Leaders' Playground

Why can music move you to tears, while other times you walk right by it, not noticing? Why does some art freeze you in your tracks, but other times it's just a desktop screensaver? How does beauty happen in the brain?

In this episode we visit Paris! We'll explore museums, chapels, and subway stations on an expedition to understand your brain on beauty.  You'll meet several neuroscientists who specialize in neuroaesthetics such as Andrew Chatterjee and Samir Zeki, as well as violinist Joshua Bell who conducted a social experiment in the subway that reveals a lot about how to prime your brain to find more beauty. Together, we'll learn practical ways to shift your perspective in order to find beauty even in the most mundane everyday moments.

The writer Leo Tolstoy said, “We are accustomed to understand art to be only what we hear and see in theatres, concerts, and exhibitions... But all this is but the smallest part of the art by which we communicate with each other in life.” By understanding the neuroscience of beauty, we can understand how to find beauty everywhere.

Resources:

• Learn more about my book at https://www.irenesalterbooks.com 
• Original Joshua Bell in the subway video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw 
• Joshua Bell returns to the subway 10 years later: ​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJhZ0J3bIYc
• Anjan Chatterjee’s book, TED talk, and research on the three components to beauty in the brain https://www.ted.com/speakers/anjan_chatterjee
• Semir Zeki’s work on beauty and the mOFC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlzanAw0RP4
• The fMRI research on how shifting perspective shifts the perception of beauty https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-22048-052
• If you’re in Paris, go visit the Musee D’Orsay https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en
• And go see Rodin’s Dance at the Moulin de la Galette https://mymodernmet.com/renoir-bal-du-moulin-de-la-galette/
• Or listen to a concert in Saint Chapelle https://www.classictic.com/en/special/concerts-in-la-sainte-chapelle/216/

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

In this episode of the Leaders' Playground, we'll examine how the craft of storytelling can inspire the art of leading. We'll begin by comparing and contrasting two dramatic arcs used by bards from Homer to Steven Spielberg: the well-trodden hero's journey versus the often-overlooked heroine's journey.

We traverse through familiar tales and myths, pondering the archetype of the solitary superhero or Jedi knight and wondering whether the stories of community and collaboration found in Harry Potter and heist flicks might offer a different way to triumph, a different way to lead. This episode peels back the layers of these narrative arcs, revealing how they sculpt our understanding of leadership and champion the idea that strength can be collective, not just a lone conquest. What kind of leadership journey are you on?


Resources:

• Heroine’s journey leadership retreat https://www.irenesalter.com/leadership-retreat
• Learn more about the book I’m writing at https://www.irenesalterbooks.com (and sign up for updates by joining my newsletter)
• I highly recommend Gail Carriger's book, The Heroine’s Journey https://gailcarriger.com/books/the-heroines-journey-for-authors-book/ 
• Maureen Murdock’s book by the same title is also quite good https://maureenmurdock.com/
• Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/588138.The_Hero_With_a_Thousand_Faces
• Meet my agent, Kimberley Cameron’s website https://kimberleycameron.com/
  And meet my writing mentor, Allison K Williams https://allisonkwilliams.com/
• Learn more about dramatic arc in storytelling with Allison's blog post https://brevity.wordpress.com/2023/11/10/five-scenes/
•  More than you ever wanted to know about Star Wars https://starwars.fandom.com
• And Harry Potter https://www.wizardingworld.com/

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

Follow me through my day as I declutter my to-do list. In an era where adults on average make 35,000 decisions in a single day (it's true!), this episode peels back the curtain on a process you can use to not just manage your overwhelm, but fix it.  Learn about the actual capacity of your working memory and the impact of cognitive load.

We've all felt the weight of an overflowing inbox and the endless stream of tasks vying for our attention.  Me too. With an overwhelming to do list of my own, it's time to use the 5Ds, my personal strategy for task prioritization,  delegation, and completion.  This episode is "a day in the life" of Irene capturing the thirty minutes where I sat down to get a grip on my overwhelm. I use three tools that you too can use: 1) staying true to my purpose, 2) managing my energy with a break after each bout of deep thinking, and 3) using the 5Ds to dump, delegate, date, do or re-define each and every item on my list.

Resources:

• For the 5D handout, download it from irenesalter.com/podcast 
• Link to episode 3 on character creation
• Link to episode 4 with movement break
• Link to episode 5, part 1 of overwhelm!
• Decision fatigue https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1359105318763510
• My blog post on how to 5D your to do list https://www.irenesalter.com/post/overwhelmed-by-your-to-do-list-5d-s-to-the-rescue 
• All about time confetti from Cosmopolitan Magazine https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a38696205/time-confetti/ 
• Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/17934399 
• Retreat website! https://www.irenesalter.com/leadership-retreat 

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

Feeling overwhelmed by your to do list? You're not alone. In this episode, we dive into the ins and outs of overwhelm, its connection to burnout, how your brain handles the cognitive load, and what to do about is. From the demands-resource imbalance to the limitations of our working memory, this episode explores how our brains handle stress and juggle tasks.

I’ll share personal experiences, practical strategies, and insights from experts like Oliver Burkeman and Michael Bungay Stanier. We will break down overwhelming tasks into doable steps, prioritize effectively, and seek support when needed. In the end, we’ll be taking the million and one things on your to do list and turning them into three. Imagine how it would feel to have just three things on your to do list. Tune in and I’ll show you how!

