Making Positive Psychology Work

Sue Ashford is a professor in management and organization at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include leader effectiveness and development, issue selling, self-management and feedback processes in organizations.

Are you keen to step up to a leadership role but worried you aren't quite ready? Sue suggests that everyone has leadership potential, and you learn leadership mostly from experience. But if you're racing through your experiences mindlessly, you could be missing out on a lot of learning. By mindfully engaging in your experiences, and being open to growing, developing your skills and getting feedback you can be more effective at learning leadership skills.

Connect with Sue Ashford:

Sue's Website

• [01:42] – Sue will be presenting at the upcoming Positive Business Conference on 'Control Your Own Destiny: Leadership Development through Mindful Engagement.'
• [03:41] – Sue discusses the leadership is part skill, part mindset, and in part risk.
• [05:32] – Sue defines 'mindful engagement' as a set of practices that allow you to learn more from the experiences you're in.
• [07:53] – Sue explains that it's not possible to be mindful every moment of every day, but she says that you can be mindful in certain experiences.
• [12:45] – Sue says that experimentation with different approaches allows you to find what works and doesn't work.
• [14:08] – Both anxiety and too much positivity can prevent learning. Emotion regulation can keep your emotions in a middle ground.
• [15:48] –Referring to yourself in the third person has been found to help regulate emotions.
• [17:14] – Sue talks about feedback-seeking and explains two strategies for gaining this information.
• [20:20] – Sue explains why managers struggle with reflection.
• [23:15] – The Lightning Round with Sue Ashford.

• The Positive Business Conference
• A Lapsed Anarchist's Approach to Being a Better Leader – Ari Weinzweig
• Betwixt and between identities: Liminal experience in contemporary careers – Herminia Ibarra

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.

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free!

Special thanks to Sue for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Sue Ashford is a professor in management and organization at the University of Michigan.  Her research interests include leader effectiveness and development, issue selling, self-management and feedback processes in organizations.  

Are you keen to step up to a leadership role but worried you aren’t quite ready?  Sue suggests that everyone has leadership potential, and you learn leadership mostly from experience.  But if you’re racing through your experiences mindlessly, you could be missing out on a lot of learning.  By mindfully engaging in your experiences, and being open to growing, developing your skills and getting feedback you can be more effective at learning leadership skills.

Connect with Sue Ashford:

Sue’s Website

• [01:42] – Sue will be presenting at the upcoming Positive Business Conference on ‘Control Your Own Destiny: Leadership Development through Mindful Engagement.’
• [03:41] – Sue discusses the leadership is part skill, part mindset, and in part risk.
• [05:32] – Sue defines ‘mindful engagement’ as a set of practices that allow you to learn more from the experiences you’re in.
• [07:53] – Sue explains that it’s not possible to be mindful every moment of every day, but she says that you can be mindful in certain experiences.
• [12:45] – Sue says that experimentation with different approaches allows you to find what works and doesn’t work.
• [14:08] – Both anxiety and too much positivity can prevent learning. Emotion regulation can keep your emotions in a middle ground.
• [15:48] –Referring to yourself in the third person has been found to help regulate emotions.
• [17:14] – Sue talks about feedback-seeking and explains two strategies for gaining this information.
• [20:20] – Sue explains why managers struggle with reflection.
• [23:15] – The Lightning Round with Sue Ashford.

• The Positive Business Conference
• A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader – Ari Weinzweig
• Betwixt and between identities: Liminal experience in contemporary careers – Herminia Ibarra

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.  

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Sue for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Edwin Locke is the Dean's Professor of Motivation and Leadership Emeritus at the University of Maryland. He has published over 300 chapters and articles in professional journals on topics such as motivation, job satisfaction, incentives and the philosophy of science. He is internationally known for his research on goal-setting.

Goals are critical in helping us create change in our lives, and yet most people struggle to stick with the goals they set. In this conversation, you'll hear Ed explain the importance of setting goals and what his 35 years of research has discovered about setting effective goals and why SMART goals may not be as smart as you thought they were.

