Our guest for this episode - Dr Olivia Oginska, has made it her mission to help us have better relationships, both in and outside of work.

Olivia Oginska is a veterinarian, speaker, positive psychology coach, a certified workplace conflict mediator and an emotional intelligence specialist. Liv has been immersed in the global veterinary community since 2010 when she did multiple externships in the UK, North America and Australia. It was through Liv's veterinary career in the UK, including a surgery residency, that she also gained experience and credentials in positive psychology, emotional intelligence and conflict mediation. This cemented her passion for human wellbeing and interpersonal dynamics and for the last 3 years, Liv has devoted her veterinary career to supporting both individuals, teams and especially leaders in becoming more human-savvy through her consulting and coaching service.

This conversation with Liv is all about navigating work relationships and our relationships with ourselves - we explore what a healthy work relationship looks like. We explore the connection between burnout and the reliance on work to provide not only our professional and financial needs, but also our relationship needs, and we discuss a new way of thinking about balance, what self awareness and emotional intelligence looks like in practice, and much much more.

Topic List:

6:54 Relationships and connections at work - taking care of them.

10:11 Private life and professionalism.

11:00 On the floor relationships and friendships - do people want to be friends with colleagues anymore?

14:36 The connection between burnout and the reliance on work to provide money, growth, community etc.

17:43 The truth about work-life-balance.

23:19 Setting expectations with your partner or friends.

27:59 How to navigate conflict with colleagues.

35:31 Open conversations and leaning into 'conflict'.

38:47 Importance of self-awareness during conflict and how to view things from a different perspective.

48:00 Why do we feel the need to be right and prove ourselves?

49:35 Why we should change our minds and listen to other opinions?

54:49 How Olivia started her career and why she ended up in emotional intelligence coaching.

60:03 Hitting rock bottom and triggering a change in life.

60:09 What does a good team dynamic look like in terms of emotional closeness?

60:10 The importance of aligning values and boundaries.

60:19 Working through imposter syndrome.

Join our community of Vet Vault Nerds to lift your clinical game and get your groove back with our up to date easy-to-consume clinical episodes at vvn.supercast.com, visit thevetvault.com for the show notes and resources for this episode, and connect with us through our online Vet Vault Network. for episode highlights, discussions, questions and support.

Join us in at Vets on Tour in Wanaka, New Zealand on 13 - 18 August 2023 for great CE, live podcasting and snow... lots of snow!

Dr Liv's Consulting Business - Vet Gone Real