Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast

Today we’re talking to Dr. Gail Gazelle, who is a former hospice physician, part-time Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor, and Master Certified Coach for physicians. Over the past decade, Gail has coached hundreds of physician leaders on leadership development, mindfulness, and building resilience. Her passion is to provide physicians the resilience skills not covered in training that make the difference between burnout and surviving the marathon of a medical career. Gail is also a long-time mindfulness practitioner and teacher and has recently released a book called – ‘Everyday Resilience. A Practical Guide to Build Inner Strength and Weather Life’s Challenges ’. In this week’s podcast, we explore how we can reduce burnout in our workplaces. Connect with Dr. Gail Gazelle: https://www.gailgazelle.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:01] - Gail shares what’s leading to physician burnout. [04:05] - Gail paints a picture of burnout culture for physicians and what it can cost them. [05:31] - Gail shares how the pande

In this week’s podcast, we explore how to integrate our brains to care for our wellbeing and enhance our performance at work – especially when we’re feeling uncertain or insecure. Connect with Dan Siegel: https://www.drdansiegel.com/ [free_product_purchase id="89473"] You’ll Learn: [03:15] - Dan explains why interpersonal neurobiology offers important insights for all of us when it comes to caring for wellbeing in workplaces. [06:20] - Dan offers some tips for helping leaders to understand the potential practical impacts of harnessing interpersonal neurobiology as we work. [08:01] - Dan explains why we need to integrate all the parts of our brains in order to care for our wellbeing and improve our performance at work. [11:45] - Dan provides some practical, easy-to-apply examples to help integrate the different parts of your brain as you work. [16:24] - Dan shares some tips on how we can create better neurological integration in our relationships with others as we work. [19:17] - Dan shares how leaders can

In this week’s episode, we explore how traditional models of organizing in workplaces stifle innovation and creativity. Gary helps us understand what we can do to fuel collaboration, resilience, and leadership in our workplaces. Connect with Gary Hamel: http://www.garyhamel.com/ [free_product_purchase id="89127"] You’ll Learn: [02:56] - Gary explains how we can recognize ways in which bureaucracy stifles creativity and innovation in our own organizations and contexts. [05:08] - Gary describes what human-centric principles can look like in organizations. [10:23] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Ownership. [14:28] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Meritocracy. [17:03] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Markets. [19:41] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Community. [21:55] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Openness. [23:48] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Experimentation. [23:48] - Gary explains the Humanocracy principle of Paradox. [23:48] -

Jody Hoffer Gittell is a professor at Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Jody's research explores how people contribute to high-performance outcomes through their coordination with each other, and she's the Executive Director of the Relational Coordination Research Collaborative and Principal Investigator of the Relational Society Project. Jody, in these roles, brings together scholars and practitioners to build relational coordination for positive impact all over the world. In this week’s episode, we explore how we can collaborate more effectively and joyfully as we work together, even in the midst of uncertainty and disruption. Connect with Jody Hoffer Gittell: https://www.jodyhoffergittell.info/ You’ll Learn: [02:56] - Jody explains the process of relational coordination and how it can help us bring out the best in each other in workplaces. [05:08] - Jody shares the research findings from more than 70 empirical papers on the potential benefits of relational coordination

Today we're talking to Dr. Paige Williams, co-founder of the Leaders Lab, an honorary fellow, and researcher at the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne. Paige works to create practical evidence-based pathways that use the latest research in neuroscience, positive psychology, leadership, and systems thinking to help leaders leverage their energy, attitudes, and mindsets to benefit from the dynamic, complex, and uncertain environment in which most organizations now operate. She is determined to help leaders move beyond just the need for resilience so that they can become anti-fragile. This is the focus of her new book, Becoming Anti-fragile, Learning to Thrive Through Disruption, Challenge, and Change, which we're going to explore together today. In this week’s episode, we explore how we can leverage the physical, emotional, and mental energy, attitude and mindsets of anti-fragility to create positive change. Connect with Dr. Paige Williams: https://drpaigewilliams.com/ You’ll Learn:

Today we’re talking to Robert Emmons, who’s a professor of psychology at the University of California. Bob’s research focuses on the Psychology of Gratitude and joy as they relate to human flourishing and wellbeing. Bob has authored over 200 original publications in peer-reviewed journals or chapters written or edited eight books, including The Psychology of Gratitude. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and public events and has his groundbreaking work on gratitude featured in dozens of popular media outlets all over the world. Bob is also the founding editor and editor in chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology. In this week’s episode, we explore how the practice of gratitude can help us care for wellbeing in workplaces and the practical things leaders and teams can do to practice affirmation and recognition of each other. Connect with Robert Emmons: https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/ You’ll Learn: [02:30] - Bob defines gratitude for us. [04:27] - Bob shares some of the common misun

Today we’re talking to professor Christian Van Nieuwerburgh. Christian is a leading academic and practitioner in the field of coaching in education. He’s a professor of coaching and positive psychology at the University of East London and executive director of Growth Coaching International, a Sydney based global coaching provider for the education sector. In this week’s podcast, we explore the skills and art that enable us to be effective coaches. Connect with Christian Van Nieuwerburgh: https://www.growthcoaching.com.au/ You’ll Learn: [02:55] - Christian explains what makes coaching so effective for development and growing wellbeing. [05:12] - Christian shares the top two skills coaches should develop. [07:25] - Christian shares the ‘art’ of coaching and how we can lean into this opportunity to make our coaching more effective. [13:30] - Christian highlights what coaches should be considered when supporting people faced with uncertainty and disruption. [37:20] - Christian enters the lightning round. Your

Today we’re talking to Dr. Judith Beck, who is a clinical professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and the president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Judith is a prolific author, clinician, and educator in the field of mental health, and has written several books for professionals and for consumers about cognitive behavior therapy, made hundreds of presentations around the world, and continues to treat clients through Beck Institute’s in-house clinic, and has won numeral awards for her contributions to the field of CBT. In this week’s podcast, we explore how cognitive behavior therapy can be safely used in workplaces to help leaders and staff care for their wellbeing. Connect with Judith Beck: https://beckinstitute.org/ You’ll Learn: [02:13] - Judith explains what cognitive behavior therapy is and provides an example of how it can support our wellbeing. [06:20] - Judith shares some of the research findings on the benefits of cognitive behavior therapy when it comes to ca

Today we’re talking to Margaret Wheatley, Co-founder and President of The Berkana Institute, an organizational consultant since 1973, a global citizen since her youth and a prolific writer. Meg began caring about the world’s peoples in 1966 as a Peace Corps volunteer in postwar Korea. She received her doctorate in organizational behavior from Harvard University in 1979 just as the field of OD was forming and has been honored for her groundbreaking work by many professional associations, universities, and organizations. She has authored nine books, including the classic leadership and the new science and of my personal favorite, Who Do We Choose To Be? For the past five years, Meg has been training leaders and activists from 35 countries as Warriors for the Human Spirit, an in-depth training program and path of service supported by a robust global community. Her most recent work is a CD, The Warrior Songline, A Journey into Warriorship Guided by Voice and Sound. In this week’s episode, we explore the challen

Sheila Heen is an expert on managing difficult negotiations, a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, and a founder of Triad Consulting. Sheila often partners with executive teams, helping them work through conflict, repair working relationships, and make sound decisions together and her clients include Apple, HSBC, Unilever, and Pixar among others. She is the co-author of the New York Times business bestseller Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most and more recently Thanks For The Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well (Even When It’s Off-Base, Unfair, Poorly Delivered and Frankly, You’re Not in the Mood). In this week’s podcast, we explore why receiving feedback can be so challenging at work, and how we can unhook from our feedback triggers to make the most of the gift we are being given. Connect with Sheila Heen: https://stoneandheen.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:45] - Sheila explains why learning to receive feedback is a skill that we should all be building. [05:29] - Shei