Connect with Edwin Locke:

Website: http://edwinlocke.com

• [01:37] – Ed explains that life is a goal-directed process and if we remain passive in setting goals it's unlikely we will thrive.
• [04:44] – Ed shares why people struggle with goals.
• [06:14] – Ed explains why we should be setting difficult goals for ourselves.
• [07:08] – Ed describes the difference between a performance goal and a learning goal.
• [09:18] – Ed explains why SMART goals are incomplete.
• [10:55] – Ed shares the power of goal hierarchies and how to avoid goal conflicts.
• [12:16] – Ed reminds us that it's important to set goals for your own life and not setting goals to "show off" or goals based on someone else's life.
• [13:45] – Ed explains why "emotional intelligence" is over-rated for leadership.
• [15:00] – The Lightning Round with Ed Locke

• American Psychologist Article – Building A Useful Theory Of Goal Setting & Task Motivation
• Selfish Path to Romance: How to Love with Passion and Reason – Edwin Locke and Ellen Kenner
• New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance – Edwin Locke and Gary Latham

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.

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free!

Special thanks to Ed for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Edwin Locke is the Dean’s Professor of Motivation and Leadership Emeritus at the University of Maryland.  He has published over 300 chapters and articles in professional journals on topics such as motivation, job satisfaction, incentives and the philosophy of science.  He is internationally known for his research on goal-setting.

Goals are critical in helping us create change in our lives, and yet most people struggle to stick with the goals they set. In this conversation, you’ll hear Ed explain the importance of setting goals and what his 35 years of research has discovered about setting effective goals and why SMART goals may not be as smart as you thought they were.

Connect with Edwin Locke:

Website: http://edwinlocke.com

• [01:37] – Ed explains that life is a goal-directed process and if we remain passive in setting goals it’s unlikely we will thrive.
• [04:44] – Ed shares why people struggle with goals.  
• [06:14] – Ed explains why we should be setting difficult goals for ourselves.
• [07:08] – Ed describes the difference between a performance goal and a learning goal.  
• [09:18] – Ed explains why SMART goals are incomplete.  
• [10:55] – Ed shares the power of goal hierarchies and how to avoid goal conflicts.
• [12:16] – Ed reminds us that it’s important to set goals for your own life and not setting goals to “show off” or goals based on someone else’s life.
• [13:45] – Ed explains why “emotional intelligence” is over-rated for leadership.
• [15:00] – The Lightning Round with Ed Locke

• American Psychologist Article – Building A Useful Theory  Of Goal Setting & Task Motivation
• Selfish Path to Romance: How to Love with Passion and Reason – Edwin Locke and Ellen Kenner
• New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance – Edwin Locke and Gary Latham

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.  

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Ed for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Peggy Kern is a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education in the Center for Positive Psychology. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, and her research addresses the question, "Who flourishes, and why?"

Are we oversimplifying positive psychology? While the field has made much progress over the last 15 years in helping people find ways to improve their wellbeing, however, at best interventions are only beneficial for some people, some of the time, and are far from a magic bullet for everyone in all situations. Peggy suggests combining positive psychology's focus on the individual with systems science to take into account the complex reality of our everyday contexts, could assist target interventions for individuals and the collective good.

Connect with Peggy Kern:

Website: http://peggykern.org

• [01:36] – Peggy has been working with a team of collaborators at Melbourne University that merges positive psychology with systems science to create positive systems science. She explains this merging of two interdisciplinary fields.
• [04:49] – Peggy shares how systems science helps us figure out which positive psychology interventions will be helpful for specific outcomes at different times.
• [11:10] – Peggy talks about how a systems map helps discover the relationships between things.
• [13:12] – Systems are complex, dynamic and changing.
• [15:13] – Peggy talks about how system science needs to be developed to help people flourish.
• [17:23] – Peggy addresses how we can get organizations to see themselves as wellbeing systems.
• [18:24] – To determine if a system is flourishing, measurement is necessary. Peggy talks about how the measurements work.
• [21:08] – This is the early days of this type of thinking. Peggy shares some resources for you to learn more, such as her blog.
• [22:08] – The lightning round with Peggy Kern.

