The Happy at Work Podcast

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What if the path to career success and personal fulfillment requires embracing fear rather than avoiding it? Jill Schulman, Marine Corps veteran and author of "The Bravery Effect," reveals a transformative understanding of bravery that challenges conventional wisdom.

Forget everything you thought you knew about courage. Schulman defines bravery as "taking voluntary action in the presence of fear toward a worthwhile goal" - a skill anyone can develop with practice. Through compelling insights drawn from military experience and positive psychology research, she illustrates how workplace fears of rejection, failure, and uncertainty create a devastating compound effect when we consistently choose to step back rather than forward.

The conversation delves into practical strategies for building your "bravery muscle," including visualization techniques that leverage the fear of regret and tools for navigating difficult conversations with authority figures. Schulman's POISE model (Purpose, Observed behavior, Impact, Seek understanding, Enact plan) provides a framework for speaking truth to power while minimizing potential negative consequences.

Perhaps most surprisingly, Schulman reveals how true bravery involves vulnerability - admitting when you need help, actively seeking feedback, and creating what she calls a "brave tribe" around you. The Marine Corps phrase "embrace the suck" encapsulates her central message: discomfort isn't something to avoid but rather the essential ingredient for growth and achievement.

Whether you're hesitant to share ideas in meetings, reluctant to pursue a promotion, or struggling to create a team environment where candor thrives, this episode offers evidence-based approaches to transform fear from an obstacle into a catalyst for meaningful change. What would your future self advise you to do with the opportunities before you today?

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

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What happens when doubling someone's wage doesn't motivate them to work more hours? Lawrence Wiener, an American attorney who's spent 33 years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, reveals fascinating insights about work motivation beyond money in our latest conversation.

Lawrence's journey began when he gazed out his San Francisco law firm window and realized he wasn't enjoying his path toward partnership. This moment of clarity led him to ride his bicycle to Los Angeles, then move to Argentina for what was supposed to be one year of Spanish immersion. Three decades later, he's built a successful cross-cultural legal practice helping multinational companies navigate Argentina's complex business environment.

The heart of our discussion explores a puzzling cultural phenomenon: in a country with staggering inflation (276% last year) and high poverty rates, financial incentives often don't drive behavior as they would in America. Lawrence explains this stems from both economic reality and cultural values. When unstable currency and lack of credit make meaningful wealth accumulation impossible, extra income becomes less motivating. Coupled with Argentina's Catholic cultural foundation that places less emphasis on material success and more on family connections, we discover a profoundly different relationship with work and money.

Perhaps most valuable are Lawrence's observations about Argentina's greatest workplace advantages: adaptability and emotional intelligence. Living amidst constant economic change has created a remarkably resilient population skilled at navigating uncertainty—precisely the qualities needed in today's rapidly evolving global economy. Meanwhile, strong family structures and social customs have nurtured superior interpersonal skills across generations.

This conversation challenges conventional Western notions about motivation and success, suggesting valuable lessons from cultures that prioritize human connection, adaptability, and meaningful work over pure financial gain. For leaders managing global teams or anyone seeking a more balanced approach to work and life, Lawrence's cross-cultural insights offer a compelling alternative perspective.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

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In creating a family-run company that will last 100 years, you have to have an adaptable skillset that gets evaluated quarterly. This is one of the great points that Matthew Powell, fourth-generation CEO of Century Companies, reveals on how to operate a business with a 100-year time horizon.

After starting his career in investment banking, Powell gained a unique appreciation for the power of patient capital and long-term thinking. He returned to his family's Midwest-based safety and security contracting business with a mission to "build for the next 100 years" – a perspective that shapes everything from hiring practices to leadership development.

Powell shares his company's unique approach to culture-building, starting with clear values (humble, hungry, and together) that are constantly reinforced through daily practices and meaningful recognition. What makes his approach particularly fascinating is his belief that "leadership is an inside job" – requiring leaders to heal their hearts, elevate their souls, galvanize their mindsets, and maintain physical health as prerequisites for organizational growth.

