Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast

Sonja Lyubomirsky is a professor of Psychology at the University of California - Riverside. Her research on the science of happiness has been the recipient of many honors.  She is a best-selling author of the books The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want and The Myths of Happiness: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn’t, What Shouldn’t Make You Happy, but Does. In this conversation, you will hear Sonja share her thoughts and findings on happiness.  Sonja shares some of her findings that prove that positive activity interactions work.  Sonja also talks about some of the myths of happiness, which is the topic of her latest book.  She talks about the identification process to determine which interactions may work for individuals.  She also talks about happiness in group dynamics, specifically the workplace.  Sonja must present these interventions in various ways, depending on the environment and situation and she explains how she does that.   Connect with Sonja Lyubomirsky: Website:

Russ Harris is the author of the international best-selling self help book, The Happiness Trap.  He is a therapist and coach, as well as a world renowned trainer of acceptance and commitment therapy, otherwise known as ACT.  He has provided ACT training to over 20,000 people all around the world. In this conversation, you will hear Russ talk about the ACT approach. He explains how individuals and organizations can use the ACT approach to work through negativity and be comfortable with accepting rather than solving. Connect with Russ Harris: Website: ActMindfully.com.au You’ll Learn: [01:28] - Russ talks about finding healthy ways to accept things that seem completely unacceptable.   [04:07] - Russ shares how those of us that are used to a CBT approach to our challenges can get comfortable with accepting rather than solving.   [07:55] - Self-compassion is an important skill to normalize being able to get comfortably uncomfortable.  Russ explains how the ACT approach works through negativity.   [09:54] - Russ

Robert Biswas-Diener, is a leading researcher on culture, wellbeing, positive psychology coaching and author of several wonderful books including the The Upside of Your Dark Side.  With recent political changes in the United States and the UK leaving many feeling fearful and apprehensive about the future, Robert shares his insights on how to become comfortable with these uncomfortable feelings.  He suggests rather than trying to whitewash them, by accepting them, and seeing them as signals that something isn’t right, you can then decide on a constructive response to what’s unfolding.  You can also apply this in workplaces when looming mergers or restructures stir up similar feelings of uncertainty and fear. Connect with Robert Biswas-Diener Robert’s Website - RobertDiener.com PositiveAcorn.com IntentionalHappiness.com You’ll Learn: [01:37] - Robert talks about how emotions are like signals giving us a mental thumbs-up or thumbs-down about the quality of our life.   [05:35] - If you are fearful, it’s telling

George Bonanno is professor of clinical psychology, Director of the Lost Trauma and Emotion Lab, and Director of The Resilience Center for Veterans and Families at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. George’s research focuses on resilience in the fact of loss and traumatic events.   Most of us have the natural tools to deal with extreme adversities in our lives. We cope well when extreme things happen to us.  To deal with the world around us, it takes a repertoire of behaviors.  Sometimes, this involves what George calls “coping ugly.”  Sometimes we might need to do something that doesn’t seem pretty but is reasonably effective.   Connect with George Bonanno: Website for Lost Trauma and Emotion Lab You’ll Learn: [01:55] - George will be presenting on loss, trauma, and resilience at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology.  He shares what he would like attendees to take home from his presentation.  [03:45] - Media coverage ensures that we are aware of negative events.  The negative psychological co

Kim Cameron is one of the top 10 scholars in organizational sciences. Kim recently spoke at the Canadian Conference on Positive Psychology and he talks with us about positive and relational energy. Positive energy and relational energy has a tremendous positive impact on individuals and organizations. So today, I talk with Kim Cameron, a leading scholar on these topics and positive psychology. In this interview, you will hear how the positive impact of positive energy and relational energy are measurable down to the cellular level. Kim also shares that contribution is more powerful than achievement and he provides examples from the University of Michigan. Some employees may perceive positive practices as manipulation and Kim shares why he believes this opposition will not become more common. This interview was produced in partnership with the Canadian Positive Psychology Association and the 3rd Canadian Conference on Positive Psychology. Tune in to hear more! Kim Cameron’s Website: http://webuser.bus.umich.e

