Making Positive Psychology Work

In this week's episode - join us for a chat and a laugh as we reminisce about the highs (and lows!) of 250 episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work. 

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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.

Thank you!

Dr. Peggy Kern is an associate professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science within the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education. Originally trained in social personality and developmental psychology, Peggy's research focuses on understanding, measuring, and supporting wellbeing across the lifespan. She works with schools and workplaces to examine strategies for supporting wellbeing and bridging gaps between research and practice and has published three books, over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and most recently the wonderful and freely available Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education.

In this week's podcast - our very last one ever – we explore what we’ve learned from 250 episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work and the best of these insights can be used to support wellbeing strategies in workplaces, schools, and communities."

Connect with Peggy Kern:

• https://www.peggykern.org/

• [03:55] - Peggy reflects on the evolution of the field of positive psychology and what it means practically for workplaces, for schools, for communities, when it comes to caring for our wellbeing.
• [09:04] - Michelle shares her reflections on how the application of positive psychology has evolved in workplaces, schools, and communities in recent years.
• [13:33] - Peggy explains why workplaces, schools, and communities are prioritizing the need for wellbeing strategies.
• [15:26] - Peggy recommends some of the key factors workplaces, schools, and communities might want to include in their wellbeing strategies.
• [19:47] - Michelle shares a case study of how large organizations pivot their wellbeing strategy to embrace thriving and struggle and what this has meant practically in terms of the changes they have made.
• [26:02] - Peggy reflects on the importance of building wellbeing literacy and having a shared – non pathologized – language to talk about how we are feeling.
• [29:47] - Michelle and Peggy reflect on how we can use the science of positive psychology wisely to help – rather than unintentionally harm – others.
• [34:17] - Michelle explains how she positions the science of positive psychology to clients in an effort to acknowledge its limitations and do no harm.
• [36:21] - Michelle shares new research on the benefits of combining wellbeing and mental health approaches in workplaces.
• [38:42] - Peggy and Michelle reflect on what’s next for the field of positive psychology.
• [45:27] - Peggy begins the lightning round!

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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!

Halla Tómasdóttir is the CEO of the B Team, a group of courageous business and civil society leaders working together to transform business for a better world. Halla started her leadership career in corporate America, working for Mars and Pepsi-Cola. She was on the founding team at Reykjavik University, where she established the executive education department, founded and led a successful women's entrepreneurship and empowerment initiative, and was an assistant professor at the business school. She was the first female CEO of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce and later went on to co-found an investment firm with a vision to incorporate feminine values into finance. The company successfully survived the infamous economic meltdown in Iceland, and in 2016, Halla was an independent candidate for the president of Iceland, where she entered a crowded field of candidates and finished as the runner-up with nearly 30% of the vote.

In this week's episode, we explore why we need to throw out the old leadership playbooks and unleash the authentic and principled leaders that can be found within each of us.

Connect with Halla Tómasdóttir:

• https://bteam.org/

• [03:04] - Halla shares why she is on a quest to empower and inspire authentic, gender-balanced, and principal leadership.
• [08:39] - Halla explains why so many leaders remain stuck in a crisis of conformity despite the scientific and business evidence that supports authentic, gender-balanced, and principled leadership.
• [12:38] - Halla offers some practical tips to help us unlock the leader inside ourselves, regardless of our job title.
• [19:29] - Halla explains why we need to broaden our definition of success in order to create thriving organizations.
• [26:28] - Halla shares her hopes for what might be possible after the global pandemic if leaders were ten times bolder in how they led and the impact this could have on workplace wellbeing.
• [32:44] - Halla shares how Reset Dialogues can help our workplaces and communities be braver, bolder, and more integrated as we create a healthier and more successful future.
• [38:21] - Halla begins the lightning round!

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Thanks so much for joining me again this week. If you enjoyed this episode, pleaseshareit 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, Halla!

Greg Walton, who's an associate professor of psychology at Stanford University. Much of Greg's research investigates psychological processes that contribute to major social problems and how wise interventions that target these processes can address such problems and help people flourish even over long periods of time. Dr. Walton's research has been recognized with awards from numerous organizations, including the American Psychological Society's Rising Star of the Year Award. And has been published in leading journals and covered in major media outlets all over the world. He's the co-editor of the Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social Psychology Can Help People Change, and we are so honored to have him here with us today.

In this episode, we explore how wise interventions - simple shifts to the way we make meaning of what's happening in the world around us - can have a big impact at work.