Cliff Kayser is a consultant who brings 25 years of experience with senior-level OD internal positions with the Washington Post and the National Cooperative Bank, as well as his external consultancies and coaching practice with experienced and successful partners, polarity partnerships and the Institute for the Polarities of Democracy. Cliff is on faculty at American university’s master’s in OD, and a coaching fellow for George Mason University Center for the Advancement of well-being, which is where he and I met. In this week’s episode, we explore how to balance “either/or” thinking with the need for “and” so we honor competing polarities when it comes to the way we work together. Connect with Cliff Kayser: https://www.experienceit.com/ You’ll Learn: [01:40] - Cliff explains what polarity thinking is and why it matters in workplaces. [02:26] - Cliff offers some examples of the common polarities workplaces have been grappling with over the last 12 months. [03:38] - Cliff explains how teams and workplaces c

Valorie Burton is the founder and CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute and a best-selling author, international speaker, and life strategist. Valorie has a master’s in applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and her company provides coaching, coach training, and resilience training and has served clients in all 50 American states and 15 countries on six continents. Since 1999, she has written 13 books on personal development, including the best sellers Successful Women Think Differently and What’s Really Holding You Back? And she’s been featured in media outlets around the world. In this week’s episode, we explore how to practice racial empathy in workplaces and the simple steps workers can take to be respectful and effective white allies. Connect with Valorie Burton: https://valorieburton.com/ You’ll Learn: [03:13] - Valorie explains how the murder of George Floyd caused her to speak out on the need for racial empathy. [07:28] - Valorie shares why in order to beco

Dr. Suzy Green is a Clinical and Coaching Psychologist – and Founder & CEO of The Positivity Institute, a positively deviant organization dedicated to the research and application of Positive Psychology for life, school, and work. She is a leader in the complementary fields of Coaching Psychology and Positive Psychology, was the recipient of an International Positive Psychology Fellowship Award, has lectured on Applied Positive Psychology as a Senior Adjunct Lecturer in the Coaching Psychology Unit, at the University of Sydney for ten years, and is an Honorary Vice President of the International Society for Coaching Psychology. On top of all of that, Suzy has just released her brand new book called – The Positivity Prescription. In this week’s podcast, we explore what ‘wellbeing coaching’ is and how we can make this more accessible in workplaces. Connect with Suzy Green: http://www.thepositivityinstitute.com.au/ You’ll Learn: [02:42] - Suzy shares what wellbeing coaching is and how it differs from othe

Al Comeaux is a former executive at Travelocity, GE, American airlines. As a senior leader, Al has championed change across a range of workplaces and undertaken a 20-year journey researching why so many change efforts fail and what's needed for success. Al is the founder of Primed For Change, a disruptive project to prepare leaders to take organizations successfully through change, and this week he has released a new book called Change Management. In this episode, we explore how senior leaders think about change in workplaces and how they can balance being SMART with taking an approach that wins people’s HEARTS. Connect with Al Comeaux: https://alcomeaux.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:58] - Al explains what most often takes leaders by surprise when it comes to trying to successfully create change in workplaces. [06:23] - Al helps us explore if leaders should be more focused on understanding the problems or the opportunities for change in their organization. [07:44] - Al offers tips for helping leaders to consiste

Mandy O'Neill, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Management at the George Mason University School of Business and a Senior Scientist at the University Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing. Mandy holds a doctorate in Organizational Behavior from Stanford University Graduate School of Business where she was a National Science Foundation graduate fellow and is an expert on organizational culture, immersions in the workplace, and women's careers. Mandy consults and conducts academic research across a wide range of organizations, including Fortune 500 corporations, global technology firms, major medical centers, and emergency response teams. Her work has been published in a variety of scholarly and practitioner journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, and the Harvard Business Review. In this episode, we look at the headlines of the Wellbeing Lab research from the US and the importance of a culture of companionate l