Resources:

• Irene’s blog, “What’s the opposite of overwhelmed?”: https://www.irenesalter.com/post/what-s-the-opposite-of-overwhelmed
• A great article published in World Psychiatry on burnout: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/wps.20311 
• Emily and Amelia Nagoski’s book, Burnout: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42397849-burnout
• Allison William’s website: https://allisonkwilliams.com/
• Laura Vanderkam’s TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/laura_vanderkam_how_to_gain_control_of_your_free_time
• Oliver Burkeman’s book, Four Thousand Weeks: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54785515-four-thousand-weeks
• George Miller’s famous 1956 article: https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_2364276_4/component/file_2364275/content
• Michael Bungay Stanier’s book, The Coaching Habit: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29342515-the-coaching-habit

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

As I watched the dancers on stage  at a fundraiser supporting victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, a profound sense of joy washed over me, contrasting with the gravity of the cause. This was a powerful reminder of dance's impact on our emotional landscape. Trauma makes us freeze (or take flight or brace for a fight). The opposite is dance.

In this episode we celebrate the mind-body connection via movement and music, sharing stories of my own experience with sexual assault and the collective effervescence of dance. Together, we explore how dance is your brain's "pleasure triple play", share a musical brain break, discuss the benefits of letting loose in professional settings, and provide a multitude of ways to inject play into your work life.

Links:

• One Safe Place website: https://www.ospshasta.org/
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/ or (800) 799 - SAFE (7233) 
• Harvard study showing that music is a human universal: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/epl/files/mehr_et_al_2019_science.pdf
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine study showing how dance improves cognition in the elderly: https://www.einsteinmed.edu/research-briefs/8930/social-dancing-to-improve-cognition-reduce-alzheimers-risk
• Scientific American article on dance and the brain: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-dance/
• Collective effervescence article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/arts-and-health/202108/please-don-t-take-my-collective-effervescence-away
• Shake and dance with the Center for Mind Body Medicine: https://cmbm.org/self-care-resources/resource/shaking-and-dancing/

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

Ever felt pigeonholed by traditional leadership definitions? Ever looked at leaders like Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, or Martin Luther King and thought, I'm not that, so how can I consider myself a leader?  In this episode, we shatter the traditional leadership template to create something from scratch that's completely genuine and authentic.

I'll walk you through five steps to craft your own unique leadership style, just as you would customize a Dungeons & Dragons character or video game avatar. It's what I do with all my one on one leadership clients and the heart of a full day leadership identity workshop. The five steps are: 

• Strengths – the things we’re good at. 
• Values - the core beliefs that define us. 
• Passions - the things we love.
• Vision - the place we’re headed. 
• Purpose - the meaning behind everything we do.

Resources:

• VIA strengths survey: https://www.viacharacter.org/
• Stuart Brown TED talk on play: https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_play_is_more_than_just_fun?language=en
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi TED talk on flow: https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_flow_the_secret_to_happiness
• Simon Sinek TED talk on purpose: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
• Irene's “Two ways to forge your leadership compass” blog post: https://www.irenesalter.com/post/forge-your-leadership-compass
• Irene's “Making hard choices by leaning into your values” blog post: https://www.irenesalter.com/post/making-hard-choices
• Awe outing/vision walk: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/awe_walk

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

Do you ever suffer from impostor syndrome? I do. In this episode, we'll peel back the layers of self-doubt and get to know our inner critics.  There’s a voice in my head that sometimes (often) says, “Who do you think you are? You’re a fraud!” Well, today we’re going to sit down to tea with our inner critics.

You'll hear my growing up story. Learn about the work of Suzanne Imes and Pauline Rose Clance who described the impostor cycle. Get the scoop on the latest rage in therapy, internal family systems courtesy of Richard Schwartz. And sample a taste of an exercise that was the breakthrough moment for several women at last year's Mendocino leadership retreat. It's time to get good at impostor syndrome.

Resources:

• Pauline Rose Clance’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8212 
• New Yorker article pushing back against impostor syndrome: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/13/the-dubious-rise-of-impostor-syndrome
• Richard Schwartz’s book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55384168
• Richard Schwartz videos: https://ifs-institute.com/resources/videos
• “How to get good at impostor syndrome” blog: https://www.irenesalter.com/post/how-to-get-good-at-impostor-syndrome
• Heroine’s Journey Women’s Leadership Retreat: https://www.irenesalter.com/leadership-retreat

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast

Welcome to the very first episode of the Leaders' Playground -- a podcast for people who wish their work could feel more like play. In this episode, you’ll hear the origin story of how this podcast came to be and why it's called the Leader’s Playground. I’m your host Irene Salter, a PhD neuroscientist and science educator with a passion for helping people thrive, not just survive. Consider me a story-telling scientist. In this and every episode you will find:

1) A story: Being challenged to create a podcast initially felt heavy and overwhelming, but an excellent question by my friend and coach turned work into something playful and creative. You’ll also hear about a hike up “Death Hill”, and a Dungeons and Dragons game involving cats and Ferris Bueller.

2) Some science: We’ll explore dopamine systems; brain areas like the amygdala and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex; and the research of play scientist, Stuart Brown.

3) A strategy: To start making work feel more like play, begin by identifying what play looks like for you.

Resources:

• Stuart Brown's TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/stuart_brown_play_is_more_than_just_fun
• Stuart Brown's book: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/4997659
• David Vox’s website: https://www.davidvox.com/
• Christina Howard’s website: https://www.intentlyco.com/post/meet-christina

For complete show notes, transcript, and free downloadable resources go to: https://www.irenesalter.com/podcast