round with Reuben Rusk Your Resources: mindquip.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 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 Reuben!

David Desteno is a Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University where he directs the social immersions group. David's research examines the mechanisms of the mind that shape vice and virtue, and his work continually reveals that human moral behaviour is much more variable than most would predict. He's regularly featured in the media, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Harvard Business Review to name just a few. David is the author of several books including Emotional Success, The Truth about Trust, and the co-author of the Wall Street Journal's spotlight psychology best seller, Out of Character. In today's episode David shares his research on self-control and why harnessing social emotions – like gratitude, compassion and pride – can be an effective and energizing way to improve our levels of grit. Connect with David Desteno: Website: www.davedesteno.com [free_product_purchase id="24033"] You'll Learn: [01:56] - David talks about the ability to be future oriented and persevere to our future goals is an important part of life. [03:27] - David explains how the human mind tends to discount the value of the future. [05:01] - David lists gratitude, compassion and pride, as the social emotions that help with control and grit? [06:58] - David discusses how being self interested and aggressive is not an effective recipe for success, in the long term. [07:42] - David explains that what is adaptive for helping other people is adaptive for ourselves as well. [09:03] - David talks about how people who practise gratitude, compassion and pride, will demonstrate greater perseverence and less procrastination. He also discusses how the practise of meditation and mindfulnes can improve these qualities. [10:21] - David talks about making a habit of taking pride in steps along the way, not just when you reach your ultimate goal. [14:02] - David explains how pride can lead to perseverance. [15:47] - David gives examples of things that we can do to create a sense of authentic pride for ourselves. [17:21] - David details the intersection between the social emotions and our ability to maintain a growth mindset as we go about our jobs. [18:42] - David talks about our biases on who we choose to show compassion to, and how. [20:00] - David gives some practical tips on how to cultivate more compassion to improve relationships at work. [21:32] - David lists some other emotions that play into our social relationships, impact the choices we make, and our levels of self-control and grit. [22:24] - Lightning round with David Desteno. Your Resources: Emotional Success by David Desteno The Truth About Trust by David Desteno Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner 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!

Jo Mitchell is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Mind Room, a health, wellbeing and performance psychology practice in Melbourne, Australia. Jo has over 20 years of sports industry experience and has a specialist interest in working with high performers across all fields to improve their wellbeing, particularly by using the tools of Positive Psychology, Acceptance Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness. She is also on the board for Action for Happiness Australia. In today's episode, we'll be discussing how to introduce wellbeing practices into workplaces that are cautious or skeptical about 'soft skills'. We'll explore how to tailor language, create a systems approach and a new app that opens this science up to a much wider market. Connect with Jo Mitchell: Website: themindroom.com.au [free_product_purchase id="23878"] You'll Learn: [01:58} - Jo explains how she taylors the language used to present ideas of positive psychology, to be openly accepted in typically tough and competitive workplaces. [04:55] - Jo talks about setting up a support network to help footballers stick with newly learned behaviours, using repetition and reinforcement. [10:24] - Jo talks about her new wellbeing mobile app called Mind Max. [14:37] - Jo discusses the gender bias in men around wellness and wellbeing. [20:45] - Jo explains how we can prevent burnout by scheduling moments of rejuvenation into our daily life, and the importance of giving ourselves permission to do this. [21:39] - Lightning round with Jo Mitchell Your Resources: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson Mindmax.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 Jo!

Patty McCord is a workplace innovator, culture and leadership consultant, and former chief talent officer at Netflix. Patty has many years of working with business leaders and aspiring management to help people realize and practice leadership. She is the author of a wonderful new book, Powerful: Teams, Leaders and the Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, which pushes the boundaries of thinking about the way we work. From abolishing performance reviews to challenging the need for policies, Patty believes people come to work as fully formed adults with a desire to make an impact and to be proud of what they do. Her ideas have been featured in publications around the world, including the Harvard's Business Review, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal. In today's podcast Patty explains why mapping engagement and happiness measures against productivity in workplaces may undermine the very results workplaces are trying to create. She also shares how Netflix built a thriving culture by treating employees like adults, balancing freedom and responsibility and replacing performance reviews with radical honesty. Connect with Patty McCord: Website: pattymccord.com [free_product_purchase id="23610"] You'll Learn: [02:03] - Patty gives some of the dangers of overlaying engagement and happiness scores with team performance. [06:48] - Patty talks about the value of saying something radically honest every day. [07:53] - Patty explains how if you practise giving people feedback every day, 50% of it will work and be positive feedback. [11:24] - Patty says why the freedom and responsibility has to live inside of the business that you're trying to accomplish. [12:28] - Patty explains why strategy is figuring out what not to do. [16:52] - Patty tells how to orchestrate vigorous debates to encourage people to get curious, and put themselves on the other side of the argument. [19:23] - Patty gives examples of what should managers do instead of formal perfomance reviews. [21:40] - Lightning round with Patty McCord. Your Resources: Brotopia by Emily Chang Powerful by Patty McCord 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 Patty!