In this week’s podcast we explore relational agency, and the four simple skills you can build in your teams to listen deeply, lift each other, and turn challenges around. Connect with Arne Carlsen: https://www.bi.edu/ You’ll Learn: [03:25] - Arne explains what relational agency is and why it matters when it comes to our wellbeing and performance at work. [07:08] - Arne outlines how we can build more respectful engagement in our relationships at work. [10:30] - Arne shares how we can practice generative resistance and healthy conflict with each other at work. [13:08] - Arne outlines how liberating laughter compliments generative resistance and how we can create more of it in workplaces. [16:27] - Arne offers tips for cultivating psychological safety within ourselves and our relationships. [18:46] - Arne explains how the Best Reflected Self exercise can help us discover our strengths and improve our relationships. [23:35] - Arne shares how leaders have introduced these relational agency skills successfully t

In this week’s episode, Scott Barry Kaufman talks about his new book, “Transcend: The New Science of Self Actualization” in which he unearths some of Dr. Abraham Maslow’s unfinished work. He shares common misconceptions on the hierarchy of needs, how workplaces can support collective actualization, and why it is important to stay positive at this time of COVID 19—even amidst uncertainty or suffering. Scott brings in familiar psychology research to create a case for how leaders can be more enlightened in their approaches. Connect with Dr. Scott Kaufman: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/ You’ll Learn: [03:41] - Scott explains Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory and why there is a misconception in using the pyramid metaphor. [07:09] - Scott explains how we can use the ideas and resources in his book at a time of global pandemic. [12:52] - Scott explains how values play a part in creating transcendent workers and workplaces. [17:59] - Scott shares how workplaces can help team members create more moments for integr

Warren Nilsson is an associate professor of social innovation at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business and the faculty associate of the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation. He’s also the co-founder of Organisation Unbounded, an international community of inquiry and experimentation, exploring how social purpose organizations can more closely align their internal practices and cultures with their external social change goals. Warren has worked with social purpose organizations in North America, Africa, and South Asia connecting his academic research with practitioner-driven social initiatives. In this week’s podcast, we explore what any workplace can learn from social change organizations about the two unique steps they take to create positive change inside and outside of their workplaces. Connect with Warren Nilsson: https://organizationunbound.org/ You’ll Learn: [03:08] - Warren explains how learning to successfully create social change can help to transform any organization. [05:22] - W

Anne is a Change Professional who has managed change programs across multiple industries, from large scale systems implementations through to workplace transformations, with a focus on changing cultures and building internal business change capability. For the last seven years, Anne has been bringing wellbeing into her change programs with fabulous results and has been referred to as “the Magic Maker”. In this week’s episode, we explore the practical actions workplaces can be taking to care for their people’s wellbeing during a time of disruption and rapid change. Connect with Anne Lomax:  Anne Lomax You’ll Learn: [01:50] - Anne shares how the CoVID-19 pandemic impacted Qantas as a workplace. [02:24] - Anne’s essential first step to supporting people during a disruption. [03:23] - Anne’s number one priority for worker wellbeing during the CoVID-19 disruption. [03:54] - Simple, practical ways to support wellbeing during a disruption. [05:51] - What goes into a daily calm session? [08:22] - Anne’s biggest le

Bruce Daisley was previously Twitter’s most senior employee outside of the United States in his role as Vice President across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Bruce’s passion for improving work led him to create the podcast Eat Sleep Work Repeat on using evidence-based approaches to make work better and he’s recently released a book of the same name. In today’s podcast, we explore how leaders can help bring out the best in their teams as more workers suddenly find themselves working remotely. Connect with Bruce Daisley: https://eatsleepworkrepeat.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:48] - Bruce shares some of the evidence-based practices that helped him to bring out the best in himself and his teams at Twitter. [07:20] - Bruce shares Twitter’s invitation to #lovewhereyouwork and why as a leader this became his priority. [11:33] - Bruce offers some practical tips for staying physically distanced but socially connected with each other at work. [14:54] - Bruce explains how we can manage the stress that comes with worki