• The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources – Lynne Twist
• Peggy's Positive Systems Science Blog
• Understanding Systems Science: A Visual and Integrative Approach – Andreas Hieronymi

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.

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free!

Special thanks to Peggy for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Peggy Kern is a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education in the Center for Positive Psychology. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, and her research addresses the question, “Who flourishes, and why?”

Are we oversimplifying positive psychology?  While the field has made much progress over the last 15 years in helping people find ways to improve their wellbeing, however, at best interventions are only beneficial for some people, some of the time, and are far from a magic bullet for everyone in all situations.  Peggy suggests combining positive psychology’s focus on the individual with systems science to take into account the complex reality of our everyday contexts, could assist target interventions for individuals and the collective good.

Connect with Peggy Kern:

Website: http://peggykern.org

• [01:36] – Peggy has been working with a team of collaborators at Melbourne University that merges positive psychology with systems science to create positive systems science. She explains this merging of two interdisciplinary fields.
• [04:49] – Peggy shares how systems science helps us figure out which positive psychology interventions will be helpful for specific outcomes at different times.
• [11:10] – Peggy talks about how a systems map helps discover the relationships between things.
• [13:12] – Systems are complex, dynamic and changing.
• [15:13] – Peggy talks about how system science needs to be developed to help people flourish.
• [17:23] – Peggy addresses how we can get organizations to see themselves as wellbeing systems.
• [18:24] – To determine if a system is flourishing, measurement is necessary. Peggy talks about how the measurements work.
• [21:08] – This is the early days of this type of thinking.  Peggy shares some resources for you to learn more, such as her blog.
• [22:08] – The lightning round with Peggy Kern.

• The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources – Lynne Twist
• Peggy’s Positive Systems Science Blog
• Understanding Systems Science: A Visual and Integrative Approach – Andreas Hieronymi

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.  

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Peggy for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Professor Carol Dweck is widely regarded as one of the world's leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology. She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the US Academy of Sciences and won nine lifetime achievement awards for her research. Her work is used by organizations around the world to transform their cultures.

In this conversation, you will hear Carol talk about fixed and growth mindsets and how her research has found they can impact our performance at work. She draws on her experience of helping organizations implement this type of mindset to share the small changes workplaces can make to cultivate growth mindset environments and where this can go wrong.

Connect with Carol Dweck:

Website: http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/

• [02:10] – Carol explains the differences between fixed and growth mindsets, according to her research.
• [04:56] – Carol shares how her studies have found that when there is a fixed mindset culture with an organization, there's a lot of unethical and unhealthy behaviors because of the pursuit of outcomes.
• [08:41] – Carol shares that innovation is coming out of growth mindset companies at a higher rate.
• [10:22] – Carol's recent article in the Harvard Business Review points out some of the misconceptions around growth mindsets in workplaces. She explains what those misconceptions are.
• [13:00] – Carol talks about how Microsoft are cultivating growth mindsets across their teams.
• [19:32] – Carol explains why she believes self-compassion works well with a growth mindset.
• [23:20] – Carol shares where the growth mindset and these strategies can go wrong and the importance of evaluation.
• [24:16] – The Lightning Round with Carol Dweck.

• Carol's article in Harvard Business Review: What Having a "Growth Mindset" Actually Means
• How Microsoft Uses Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol Dweck

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.

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free!

Special thanks to Carol for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Professor Carol Dweck is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology.  She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the US Academy of Sciences and won nine lifetime achievement awards for her research.  Her work is used by organizations around the world to transform their cultures.

In this conversation, you will hear Carol talk about fixed and growth mindsets and how her research has found they can impact our performance at work.  She draws on her experience of helping organizations implement this type of mindset to share the small changes workplaces can make to cultivate growth mindset environments and where this can go wrong. 