My guest today is David Cooperrider, renowned for his research in appreciative inquiry, a strength-based approach to creating change. In this interview, you will hear how appreciative inquiry is being used to build a better world. David explains how organizations can align strengths in ways that make the system’s weaknesses irrelevant. He also shares how individuals and organizations can use this life-centric approach to go through the steps of his new P.O.S.I.T.I.V.E change model. This interview was produced in partnership with the Canadian Positive Psychology Association and the 3rd Canadian Conference on Positive Psychology. Tune in to hear more! Connect with Wayne Baker:  Website: www.davidcooperrider.com Twitter: @Dlc6David You’ll Learn [2:25] - David explains the basics of appreciative inquiry [4:52] - What you and your organization can gain from this positive change approach [5:27] - Rethinking our approach to change. [7:05] - Step P - Positive re-framing [9:30] - Step O - Omni search and bringing in

Dr. Wayne Baker is a professor of business administration and professor of management and organizations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and faculty director of the Centre for Positive Organizations. The author of the forthcoming book, 'All You Have to Do Is Ask', as well as five other books and many scholarly articles. Wayne's research focuses on social capital, social networks, generosity, and positive organizations. He's also the co-founder and board member of Give and Take, Inc. who are developers of collaboration technologies based on the principles in All You Have to Do Is Ask. In this week’s podcast, we learn why being able to ask to help is one of the keys to workplace success, and the simple steps you can take to ask in ways that make it easy for people to say yes! Connect with Wayne Baker:  https://allyouhavetodoisask.com/ You’ll Learn: [03:15] - Wayne explains why being a good giver-requester at work shapes our success and wellbeing in workplaces. [04:29] - Wayne outlines

Stephen Carter is the founder of one of Australia's fastest-growing, privately-owned recruitment firms, Sharp and Carter, who have five offices and more than 120 staff around the country. In this week’s podcast, we explore how putting people first by using positive leadership approaches has helped one workplace grow their revenue by 55% per annum for the last five years. Connect with Stephen Carter:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephencarter1/ You’ll Learn: [02:13] - Carts explains how putting people first has helped his organization grow 55% per annum for the past five years. [04:35] - Carts shares why their leadership team felt confident to put people before profit. [07:03] - Carts outlines how the shift to putting people first was explained to employees and what they did to overcome people’s cynicism about this approach. [09:30] - Carts share the cultural pillars that emerged as a result of putting people first and how these are used to guide people’s day to day behaviors in the business. [13:24] - Cart

Dr. BJ Fogg teaches good people how behavior works, so they can create products and services that benefit everyday people around the world. A behavioral scientist with deep experience in innovation and teaching, BJ runs a research lab at Stanford University, and trains innovators to use his work, so they can create solutions that influence behavior in health, financial well-being, learning, productivity, and more. He's personally coached over 40,000 people informing new habits using his breakthrough method called Tiny Habits. And, his forthcoming book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything is scheduled for publication in early 2020. In this week's episode, we learn the simple recipe for creating tiny habits and how to deal with our motivation monkeys and surface the golden behaviors that improve our wellbeing. Connect with BJ Fogg:  https://www.bjfogg.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:39] - BJ explains why most of us find changing our behaviors challenging because we approach change in the wrong way. [

Dr. Timothy R. Clark is the founder and managing partner at LeadFactor and a highly sought after advisor, coach, and facilitator to CEOs and senior leadership teams around the world. He's the author of four books with his newest, The Four Stages of Psychological Safety due out in early 2020, and he's written more than 150 articles on leadership, change, strategy, human capital, culture, and employee engagement. In this week’s podcast, we explore the four stages of psychological safety and how we can shape our wellbeing and performance at work. Connect with Dr. Timothy R. Clark:  http://leaderfactor.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:19] - Tim explains what psychological safety is and why it recently became a hot topic of conversations in many workplaces when it comes to helping people thrive at work. [03:44] - Tim shares some of the research-based findings on the potential benefits for leaders who invest in psychological safety. [07:16] - Tim explains why improving diversity and inclusion successfully depends on also he