One of the most intriguing metrics Powell tracks is how many families are represented within the company. His reasoning is profound: if employees invite their family members to join, it demonstrates they truly believe in the environment they're helping create. This "family metric" serves as the ultimate net promoter score.

For any leader tired of the relentless pressure of short-term thinking, Powell offers a refreshing alternative that focuses on "being timeless rather than timely." His three pillars for building a century-spanning company – humanity, stewardship, and compounding – provide a framework for creating organizations with deeper purpose, stronger cultures, and more sustainable impact. Subscribe now to hear conversations with more innovative leaders who are reimagining the future of work.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

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Chuck Wisner, author of "The Art of Conscious Conversations," shares transformative insights on how to improve workplace communication through self-awareness, understanding our physical responses to triggering situations, and mastering four essential types of conversations.

• Chuck's journey from musician to architect to communication expert was sparked by witnessing effective conflict resolution
• Our internal dialogue (the "CADs") often contains judgments and negativity that we must learn to process constructively
• Four key questions can transform conversations: examining desires, concerns, authority issues, and standards
• Physical reactions like dry mouth, eye twitches, or tension serve as early warning signs of emotional triggers
• The powerful "circuit breaker" technique helps pause reactive responses when emotionally triggered
• Our personal stories shape how we approach conversations, but detaching from unhelpful narratives is crucial
• "A request without a possible no isn't a request—it's a demand"
• Using the counteroffer approach instead of defaulting to yes helps create promises you can actually keep
• Younger generations often demonstrate better boundary-setting and openness to communication techniques
• True listening requires letting go of the need to constantly demonstrate intelligence through talking

Learn more about conscious conversations and transforming your communication in Chuck Wisner's book "The Art of Conscious Conversations: Transforming How We Talk, Listen, and Interact."

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

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Jordana Cole shares her journey as a leadership development expert and how she's revolutionizing coaching through AI with her company ShiftWell.ai. She explains how this technology can democratize access to professional development by providing on-demand, personalized coaching to employees at all levels.

• AI coaching can reach employees who traditionally lack access to development resources, including hourly workers, non-English speakers, and those with busy schedules
• Traditional employee engagement surveys have shown little improvement over 20+ years because they address symptoms rather than root causes
• People's needs shift over time like fingerprints, requiring personalized development that evolves with them
• Human coaches and AI should work as complementary partners—AI providing scale, humans providing intuition
• Organizations should design AI implementations with employees rather than for them
• Environmental factors including workspace arrangements significantly impact performance but are often overlooked in engagement assessments
• Practical AI applications include drafting difficult communications, synthesizing data, and creating step-by-step action plans

Want to hear more? Subscribe to the Happy at Work podcast and leave us a review. Interested in speaking on a future episode or collaborating with us? Email us at [email protected] or follow us on LinkedIn.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

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Dr. Enya Doyle shares insights on creating inclusive workplaces through the fundamental principles of curiosity and decency, offering practical approaches to overcome political divisiveness in DEI work.

• Approaching DEI through curiosity and decency rather than complexity
• Understanding unconscious and systemic bias as created and perpetuated by people
• Research findings on gender barriers including lack of knowledge about women's health issues
• Demystifying allyship as accessible actions where "the only thing you can't do is nothing"
• Practical advice for organizations including leaving shame behind and establishing dedicated DEI budgets
• Comparing DEI investment across industries, with insights on adapting approaches for different contexts
• Separating recruitment from retention strategies to improve effectiveness of inclusion initiatives

Follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter for more happiness insights, or email us at [email protected] to collaborate on a future episode.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

Send us a text

Andrea Kehoe, Director of Operations Administration at Kettering University, shares how she's led efforts to transform the university's workplace culture following what their president called a "cultural meh" after the pandemic. Through cross-collaborative working groups, employee surveys, and responsive action, Kettering has revitalized their campus community by implementing simple yet effective strategies that prioritize employee satisfaction.

