Making Positive Psychology Work

Dr. Paige Williams is co-founder of The Leaders Lab and honorary fellow and researcher at the Centre for Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne. Paige creates practical evidence-based pathways to teach leaders how to leverage their energy attitudes and mindsets to benefit from the dynamic complex and uncertain environment in which most organizations now operate using the latest research in neuroscience, positive psychology, leadership, and systems thinking. And you can see how all of these ideas come together in her book, Becoming AntiFragile: Learning to Thrive through Disruption, Challenge, and Change.

In this week's episode, we explore new research that explains how some leaders are supercharging the well-being and performance of themselves and their teams as they try to shape the new normal of work.

Connect with Dr. Paige Williams:

• https://www.michellemcquaid.com/theleaderslab/leadingtothrive/

• [02:45] - Paige explains why new data suggests that old leadership approaches are no longer working well in most workplaces.
• [06:08] - Paige shares how leaders are doing right now when it comes to their ability to navigate the uncertainty ahead.
• [07:23] - Paige explains why team members often have a different perspective on how their leaders are doing.
• [09:56] - Paige shares the impact leader's work location – at home, in the office, or a hybrid – is having on the outcomes they can achieve.
• [11:42] - Paige helps us understand how leaders who are thriving in the midst of uncertainty do show up differently.
• [12:56] - Paige outlines the beliefs of a THRIVE mindset.
• [17:19] - Paige shares how leaders are creating cultures of care to support the wellbeing and performance of themselves and their teams.
• [19:27] - Paige shares why the frequency of care that leaders express makes a significant difference in what teams can achieve.
• [22:16] - Paige provides some practical tips for how leaders can create a care culture.
• [24:52] - Paige enters the lightning round...

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• Useful Belief by Chris Helder

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, Paige!

In this week's episode, we bust the outdated myths about how our brains work and discover what the latest science really suggests about how we can work better with others.

Connect with Lisa Feldman Barrett:

• https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/

• [03:29] - Lisa explains what the latest research suggests about how our brains really work and what they are best for?
• [06:21] - Lisa shares how our brains are structured like a network, to share the information that makes up the experiences and actions of our lives.
• [08:16] - Lisa shares why our brains are predicting organs and what this might mean practically for us as we go about our work.
• [15:12] - Lisa explains how our brains are impacted by each other as we work together.
• [20:16] - Lisa explains the 5Cs of the human brain and how these help us to create a social reality as we work together.
• [33:14] - Lisa shares how we can use our brains to more intelligently navigate the socially constructed worlds in which we live.
• [35:51] - Lisa enters the lightning round...

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• After Phrenology by Michael Anderson
• Metazoa by Peter Godfrey-Smith

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, Lisa!

In this week's episode, Dr. Paige Williams chats with Associate Professor Carol Kauffman, who shares her insights into how leaders can more effectively build bridges of connection with their people.

Connect with Carol Kauffman:

• https://carolkauffman.com/

• [02:17] - Carol shares her favorite question to help build leadership capacity and impact
• [05:48] - Carol explains how we can overcome ego through a shift in perspective
• [09:14] - Carol suggests how we can shift to a more constructive leadership perspective
• [10:37] - Carol shares how to build bridges with people who are reluctant for connection
• [14:28] - Carol explains the risk of resilient leaders missing compassion
• [17:18] - Carol explains a technique to build bridges in feedback conversations
• [20:08] - Carol shares a guiding principle to use when 'coaching up'
• [28:35] - Carol enters the lightning round...

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• The Institute of Coaching

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, Carol!

In this week's episode, we explore how workplace wellbeing programs can benefit from understanding the best practices of trauma theory and attachment theory.