Connect with Greg Walton:

• https://www.wiseinterventions.org/

• [03:05] - Greg explains what makes an intervention wise.
• [06:30] - Greg shares how wise interventions can improve our sense of belonging at work.
• [11:37] - Greg explains how wise interventions can leverage our need for accuracy.
• [13:32] - Greg shares our wise interventions can leverage our need for integrity.
• [18:00] - Greg explains when wise interventions are most likely to succeed.
• [25:39] - Greg begins the lightning round!

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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, Greg!

Luke Burgis, who's the entrepreneur in residence and director of programs at the Ciocca Centre for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America, where he also teaches business and develops new education initiatives. Luke's co-created and led four companies in wellness, consumer products, and technology. He is the founder and director of Fourth World Ventures, an incubator for people and companies that contribute to the formation of a healthy human ecology. And Luke's new book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life has just been released.

In this week's episode we explore how desire impacts our wellbeing and the simple steps we can take to positively shape our desires for the good of ourselves and others.

Connect with Luke Burgis:

• https://lukeburgis.com/

• [02:39] - Luke explains why understanding what shapes our desire is an important part of caring for our wellbeing.
• [04:07] - Luke explains what mimetic desire is and how it influences our motivation.
• [06:49] - Luke helps us understand the social nature of desire and how different role models influence us.
• [08:56] - Luke offers tips for how we can keep our relationships with our role models healthy.
• [11:57] - Luke explains the difference between thick and thin desires.
• [14:10] - Luke discusses how having a hierarchy of values can help us navigate conflicts around thick desires.
• [16:45] - Luke helps us understand the positive and destructive cycles desire can energize.
• [19:15] - Luke explains how destructive cycles of desire can lead to toxic relationships and toxic cultures.
• [21:51] - Luke shares an example of how we can short circuit destructive cycles of desire.
• [24:53] - Luke offers some tips for how we can create positive cycles of desire in workplaces.
• [27:14] - Luke begins the lightning round!

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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, Luke!

Kim Cameron is a professor of management and organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He’s co-founder of the Centre for Positive Organizational Scholarship and professor of higher education in the school of education at the University of Michigan. Kim is recognized as among the top 10 organizational scholars in the world and his work on virtuousness, downsizing, effectiveness, corporate quality culture, and the development of leadership excellence has been most frequently downloaded on Google. He has also published more than 140 academic articles and 15 scholarly books, the most recent of which is Positively Energizing Leadership, which is due for release in August this year.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Paige Williams talks to Prof. Kim Cameron about Positively Energizing Leadership.

Connect with Kim Cameron:

• https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/

• [03:47] - Kim explains the inherent tendency in all living systems that underpin positively energizing leadership
• [06:05] - Kim explains how the heliotropic effect translates into leadership and organizations
• [09:14] - Kim describes how we might recognize positive energy at work
• [10:42] - Kim describes how positively energizing leadership differs from other types of leadership
• [12:55] - Kim explains why we may not be a positive energizer for everyone
• [16:33] - Kim shares research that shows the impact positively energizing leadership has
• [21:47] - Kim shares examples of positively energizing leadership in action
• [27:29] - Kim explains how team members can help their leaders be more positively energizing
• [31:55] - Kim lets us know of the cautions and caveats we need to be aware of as we work to be a positively energizing leader
• [35:52] - Kim completes the lightning round!

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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, Kim!

John Hagel, who’s recently retired as a partner from Deloitte, where he was the founder and chairman of the Silicon Valley-based Deloitte Centre for the Edge, which focuses on identifying emerging business opportunities that are not yet on the CEO’s agenda. With more than 40 years of experience as a management consultant, author, speaker, and entrepreneur, John has just released a new book, The Journey Beyond Fear, which addresses the psychology of change. And he’s also developing a series of programs to help people navigate through change at many levels.

In this week’s episode, we chat with John Hagel, who helps us discover how positive emotions can help us move beyond fear.

Connect with John Hagel:

• https://www.johnhagel.com/

• [02:20] - John shares why psychology is as important as strategy
• [04:31] - John shares how narratives help us move beyond fear
• [10:07] - John discusses the power of alignment with your personal and organizational narratives
• [13:07] - John outlines how the passion for the explorer helps us move beyond fear
• [17:39] - John discusses the benefits of productive friction in teams
• [20:48] - John explores learning platforms and how they might work
• [30:25] - John answers the lightning round!