• Asking employees directly what would improve their work satisfaction resulted in actionable feedback
• Implementing tangible changes like fresh office paint showed employees they were truly being heard
• Creating more campus events helped rebuild relationships and community connections post-pandemic
• Finding "champions" for new initiatives ensures ideas have the necessary support to succeed
• Leaning into a "yes first" approach encourages innovation and engagement across campus
• Investing in internal mobility helps retain institutional knowledge and creates career growth opportunities
• Positive workplace culture directly impacts student experience and satisfaction
• Small, consistent improvements lead to significant cultural transformation over time

If you're interested in learning more about creating a positive workplace culture, check out the Optimizing Workplace Engagement course that both Michael and Tessa teach at Harvard's Professional Development Program.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

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David White, a cognitive anthropologist with 25 years of corporate experience, shares powerful insights about why organizational transformations fail and how understanding brain science can revolutionize our approach to culture change. His research reveals the complex relationship between our habitual work practices and the neural pathways that form our cultural thinking patterns.

• Culture consists of millions of schemas or tacit knowledge structures that reside in our brains
• Approximately 75% of business transformations fail to achieve their stated objectives
• What we do all day long indelibly shapes how we think - we are what we do
• Industrial companies develop risk-averse mindsets that extend beyond their core products
• The nature of our daily tasks creates "dominant logics" that influence all organizational thinking
• The paradox of culture: although culture lives in the brain, you change it through practices, not people
• Most organizations attempt culture change through training, values, or hiring but keep business practices the same
• Effective transformation requires rethinking fundamental business practices like planning and budgeting
• Leaders should develop pattern recognition skills to identify habitual thinking in their organizations
• Boomerang employees often have unique ability to recognize entrenched patterns and cultural models

For more insights, check out David's book "Disrupting Corporate Culture" which explores how cognitive science can transform organizational change efforts.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

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Marcus Mossberger shares his passion for cultivating hope in the workplace based on research showing that hope is critical for employee motivation and satisfaction. He defines workplace hope as "the active belief in a better future," differentiating it from passive optimism by emphasizing personal agency and responsibility for positive change.

• Hope in the workplace requires active belief and responsibility, not just passive optimism
• The top reason people leave organizations is not seeing anything to look forward to
• Next generation employees prioritize purposeful work and flexibility over compensation
• Agency and control over one's work significantly impacts psychological wellbeing
• Your relationship with your manager affects mental health more than many personal relationships
• Four-day workweeks can increase productivity while providing better work-life balance
• Cross-training naturally occurs when employees cover for each other's flexible schedules
• Traditional retirement may be outdated as we move toward longer lifespans
• Gradual reduction in work hours rather than abrupt retirement supports better mental health
• Technology, including AI, will transform work—our attitude toward these changes matters

Take the workplace hope assessment at workplacehope.com to understand what makes you hopeful at work and embrace the exciting changes coming to the world of work in the next decade.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!

Send us a text

MJ Shaar, a kindness strategist and wellness thought leader, explains how kindness provides the most effective entry point to improving our overall wellness and transforming workplace culture. Through compelling research and personal insights, she reveals how kindness impacts everything from arterial health to company profits.

• Mood is the easiest wellness habit to change, and kindness provides the most effective and lasting boost
• Kindness in the workplace directly improves engagement: 54% of employees who can approach managers with questions are engaged versus only 2% of those who can't
• Workplace incivility costs US businesses an estimated $2.7 billion daily through lost productivity
• A groundbreaking study showed rabbits receiving affectionate handling had 60% less arterial plaque despite identical high-fat diets
• Experiencing kindness reduces cortisol, inflammation, and stress while improving sleep quality
• Learning to receive kindness graciously creates "positive resonance," strengthening relationships and multiplying benefits
• Rather than random acts of kindness, aim for routine "micro-kindnesses" that become part of your identity
• Addressing burnout through kindness requires organizational change that creates psychological safety

If you'd like to hear future episodes, be sure to subscribe to the Happy at Work podcast and leave us a review with your thoughts. Send us an email at [email protected] if you're interested in collaborating with us or appearing on a future episode.

To stay connected and continue the conversation, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn.

And don't forget to check out our previous episodes for more tips and strategies to boost your workplace happiness. You can find them on your favorite podcast platform or on our website.

If you have any questions, comments, or topic suggestions for future episodes, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stay inspired, stay motivated, and stay happy at work!