Making Positive Psychology Work

Discover why the pace of change has left so many of us quietly cracking — and why this isn't a personal energy or resilience failing. In this first episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright explore how to decode the signals your nervous system sends: why you say "I'm fine" when you're anything but, or "I'll take care of it" when you're already exhausted. With guest insights from therapist and author Sue Marriott, learn about the connection and protection circuits that shape your responses to stress, and discover why understanding your green, blue, and red zones is the first step to navigating the super cycle of change we're all living through.

00:03 Michelle and Evie introduce this special bonus season on why so many of us have been feeling like our nervous systems are fraying.

01:03 The research behind "quiet cracking" — why 1 in 2 workers feel like they're holding it together on the outside while falling apart inside.

03:23 Why many of our resilience tools and self-care practices aren't working like they used to — and what the "super cycle of change" is doing to all of us.

08:44 How your brain decides if you're safe enough or not safe enough and how this impacts your nervous system.

13:36 What happens when you feel safe enough — your nervous system keeps your thinking brain online, so you stay flexible even when things get hard. 16:07 Unpacking the "I'm fine" pattern — when your nervous system shifts into protection mode by shutting down, withdrawing, and disconnecting from your feelings. 21:12 Exploring the "I'll fix it" pattern — when your nervous system shifts into protection mode by heating up, creating urgency, and driving you to over-function. 32:05 Simple ways to notice what's happening in your body throughout the day — and preview the hands-on calming tools coming in the next episode.

Want to go deeper? Grab your free somatic nudge playsheets and videos and check out our Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass at www.michellemcquaid.com.

While new data suggests 58% of changes fail, organizations using human-centered methods achieve 93% success rates. What's the difference? This final episode reveals how the HEART framework helps teams thrive through today's supercycle of change by helping people feel 'safe enough' to embrace not having all the answers, self-organize around actions they care enough to own, and measure success by growing their capabilities to navigate uncertainty together. We bring together all five HEART factors into one simple practice you can do anywhere, anytime.

02:00 Michelle shares how she talks with leaders about the supercycle of change they are currently experiencing and the emotional and social impact it is having on their people.

06:35 Michelle explains how she helps leaders understand how to prioritize a more human-centered approach to change. 13.25 Michelle outlines why and how she gets leaders to embrace "I don't know" when it comes to navigating complex changes. 16:25 Michelle shares why and how she helps leaders to understand the power of self-organization when it comes to navigating change. 20:27 Michelle explains why and how she encourages leaders to accept that their most important goal is growing their people's capabilities to navigate complex change together, rather than making change stick. 27:15 Michelle shares how she helps leaders use the five HEART factors to practically support a human-centered approach to change. 32.19 Michelle summarizes how we can break down human-centered change in a way leaders can understand and action. 33.54 Michelle walks through the HEART Check tool to help you choose how you will navigate change. 43:52 Michelle shares her final post-it note takeaway for leading human-centered change.

Change initiatives often start with such confidence - neat timelines, clear milestones, everyone aligned - yet within weeks things feel messy and unpredictable. What makes the reality so different from the plan? This episode explores why "tiny is mighty" when it comes to navigating complex change. We share the T in our HEART framework with practical tools for embracing polarities rather than false choices, starting where you are, sensing when to adapt, and celebrating small wins that build the resilience needed to thrive in ongoing uncertainty. 01:04 Chelle explains the benefits of Taking Tiny Steps when it comes to navigating change. 09:30 Chelle shares the four elements that make it easier to take tiny steps together from polarities to celebrations. 16:44 Chelle offers a metaphor from Peter Senge to understand why we need to sense, learn, and adapt when it comes to navigating complex change. 20:52 Chelle provides two personal tools to embrace "both/and" thinking as we navigate the polarities of change. 25:58 Chelle shares two team tools to leverage The Progress Principle practices to celebrate small wins together. 32:49 Chelle offers two organizational tools to embed adaptative learning across organizational cultures. 39:24 Chelle shares an example of how her team apply these tools for The Michelle McQuaid Group. 48:13 Chelle explains where workplaces tend to struggle when it comes to taking tiny steps. 50:50 Chelle shares the post-it note a-ha for taking tiny steps.

Why do some teams emerge from uncertainty stronger and more connected, while others splinter into silos where everyone's fending for themselves? The difference lies in whether people feel safe enough to admit they're struggling and ask for help. This episode reveals why reaching out is often the one simple act standing between you and success during change. We share the R in our HEART framework with practical tools for normalizing struggle, making it easier to ask for and offer help, and ensuring no one burns out from caring. 01:12 Chelle explains why Reaching Out helps us to navigate the uncertainty, fear, and doubt that comes with change. 09:15 Chelle shares the three elements make it easier to ask for help when we're feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed 11:46 Chelle provides two individual tools we can reach for help to ensure we are asking cleanly and clearly for help rather than manipulating others 17:38 Chelle offers two organizational tools we can use to create a help-seeking culture. 23:49 Chelle shares two team team tools we can use to set healthy boundaries around our help giving so we don't burn each other out. 29:03 Chelle explains how IDEO have built helping into the norms, processes, and practices and the impact it has had in their workplace. 36:18 Chelle exploers how workplaces can ensure people are available to help each other. 38:33 Chelle provides the post-it note a-ha takeaway for Reaching Out.