Connect with Carol Dweck:

Website: http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/

• [02:10] – Carol explains the differences between fixed and growth mindsets, according to her research.
• [04:56] – Carol shares how her studies have found that when there is a fixed mindset culture with an organization, there’s a lot of unethical and unhealthy behaviors because of the pursuit of outcomes.
• [08:41] – Carol shares that innovation is coming out of growth mindset companies at a higher rate.
• [10:22] – Carol’s recent article in the Harvard Business Review points out some of the misconceptions around growth mindsets in workplaces.  She explains what those misconceptions are.
• [13:00] – Carol talks about how Microsoft are cultivating growth mindsets across their teams.
• [19:32] – Carol explains why she believes self-compassion works well with a growth mindset.
• [23:20] – Carol shares where the growth mindset and these strategies can go wrong and the importance of evaluation.
• [24:16] – The Lightning Round with Carol Dweck.

• Carol’s article in Harvard Business Review: What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means
• How Microsoft Uses Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol Dweck

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.  

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Carol for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley. He is also the faculty director of The Greater Good Science Center. Dacher's research focuses on the biological and evolutionary origins of compassion, love, beauty, power, social class, and inequality.

Do you run towards or away from having more power? Often perceived as the need to manipulate, coerce or dominate others, it turns out that power is actually the ability to make a difference in the world by influencing others. As a result power is not something to be taken, but given to us through the practices of empathy, kindness, generosity and gratitude. The paradox however is that as our power grows from these practices, it often ends up disconnecting us from the very people we serve. So how can we navigate the power paradox?

Connect with Dacher Keltner:

Website – http://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner

• [01:35] – Dacher defines "power" as your capacity to influence other people.
• [06:53] – Dacher explains that there are small things you can do to feel more powerful.
• [09:05] – Dacher speaks about Adam Grant's work on keeping your generosity right for the context.
• [13:06] – Dacher explains how feeling powerful helps ignite your approach system by focusing on rewards, and when you're not feeling powerful it trigger your inhibition system making you more aware of risks.
• [15:05] – Dacher gives strategies to use to overcome the power paradox.
• [23:32] – Dacher shares some thoughts on servant leadership.
• [24:59] – Dacher explains what a future workplace looks like with shared power.
• [26:40] – The Lightning Round with Dacher Keltner

• Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life – Dacher Keltner
• The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness – Dacher Keltner
• The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence – Dacher Keltner
• Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals – Frans B. M. de Waal
• The Ethics for a New Millennium – Dalai Lama
• The Greater Good Science Center
• The Varieties of Religious Experience – William James

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.

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It's free!

Special thanks to Dacher for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley.  He is also the faculty director of The Greater Good Science Center. Dacher’s research focuses on the biological and evolutionary origins of compassion, love, beauty, power, social class, and inequality.

Do you run towards or away from having more power?  Often perceived as the need to manipulate, coerce or dominate others, it turns out that power is actually the ability to make a difference in the world by influencing others.   As a result power is not something to be taken, but given to us through the practices of empathy, kindness, generosity and gratitude.  The paradox however is that as our power grows from these practices, it often ends up disconnecting us from the very people we serve.  So how can we navigate the power paradox?

Connect with Dacher Keltner:

Website – http://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner

• [01:35] – Dacher defines “power” as your capacity to influence other people.
• [06:53] – Dacher explains that there are small things you can do to feel more powerful.
• [09:05] – Dacher speaks about Adam Grant’s work on keeping your generosity right for the context.
• [13:06] – Dacher explains how feeling powerful helps ignite your approach system by focusing on rewards, and when you’re not feeling powerful it trigger your inhibition system making you more aware of risks.
• [15:05] – Dacher gives strategies to use to overcome the power paradox.
• [23:32] – Dacher shares some thoughts on servant leadership.
• [24:59] – Dacher explains what a future workplace looks like with shared power.
• [26:40] – The Lightning Round with Dacher Keltner

• Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life – Dacher Keltner
• The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness – Dacher Keltner
• The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence – Dacher Keltner
• Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals – Frans B. M. de Waal
• The Ethics for a New Millennium – Dalai Lama
• The Greater Good Science Center
• The Varieties of Religious Experience – William James

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.  

Also, 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.

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

Special thanks to Dacher for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!