Tom Rath is an author and researcher who has spent the past two decades studying how work can improve human health and wellbeing. His ten books including, "Strengths Finder 2.0", "Wellbeing", and "Eat Move Sleep", have sold more than ten million copies, and made hundreds of appearances on global bestseller lists. During his 13 years at Gallup, Tom was the Program Leader for the development of Clifton Strengths Finder, which has helped over 20 million people to uncover their talents, and went on to lead the organization’s employee engagement, wellbeing, and leadership practices worldwide. He has served for the past five years as a Gallup Senior Scientist. And he's also an advisor, investor, and partner in several start-ups. In this podcast, we explore how small changes in the way you eat, move and sleep can improve your wellbeing and performance at work. Connect with Tom Rath:  http://www.tomrath.org You’ll Learn: [04:29] - Tom explains how the small choices around how we eat, move and sleep each day can ha

Jane Dutton is a Professor Emerita of Business Administration and Psychology at the University of Michigan. Jane's research focuses on how organizational conditions enable human thriving, and in particular, how the quality of connection between people at work affects individual and organizational flourishing. Her research explores compassion in organizations, resilience in organizations, as well as energy in organizations, and she's published over 100 articles and book chapters, edited 12 books, and written a book for managers called Energise Your Workplace: How To Build And Sustain High-Quality Connections At Work. In 2012, Jane was awarded the Scholarly Contributions in Management Award for the Academy of Management, which is a lifetime achievement award. In this week’s podcast, we explore the value of creating high-quality connections with people at work and the simple steps you can take to authentically connect with anyone – even your most challenging colleagues. Connect with Jane Dutton:  https://positi

Dr. Steven Rogelberg is an organizational psychologist who holds the title of Chancellor's Professor at UNC Charlotte for distinguished national, international and interdisciplinary contributions. He's an award-winning teacher and recipient of the very prestigious Humboldt Award for his research with over 100 publications, addressing issues such as team effectiveness, leadership, engagement, health and employee wellbeing, meetings at work and organizational research methods. His latest book, The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance, was recognized by the Washington Post as the number one leadership book to watch for in 2019 and has been featured in media outlets around the world In this week’s podcast, we explore the simple steps you can take to run more positive and productive meetings at work. Connect with Steven Rogelberg:  https://www.stevenrogelberg.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:27] - Steven explains how workplace meetings offer opportunities to improve our individua

Alissa Daire Nelson is a certified strength strategy coach who gives people the tools and guidance to put their strengths to work. She's the host of the Maximize Your Strengths podcast, and author of From Frustrated To Frickin' Awesome: 4 Steps to Achieve the Success You're Wired For. Alissa's work has been featured in media outlets all over the world. In this week’s episode, we explore the practical steps we can take to spot and develop people’s strengths – the things we’re good at and enjoy doing – using tools like Clifton Strengths in workplaces. Connect with Alissa Nelson:  https://www.daire2succeed.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:13] - Alissa explains why people’s strengths can help us quickly strengthen our relationship at work. [04:49] - Alissa explains how tools like Clifton Strengths can give us a language to spot and understand the strengths in each other. [08:04] - Alissa explains how we can use the talents that tools like Clifton Strengths surface for us as we go about our jobs to improve our performanc

Wendy Wood is a professor at the University of Southern California and visiting faculty at Insead Business school in France. Wendy has spent the last 30 years studying people's habits and understanding how to change them, and her research has been featured in media publications all over the world and is the focus of her forthcoming book Good Habits, Bad Habits. In this week’s episode, we explore what the latest research is finding out about how we can create and sustain good habits to support our wellbeing. Connect with Wendy Wood:  http://goodhabitsbadhabits.org/ You’ll Learn: [02:38] - Wendy explains why creating good habits can be challenging for many of us. [04:27] - Wendy shares what her research is finding about how we can develop good habits. [06:22] - Wendy shares why her research has found that it doesn’t take 21 days to build a habit. [08:40] - Wendy explains why thinking about the context for the habits we want to create is so important and offers some tips to make it easier to activate the habi

