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

In this conversation, you will hear Peggy talk about the role our behaviors and habits play in our well-being. With Julie Butler, Peggy has developed Permah Profiler, which is designed to measure different elements of well-being. She has also developed Permah Workplace Survey.  Peggy also shares that she recently received some criticism and she shares some valuable insight on how to react to criticism and ways to learn from it to become a better researcher.  

Connect with Peggy Kern:

Peggy Kern’s Blog - http://peggykern.org

You’ll Learn:

• [01:40] - Peggy talks about our behaviors and habits and determining if these are undermine or uplift our well-being.
• [03:29] - Peggy shares her thoughts on why these little practices to promote well-being are so difficult for us.
• [05:20] - One of the best ways to change habits is to record what you’re doing and monitor your habits.  Peggy talks about using that same practice with measuring our well-being.
• [08:58] - Peggy developed a version of Perma Profiler for workplaces.  
• [11:27] - Peggy talks about the challenges that positive psychology researchers and practitioners experience.
• [15:06] - Peggy gives her thoughts on sharing the science of positive psychology in a simple enough manner to keep them interested.
• [19:24] - Peggy recently received some criticism and she talks about where this criticism came from and how she handled the situation.  
• [24:20] - Peggy shares her thoughts on science and the confidence practitioners have in the science of positive psychology.
• [28:32] - The Lightning Round with Peggy Kern.

Your Resources:

Permah Profiler
Permah Workplace Survey
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success - Adam Grant

Thanks for listening!

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!  Special thanks to Kevin for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Kevin Schnieders is the Chief Servant Leader and CEO of Educational Data Systems, Inc. (EDSI). EDSI is a workplace development, customized training, and consulting company who provides innovative solutions to close workforce skill gaps around America.  Since Kevin became CEO, EDSI has tripled in size.  

In this conversation, you will hear Kevin talk about models and systems that he has implemented at EDSI.  By talking with 450 EDSI employees in 45 days through this servant leadership model, Kevin has been able to understand his employees as individuals.  You will hear him share the logistics of maintaining these relationships.  EDSI has experienced incredible growth under Kevin and he explains the role that this model had in the success of the company.

You’ll Learn:

• [01:50] - Kevin talked with 450 EDSI employees in 45 days. He talks about what led him to making the decision to take on this challenge and what he took away from these conversations.  
• [02:40] - Kevin believes leaders need to understand their employees as individuals.  
• [03:35] - Kevin talks about asking employees open-ended questions to get their opinions on the company.
• [04:26] - Kevin talks about some of the logistics to staying organized with the information his employees share with him.
• [05:25] - Kevin shares why he feels this investment in his employees is important and beneficial. He explains why he attributes the success of the company to this strategy.
• [07:14] - Kevin talks about buy-in with this servant leadership model across all levels of leadership and management with EDSI.  
• [09:05] - EDSI is using other systems like the Best Reflective Self Exercise and The Immunity Map.  
• [11:30] - EDSI believes in working to people’s strengths.  They allow for people to try to grow in areas, but they don’t set people up for failure.
• [12:29] - Kevin talks about the feedback he receives from his employees.  
• [15:17] - Kevin shares that there have been some models that EDSI tried that did not work out as planned.

Your Resources:

Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone - Mark Goulston M.D & Keith Ferrazzi

The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Tell Your Family History, Fight Smarter, Go Out And Play, and Much More - Bruce Feiler

Center for Positive Organizations’ Positive Business Project

Educational Data Systems, Inc.

Thanks for listening!

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.

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

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

Dr. Aaron Jarden is a senior lecturer in psychology at Auckland University of Technology. He is also the president of the New Zealand Association of Positive Psychology.

Aaron has done a lot of research on occupational wellbeing and in this conversation, he talks about how to introduce these practices to workplaces from the upper levels to the front-lines using a  “me, we, us” framework.

Aaron also shares his thoughts on the links between the research community and practitioners.  He also speaks about the gap between the academic world and the general public's perception of wellbeing.

You’ll Learn:

• [01:40] - Aaron talks about some of his research findings on occupational wellbeing.
• [03:12] - Aaron shares his thoughts on introducing these practices to workplaces.
• [05:08] - There are different ways organizations implement these practices and Aaron shares the different strategies and his thoughts on the variety of techniques.
• [06:23] - A challenge in implementing occupational well-being strategies is convincing leaders to buy in. Aaron talks about this necessary and difficult step in the process.
• [08:13] - Aaron talks about varying levels of senior leadership and the upward trend in this area.
• [09:14] - Aaron talks about the importance of small interventions that can make a huge difference to well being, that don't cost a lot..
• [12:09] - Aaron shares an effective quick three-breath exercise to create a positive mindset.
• [13:16] - Aaron talks about the poor job researchers do of communicating science to the public and what the research community can do to repair that.
• [17:13] - Aaron talks about the difference between academics and general public understandings of wellbeing.
• [19:02] - The Lightning Round with Dr. Aaron Jarden.

Your Resources:

Dr. Aaron Jarden’s website

Positive Psychology at Work: How Positive Leadership and Appreciative Inquiry Create Inspiring Organizations - Sarah Lewis

Elon Musk Biography

Second Wave Positive Psychology: Embracing the Dark Side of Life - Itai Ivtzan and Tim Lomas

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! Special thanks to Aaron for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Until next time, take care!

Sarah Lewis is the founder and managing director of Appreciating Change in the UK. Sarah consults for organizations around the world on how to effectively create sustainable change.

In this conversation, you will hear Sarah talk about her philosophies on change and how she helps organizations through the change process. We discuss the questions that must be asked to unleash change. Often, the questions asked pertain to what is going wrong or what is broken. Instead, Sarah talks about the questions that need to be asked to unleash the power to move forward through positive change. Sarah also explains some other methodology for positive change, like World Cafe and Simu-Real.

In the Lightning Round, Sarah shares several authors and books for which she has great appreciation. She also shares that “positivity is a state as well as a trait.”These methodologies are not about ignoring the negativity in life, but rather to help us get to a state where we are coping and thriving.

You’ll Learn:

• [01:30] - Sarah shares the advice she gives organizations wanting to bring out the best in their people during the change process.
• [3:21] - Sarah talks about getting leaders to embrace a more system change, rather than a top-down implemented change.
• [07:10] - Sarah talks about the questions that need to be asked to unleash the power to move forward.
• [10:04] - Sarah talks about the burning platform and while that might be productive in the short-term, there is difficulty with sustaining that change.
• [16:27] - Sarah explains the World Cafe and Simu-Real methodologies for change.
• [22:45] - The Lightning Round with Sarah Lewis.

Your Resources:

Sarah Lewis’ Website
Sarah Lewis’ books on Amazon
Kim Cameron’s books
David Cooperrider’s books
Collaborating for Change: Appreciative Inquiry - David Cooperrider et al.
The Change Handbook: The Definitive Resource on Today’s Best Methods for Engaging Whole Systems - Peggy Holman and Tom Devane

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.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free! Special thanks to Chris for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Until next time, take care!