Connect with Dr. Sandra Bloom:

• https://www.geniuswithin.co.uk/

[free_product_purchase id="108735"]

• [02:49] - Sandra explains what trauma theory can teach us about caring for each other in workplaces.
• [04:38] - Sandra outlines why attachment theory can teach us about caring for each other in workplaces.
• [06:30] - Sandra shares how trauma theory and attachment theory can help us to care for wellbeing in workplaces.
• [10:09] - Sandra explains how workplace wellbeing approaches can balance the science of human flourishing with the science of human suffering.
• [11:49] - Sandra offers some tips for how we can create sanctuaries of wellbeing in our workplaces.
• [18:05] - Sandra shares why we need a safety plan in addition to a wellbeing plan.
• [20:06] - Sandra offers some tips for how we can build more psychologically safe organizational cultures.
• [24:08] - Sandra explains the importance of balancing rights and responsibilities in order to avoid abuses of power in our workplaces.
• [33:31] - Sandra enters the lightning round...

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• https://nonkilling.org/center/

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, Sandra!

Dr. Nancy Doyle is a Chartered Psychologist, in organizational and occupational psychology and the founder and owner of Genius Within, a social enterprise dedicated to facilitating neurodiversity inclusion. Her work has included advising NGOs, international and national civil servants, and political groups, as well as working with organizations towards a future where all Neurominorities are able to maximize their potential and work to their strengths.

Nancy is also a Research Fellow with Birkbeck, University of London. And In 2019 she was recognized by the British Psychological Society with an award for her contribution to Policy Impact in Occupational Psychology.

In this week's episode, Dr. Nancy Doyle talks us through the wonderful benefits of a neurodiverse workforce and how we can best support this.

Connect with Nancy Doyle:

• https://www.geniuswithin.co.uk/

• [02:38] - Nancy explains what neurodiversity is.
• [07:55] - Nancy shares what are considered Neurominorities.
• [10:06] - Nancy shares where labeling people's neurodiversity began.
• [14:01] - Nancy shares some of the future labels neurotypicals might be given as our work changes in the future.
• [19:02] - Nancy shares where we can get started growing more inclusive workplaces for Neurominorities.
• [23:00] - Nancy shares what everyone should know about supporting Neurominorities in workplaces.
• [24:55] - Nancy enters the lightning round...

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• The World Needs All Kinds of Minds: TED Talk by Temple Grandin
• Books by Thomas Armstrong

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, Nancy!

In this week's episode, we explore how teams and leaders can work together to lower the risk of burnout.

Connect with Paula Davis:

• https://stressandresilience.com/

• [02:46] - Paula explains why addressing burnout has become such a big issue in workplaces in recent years.
• [05:00] - Paula defines the difference between burnout and stress.
• [08:51] - Paula shares why we need to cause approach – and not simply a symptoms approach – to addressing burnout in workplaces.
• [12:20] - Paula explains why teams play such an important role when it comes to addressing burnout.
• [14:34] - Paula shares some of the simple steps teams can take to lower the risk of burnout.
• [18:49] - Paula explains how tiny noticeable things in teams can have a big impact on burnout.
• [23:06] - Paula provides some suggestions on what leaders can do to positively impact their team's stress level and try to decrease burnout.
• [33:19] - Paula completes the lightning round.

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• https://brenebrown.com/
• http://kellymcgonigal.com/

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, Paula!

Jim Harter, Ph.D. is chief scientist for Gallup's Workplace and Management and Well-Being Practises. Jim is the primary researcher and author of the first large-scale, multi-organization study to investigate the relationships between work-unit employee engagement and business results. This study currently includes 2.7 million employees across 54 industries in 96 countries.

In this week's episode, Jim Harter shares his insights from the latest Gallup research to help us understand how to create a Net Thriving Culture at work.