Cy Wakeman is a drama researcher, global thought leader, and New York Times bestselling author, recognized for cultivating a counter-intuitive, reality-based approach to leadership. Cy has helped companies such as Google, Facebook, NASA, and many others to navigate our rapidly changing world, using good mental processes to harness energy wasted in workplace drama, and reinvest that effort into achieving profound business results. Her work has been featured in several media outlets around the world. The author of several books, her latest is No Ego: How to Cut the Cost of Drama and Entitlement, and Drive Big Results. In this week’s episode, we explore at why most of us waste 2.5 hours a day on average in emotional workplaces dramas and the simple steps we can take to ditch the drama, improve our wellbeing and save ourselves time, energy, and money. Connect with Cy Wakeman:  https://www.realitybasedleadership.com/ You’ll Learn: [02:36] - Cy explains why workplaces lose billions of dollars every year due to t

Rachael Powell is the Chief Customer, People and Marketing Officer at Xero, a cloud-based accounting platform for small and medium businesses around the world. She's an experienced business executive with a demonstrated success across strategy, marketing, and human resources. Rachael has a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Melbourne and is passionate about enabling people to do the best work of their lives. In this week’s episode, we explore how Xero, a cloud-based accounting platform for small and medium businesses around the world, are using positive psychology to help their people thrive as they do the best work of their lives. Connect with Rachael Powell:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/powellrachael/ You’ll Learn: [02:29] - Rachael explains how she began applying what she learned in the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology to her leadership of the people and culture function at Xero. [04:22] - Rachael shares why Xero chose Professor Martin Seligman’s PERMAH framework to guid

Robert Quinn is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, one of the co-founders of the field of positive organizational scholarship, and a co-founder of the Ross Centre for Positive Organisations. Bob's research and writing focuses on purpose, leadership, culture and change,and he is in the top 1% of professors cited in organizational behaviour textbooks. The recipient of multiple teaching awards, Bob was recently named one of the top speakers in the world on the topics of organisational culture and related issues. And last year, his talk on personal purpose went viral and has been viewed by over 16 million people. Bob has published 18 books, and his most recent book, The Economics of Higher Purpose, has just been released. In this week’s podcast we explore the economics of higher purpose in our workplaces and how we can find and consistently honor our purpose. Connect with Robert Quinn:  http://robertequinn.com/ You’ll Learn: [03:22] - Bob explains why the economics of

David Bryce Yaden is a Research Fellow and PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he works in the Positive Psychology Centre. David's research focus is on the psychology and neuroscience of spiritual, self-transcendent and other positively transformative experiences. Specifically, he's interested in understanding how these experiences can result in longterm changes to wellbeing. And how they alter fundamental faculties of consciousness, such as the sense of time, space, and self. He's the editor of the book, Being Called. And he's currently writing a book called, The Varieties of Spiritual Experiences: A Twenty-First Century Update. His work is being covered by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, New York Magazine, and NPR. In this week’s podcast, we explore how positively transformative experiences can leave us feeling called to our futures and the impact they can have on our wellbeing and performance. Connect with David Yaden:  https://www.varietiescorpus.com/ Y

Loretta Breuning is the founder of the Inner Mammal Institute, which helps people manage the ups and downs of their mammal brain. As professor emerita of management at California State University East Bay, Loretta's research explores how people can discover the power of their mammalian operating system. The author of several books, including Habits of a Happy Brain, Loretta had shared her research, and talks all over the world. In this week’s podcast, we explore our brain’s happy chemicals and how we can create more happy chemicals as we work. Connect with Loretta Breuning:  https://innermammalinstitute.org/ You’ll Learn: [02:11] - Loretta explains how dopamine work and why it is important for us at work. [05:10] - Loretta offers some practical ways to spark more dopamine at work. [06:33] - Loretta outline how endorphins help our brains to perform. [09:00] - Loretta explores if endorphins might help ease social or emotional pain at work. [10:15] - Loretta explains the upside and the downside of oxytocin at