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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, John!

Robert Biswas-Diener, as we remember and savor the incredible research and life of his father, Ed Diener, who recently passed away. Over the last 40 years, Ed published hundreds of articles, amassing more than 250,000 citations. Ed’s earliest work focused on defining and establishing measures for happiness, and his satisfaction with life scale is the most widely used measure of wellbeing today. And has been cited 30,000 times. Ed’s w- later work focused on the relation of personality and of income to happiness, the cultural dimensions of happiness, the consequences of happiness, and happiness policies. Ed won the highest prize in psychology, The Distinguished Contribution to Science Award, was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. And was a founder of Perspectives of Psychological Science, and The Journal of Happiness Studies.

In this week's episode, we honor and savor the research of Dr. Ed Deiner and discover what his 40 years of happiness research can teach us.

Connect with Robert Biswas Diener:

• http://www.intentionalhappiness.com/

• [02:34] - Robert explains how Ed Diener came to be known as Dr. Happiness and what made him such a highly respected researcher.
• [04:21] - Robert outlines Ed’s theoretical approach to happiness.
• [06:33] - Robert shares some of Ed’s conclusions about happiness based on his 40 years of research.
• [09:19] - Robert explains what Ed learned about how happiness can be measured and what this means practically for us as researchers and practitioners.
• [13:52] - Robert shares Ed’s concerns about the happiness pie and how we can help people to think more intelligently about what shapes their wellbeing.
• [18:24] - Robert explains how our happiness set point range works and why our happiness ebbs and flows over time.
• [22:40] - Robert explains how happiness policy can be enacted by governments.
• [24:55] - Robert challenges us to consider if we are happy enough.
• [26:53] - Robert shares Ed’s favorite happiness practices.
• [29:25] - Robert shares some of Ed’s favorite questions about happiness.
• [31:46] - The lightning round with Robert.

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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, Robert!

Stephen Trzeciak is a physician-scientist and chief of medicine at Cooper University Healthcare, and professor and chair of medicine at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Stephen specializes in intensive care medicine, and is a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical researcher, with more than 100 scientific journal publications. Currently, Stephen’s research has focused on a new field called Compassionomics. And he is the co-author of the best-selling book of the same name, which we are going to dive into in our discussion today.

In this week’s episode, Dr. Paige Williams speaks with Dr. Stephen Trzeciak about his research into compassion and the difference it can make in organizations.

Connect with Dr. Stephen Trzeciak:

• https://www.compassionomics.com/

• [02:05] - Stephen defines compassionomics

• [07:20] - Stephen describes what research suggests is the difference Compassionomics makes
• [10:36] - Stephen explains the impact of compassionomics in reversing the effects of burnout
• [19:16] - Stephen shares the surprising finding of how long it takes to put Compassionomics into action
• [22:46] - Stephen outlines the mindset that can help to bring compassionmics to life
• [29:40] - Stephen explains how we can create cultures of compassion
• [33:07] - Stephen completes the lightning round

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• The War For Kindness by Jamil Zaki

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, Stephen!

Michael Bush is the CEO of Great Place to Work. The global research and analytics firm that produces the annual Fortune 100 best companies to work for list, and dozens of other distinguished workplace rankings all over the world. Driven by a love of business and an unwavering commitment to fair and equitable treatment, Michael joined Great Place to Work as CEO in 2015, bringing 30 years of experience leading and growing organizations. He’s also a former member of President Obama’s white house business council, and a founding board member of the private equity seed fund, Fund Good Jobs, which invests in small Inner-City businesses.

In this week’s episode, we discover what the latest research suggests creates a great place to work and why prioritizing people’s wellbeing improves productivity and profitability.

Connect with Michael Bush:

• https://www.greatplacetowork.com/

• [02:32] - Michael outlines the business case for companies to be great places to work.
• [04:39] - Michael shares the evidence-based factors that help people to feel happier at work.
• [08:18] - Michael explains how the global pandemic, Black Lives Matter, and a tense political environment impacted the happiness of workers.
• [13:28] - Michael explains why organizations who prioritized their people’s wellbeing over their financial wellbeing – even during uncertain times – fared better over the past year.
• [16:35] - Michael offers some tips for how workplaces can build trust with their people.
• [26:34] - Michael shares examples of how the best places to work are helping workers navigate the transition to a ‘new normal’ or work post-pandemic.
• [31:15] - Michael enters the lightning round

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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, Michael!