Dr. Peter McGraw is an associate professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder's Leeds School of Business. As a behavioral scientist, his research examines the interrelationship of judgment, emotion, and choice—with a focus on the production and consumption of entertainment. McGraw directs The Humor Research Lab (HuRL) and is the co-author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny. His research has been covered by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME NPR, BBC, and CNN. His work appears in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Psychological Science, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is currently trying to kick a sweater vest habit – even if it does get him kicked off the Stylist Scientist List. Today we're talking all about humor; how it can bring people together and push them apart. We'll also cover it's role in generating success for several key business areas. Connect with Pete McGraw: Website: petermcgraw.org/ [free_product_purchase id="23485"] You'll Learn: [03:17] - Pete explains the principles of humour, and it's commonalities and differences across various demographics. [05:03] - Pete dicsuses how to cultivate humour. [07:32] - Pete covers the negative side of humour, and how it should be regulated in a work environment. [09:53] - Pete talks about humour within cultures, and how forgiveness can be a complimentary quality. [11:03] - Pete uses the analogy of being a supporting actor in life, and how productive it is when people act with this mindset. {16:59] - Pete discusses the role of humour in sales and marketing, and how enthusiasm is a powerful tool for making an impact. [18:55] - Pete lists some qualities that present charisma, including the use of movement and well placed silence. [20:41] - Lightning round with Peter McGraw. Your Resources: The Humour Code by Peter McGraw Boddy Pants by Tina Fey Rethink by Steven Poole 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 Gervase!

Gervase Bushe is the Professor of Leadership and Organisational Development at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. His career spans over three decades of transforming organisational structures, cultures and processes, away from command and control and towards more collaborative work systems. Gervase is an award winning author of over one hundred papers and has three books on organisational change, leadership, teams and teamwork. His newest co-authored book, "Dialogic Organisation Development: The Theory and Practise of Transformational Change," builds on his ground breaking research into how appreciative inquiry leads to transformational change, and is gathering international acclaim. He has consulted to blue chip corporations and start-ups, public sector and business corporations in a variety of sectors and, in 2016, HR Magazine in the UK added him to their list of the 30 Most Influential HR thinkers. Today we're talking with Gervase about how to create changes in workplaces that enable them to flourish. Gervase shares his award-winning insights on why we need to understand more about how living systems thrive, the role of leaders and the danger of big visions, and how to ask generative questions that shift people's thinking and behavior. Connect with Gervase Bushe: Website: gervasebushe.ca [free_product_purchase id="23420"] You'll Learn: [03:05] - Gervase introduces transformational change processes, and explains the results of tests he's done in that area. [07:18] - Gervases gives his experience of how self organisation has been integrated into the workplace. [11:26] - Gervase explains the difference between a 'positive' and 'generative' approach. [16:27] - Gervase shares his tips on asking more generative questions. [16:35] - Gervase talks about how to focus on developing positive traits, rather than trying to eliminate the negative. [26:59] - Lightning round with Gervase Bushe Your Resources: Clear Leadership by Gervase Bushe Dialogic Organisation Development by Gervase Bushe & Robert J. Marshak Good People, Bad Managers by Samuel Culbert Strangers to Ourselves by Tim Wilson 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 Gervase!

Peggy Holman is an author and consultant who employs dialogical practices to turn passivity into participation. Her award-winning book, Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity, provides a roadmap for tackling complex systems challenges. In the Change Handbook she and her co-authors profile 61 processes that enable diverse groups to create their desired future. As co-founder of the non-profit, Journalism that Matters, Peggy has helped to cultivate a journalism community of practise that is committed to journalism, which supports communities and democracy to thrive. Today we're talking to Peggy about what researchers are learning enables workplaces and systems to flourish, and why chaos rather than balance holds the key to learning and growth. Peggy shares her insights on how to create positive disruptions that enable a system to change, why passion and responsibility are the keys to authentic leadership and how leaders can mobilize and support people in taking action. Connect with Peggy Holman: Website: www.peggyholman.com [free_product_purchase id="23267"] You'll Learn: [03:40] - Peggy explains why it's important to challenge the current systems in place, and how disturbance can prompt change. [07:47] - Peggy talks about how to actively guide disruptive factors, rather than taking a passive approach. [15:16] - Peggy discusses the benefits of open space technology. [18:47] - Peggy explains why organisations have difficulty embracing self organisation. [21:10] - Peggy covers how self organisation has been proven to benefit work processes. [22:25] - Peggy gives examples of principles and support that can help open space technology function at it's best. [23:20] - Peggy talks about some new approaches that have been discovered. [25:11] - Peggy lists some cautions and caveats when implementing these approaches. [25:51] - Lightning round with Peggy Holman Your Resources: Engaging Emergence by Peggy Holman Personal History by Katharine Graham 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 Peggy!