Connect with Jim Harter:

• https://www.gallup.com

• [02:29] - Jim explains how thriving is defined in 'Wellbeing at Work'
• [03:54] - Jim explains the research that underpins this definition of thriving
• [06:45] - Jim unpacks a measure of thriving that all organizations can use
• [08:41] - Jim explains the five factors that can help us move from struggling to thriving
• [10:53] - Jim explains how the Gallup Net Thriving Score fills a gap in well-being measurement
• [13:39] - Jim shares the new findings from his research about thriving and employee engagement
• [18:38] - Jim explains how we can create net thriving at the team level
• [22:07] - Jim suggests how leaders can take a more holistic approach to creating well-being at work
• [26:46] - Jim Describes the experience of a net thriving culture
• [28:59] - Jim suggests practical ways we can help create a net thriving culture
• [31:03] - Jim Shares some cautions and caveats we need to be aware of
• [34:55] - Jim completes the lightning round

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• Dying For a Paycheck by Jeffrey Pfeffer

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, Jim!

Peggy is an associate professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science at the University of Melbourne. Her research is collaborative in nature and draws on a variety of methodologies to examine questions around who thrives in life and why and she has published 3 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Danielle is a registered psychologist, and the Co-Founder of The Wellbeing Lab, and the Co-Creator of The PERMAH Wellbeing Survey.

In this week's episode, we discover the practical steps communities are taking to care for people's well-being, even in the face of significant struggles.

Connect with Dr. Peggy Kern:

• https://www.peggykern.org/

• [02:41] Peggy explains how people are managing to thrive even in the face of challenging circumstances.
• [07:32] Peggy shares the factors interpersonal, intrapersonal and external factors that appear to be supporting people's wellbeing.
• [13:07] Peggy outlines how people can boost their levels of thriving across their communities, even in the face of struggle.
• [16:46] Peggy offers some insights into the greatest causes of struggles and how these can be reduced in communities.

• 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!

Dr. Robin Stern is the co-founder and associate director for the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence and an associate research scientist at the Child Study Centre at Yale. She is a licensed psychoanalyst with 30 years of experience treating individuals, couples, and families, and also does consulting work with schools both nationally and across the globe, as well as with large corporations, including Facebook and Google on best practice, practices for integrating the principles of emotional intelligence into training, outreach, and product design.

In this week's podcast, we explore what gaslighting is, how it can play out in our workplaces, and positive strategies we can employ when faced with it.

Connect with Dr. Robin Stern:

• https://robinstern.com/

• [02:23] - Robin shares with us what gaslighting is.
• [04:01] - Robin shares what gaslighting can look like at work.
• [06:04] - Robin shares an example of gaslighting at work.
• [09:49] - Robin shares the impact gaslighting has on people in the workplace.
• [11:05] - Robin explains how gaslighting is something that builds up over time and chips away at your confidence.
• [13:01] - Robin shares how we're not born gaslighters and that this is something we learn.
• [14:05] - Robin shares what motivates a person to gaslight another.
• [16:59] - Robin shares the signs you're experiencing gaslighting.
• [19:72] - Robin shares positive strategies to use when experiencing gaslighting.
• [21:40] - Robin shares preemptive strategies for tackling gaslighting.
• [26:55] - Robin enters the lightning round.

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett

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, Robin!

Scott Donaldson is a post-doctoral scholar in evaluation, statistics, and measurement at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine Moores Cancer Centre. Scott's research focuses on the design, measurement, and evaluation of individual workplace and community-based well-being interventions and has been published in leading journals.

In this week's episode, we explore which positive psychology interventions have been found to be the most effective in workplaces, and why.

Connect with Scott Donaldson:

• https://www.scottdonaldsonphd.com/

• [03:15] Scott explains what Dr. Seligman's PERMA theory of wellbeing suggests about caring for our wellbeing.
• [06:20] Scott shares some of the recent concerns about the PERMA wellbeing theory researchers have been discussing.
• [13:10] Scott shares the additional wellbeing factors his research has been uncovering.
• [15:39] Scott explains the impact studies are finding workplace wellbeing can have on workplace outcomes.
• [20:37] Scott shares how different modes of delivery positive psychology interventions have a different impact on outcomes.
• [22:58] Scott explains what his recent meta-analysis has found were the most effective positive psychology interventions for workplaces.
• [25:17] Scott shares what studies are finding about the impact of wellbeing on performance.

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• Good Business by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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, Scott!