Ever notice how some changes leave people feeling energized and capable while others leave them exhausted and overwhelmed? What creates this difference? Why do some uncertainties feel like exciting challenges while others trigger that familiar "Oh FUD!" spiral of fear, uncertainty and doubt? This episode explores how to fuel people's confidence, make the most of their capabilities, and help them stay curious about how they can navigate change more effectively together. We share the A in our HEART framework with evidence-based approaches to help you build on people's strengths while also dealing with their challenges and struggles. 01.09 Michelle explains how our brains are wired to help us thrive through change - even when its challenging. 06:36 Michelle shares the 80/20 rule of change that helps to energize rather than exhaust people. 10:33 Michelle offers two organizational tools that can help workplaces embed a strengths-based approach change. 13:39 Mchelle outlines how leaders can map and support the strengths of their teams to navigate change together. 18.54 Michelle shares her favorite ways to develop her strengths during changes - even when her bosses haven't been supportive in the past. 26.19 Michelle explains why many leaders struggle to appreciate strengths even when it consistently improves the return on investment of their change efforts. 29.14 Michelle shares how a small health service have appreciated strengths at an organizational, team, and individual level across their workplace. 35.01 Michelle confesses to overplaying her appreciation of strengths at times and how she adjusts this now when needed. 37.55 Michelle offers a post-it note a-ha to help appreciate strengths through change.

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone shares a "big announcement" and you can practically hear everyone's minds turning off? Compare that to times when you're figuring out a problem together with people you trust - same amount of work, totally different feeling. What makes some complex changes feel safe enough to lean into while others feel dead on arrival? This episode explores how to turn grudging compliance into willing commitment during change. We share the E in our HEART framework with practical tools for meaningful conversations that support self-organization. 01.09 Michelle shares how we can engage people more purposefully around change - even when the change is not something they want. 05.00 Michelle explains why compliance rarely lasts more than three months, and how we can win people's ongoing commitment to change 08:50 Michelle outlines the three basic human needs we all share when it comes to engaging purposefully in change. 13:30 Michelle provides two organizational tools to help workplaces be values-led around their changes. 17.53 Michelle shares how leaders can ask extraordinary questions and practice extraordinary listening to support their teams through change. 23.47 Michelle explains how each of us can use five simple change-crafting questions to make any change more personally meaningful. 29.54 Michelle shares an example of how two organizations that were merging engaged people purposefully to co-create a new set of values. 36.39 Michelle dives into why leaders often struggle to engage their people purposefully around change. 40.51 Michelle offers two post-it notes takeaways for this HEART of Change factor.

Why do some people thrive during change while others get completely overwhelmed? It comes down to whether their nervous system feels "safe enough" to stay curious and collaborative. This episode explores how your emotions impact your brain's internal navigation system and energy for change. We share the H in our HEART framework with concrete tools for reading these signals at individual, team, and organizational levels, transforming emotional chaos into psychological safety.

3:00 Chelle explains why Honoring Feelings is the best neurological place to start when navigating change.

8.13 Chelle shares what has surprised her when working with team and leaders about honoring feelings during times of uncertainty.

11.42 Chelle provides practical examples of how we can honor feellings at the 'Me' (indidvidual) level during change.

15.37 Chelle offers evidence-based tools to help leaders and teams honor feelings at the 'We' level when navigating change together.

21.25 Chelle suggests ways organizations can make it easier to honor feelings at the 'Us' level to make it safer for people to be honest about change approaches.

24.10 Chelle shares a case study of how a large public service organization has been practically using these tools to navigate change.

30.53 Chelle provides a caution for where most workplaces struggle when it comes to honoring feelings during change.

34.37 Chelle offers a post-it note takeaway for honoring feelings.

Ever wonder why change feels so much harder than it did in the past? We're in an unprecedented supercycle where disruptions collide and create ongoing "Oh FUD!" responses - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt that are flooding our nervous systems. Based on our work with organizations around the world, we share why traditional approaches miss what matters most and introduce our HEART framework for supporting teams through the emotional reality of transformation, even when uncertainty is the only constant. 1:49 Michelle discusses the concept of a "poly crisis" and why we are in a supercycle of change for the foreseeable future. 5:43 Michelle explains the "Oh FUD!" feeling many of us are having about change. 16:28 Michelle explores why assessing the dimensions of safety and predictability for change can improve our confidence. 20:02 Michelle introduces the HEART of Change Framework to help us navigate people's emotional and social experiences of change. 37:18 Michelle explains "H" - Honoring Feelings. 39:50 Michelle shares "E" - Engaging Purposefully 45:30 Michele introduces the "A" - Appreciate Strengths

47:02 Michelle outlines "R" - Reach Out 50:01 Michelle explains "T" - Take Tiny Steps

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.

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook

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!

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook

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!