Dr. Barbara Fredrickson is a distinguished professor of psychology and neuroscience.  She is the director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  With 140 peer-reviewed articles published and translated into a dozen languages, her research is funded by the US National Institute of Health.  

“Positive psychology is not just for when things are going well.”  This conversation may be exactly what some of you need in these times of global political uncertainty and fear.  Barbara talks about maintaining positivity and functioning or flourishing in times of negativity.  

Connect with Barbara Fredrickson

Barbara Fredrickson’s page on the Social Psychology Network

You’ll Learn:

• [01:50] - As 2016 concludes, there is a lot of uncertainty and fear in the world due to political changes.  Barbara talks about the role of positive psychology in these times.
• [03:35] - Barbara shares her thoughts on maintaining positivity in the face of fear.
• [05:40] - Barbara talks about functioning and flourishing during periods of negativity.
• [06:35] - Some negativity is recycled and Barbara talks about approaching those situations.
• [10:55] - Barbara talks about reaching out with positivity to those that you have ideological differences with.
• [13:11] - A lot of Barbara’s research is on love and positivity resonance between people.  She talks about aspects of her research that are more important now, in these times.
• [15:35] - Barbara talks about the value of meditation in times of negative emotional state.
• [18:48] - I have found Barbara’s tool on tracking positivity ratio to be very valuable.  She talks about this tool and how it can be used.
• [20:11] - Barbara shares her thoughts on how leaders of organizations can help others balance these feelings.
• [22:25] - The Lightning Round with Barbara Fredrickson.

Your Resources:

President Obama - our positive psychologist-in-chief  (by Sonja Lyubomirsky)

Positivity Ratio

Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power That Elevates People and Organizations - Monica Worline and Jane E. Dutton

Stories of You Life and Others - Ted Chiang

Positivity Resonance

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 Barbara for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Monica Worline is an organizational psychologist, speaker, author, and the founder and CEO of Alive and Work, an organization that teaches businesses how to tap into courageous thinking, compassionate leadership, and the curiosity to bring their best work to life.

In this conversation, you will hear Monica Worline describe the importance of compassion, specifically within organizations.  Monica shares components of her personal blueprint for compassion that she explains, in-depth in her upcoming book, Awakening Compassion at Work.  

Business leaders may resist compassion in their organization because it’s perceived as “soft”, but Monica shares that research shows that embracing compassion can positively impact the business financially.  Monica also describes the dilemmas that organization leaders can face when embracing compassion in the workplace.

Connect with Monica Worline

Website - MonicaWorline.com or TheCompassionLab.com
Twitter - @monicaworline

You’ll Learn:

• [02:02] - Monica talks about compassion and shares how compassion is different than empathy.
• [03:52] - Business leaders often feel that compassion is too soft to be relevant to their bottom line and Monica explains how research shows that compassion impacts the things that cost businesses money.
• [06:34] -  Monica describes the personal blueprint for compassion.
• [12:06] - Monica talks about how organizations can implement compassion into the system.
• [17:43] - Monica talks about the fears that leaders experience when considering compassion.
• [19:04] - Monica shares how stories can help build compassionate workplaces.
• [21:00] - Monica recently worked with an organization to help them create a more compassionate environment and she talks about working with them through stories.
• [22:51] - Monica explains how practitioners and researchers need to realize that compassion is not fast or easy in workplaces. She explains that it leads to many dilemmas for leaders.
• [25:40] - The Lightning Round with Monica Worline

Your Resources:

Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power That Elevates People and Organizations - Monica Worline and Jane E Dutton

Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfuilling Life - Todd B. Kashdan

Talk of Love: How Culture Matters - Ann Swindler

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 Monica for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Robert Biswas-Diener, is a leading researcher on culture, wellbeing, positive psychology coaching and author of several wonderful books including the The Upside of Your Dark Side. 

With recent political changes in the United States and the UK leaving many feeling fearful and apprehensive about the future, Robert shares his insights on how to become comfortable with these uncomfortable feelings.  He suggests rather than trying to whitewash them, by accepting them, and seeing them as signals that something isn’t right, you can then decide on a constructive response to what’s unfolding.  You can also apply this in workplaces when looming mergers or restructures stir up similar feelings of uncertainty and fear.

Connect with Robert Biswas-Diener

Robert’s Website - RobertDiener.com
PositiveAcorn.com
IntentionalHappiness.com

You’ll Learn:

• [01:37] - Robert talks about how emotions are like signals giving us a mental thumbs-up or thumbs-down about the quality of our life.  
• [05:35] - If you are fearful, it’s telling you that something you care about may be under threat, and you may need to protect it.   
• [07:54] - Robert explains when you can be comfortably uncomfortable with your negative emotions, instead of feeling overwhelmed, you can act constructively.
• [11:05] - Robert explains one important step in tolerating these emotions, is to specifically label the emotion to help understand what message it may be telling you.
• [13:54] – When people are experiencing incredible change in workplaces and feeling very negative, Robert talks about how leaders can build capacity in their employees.
• [16:20] - Robert says sometimes leaders need to challenge apprehension and other times it’s ok to validate concerns.
• [17:49] - Robert believes happiness and wellbeing doesn’t have to be a mandate at work.  
• [20:30] –To be a whole person you need to experience and draw on the full range of positive and negative emotions.
• [21:35] - Robert explains why “you never want cheerful optimists in the control tower, directing flight traffic.”
• [22:18] - The Lightning Round with Robert Biswas-Diener

Your Resources:

The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self--Not Just Your “Good” Self--Drives Success and Fulfillment - Robert Biswas-Diener & Todd Kashdan
View all of Robert Biswas-Diener’s books on Amazon
Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success - Adam Grant
Love at Goon Park: Harry Harlow and the Science of Affection - Deborah Blum

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 Robert for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Paloma Lopez is the global sustainability director for Kellogg. She helped lead the launch of the Kellogg origins program in sustainable agriculture in Europe.  She is now helping roll that program out on a global scale.  

Paloma shares Kellogg’s long history with “purpose”.  She explains how it is increasingly important for employees that the values of the organization align with their own.   Paloma has great insight into what Kellog have learned on their journey about having the right programs, the right partners and the right messages. 

Connect with Paloma Lopez

Twitter - @palomalpez

You’ll Learn:

• [01:21] - Paloma talks about embedding purpose within an organization.  She shares how Kellogg has done this.
• [3:34] - Paloma also explains why this strategy is important for their millennial employees.
• [7:14] - Paloma talks about the role that leaders play in implementing and maintaining these strategies. Paloma also shares a new initiative that aims to connect employees with their sustainable agriculture sources.
• [10:09] -  Paloma believes that small organizations with leaders that value purpose can also embrace these strategies.
• [14:41] - Paloma shares how a commitment to purpose can go wrong.  
• [16:35] - Paloma talks about the need for a clear commitment to the brand.  She shares an example that involves Special K.
• [19:44] - Paloma reminds us that  business need to work in partnership to address larger societal needs.
• [21:08] - The Lightning Round with Paloma Lopez

Your Resources:

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High - Kerry Patterson & Joseph Grenny

Positive Business Conference

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 Paloma for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Vincent Stanley is an author and chief story-teller with Patagonia.  In this conversation, you will hear Vincent talk about Patagonia’s journey from sustainability to responsibility, the mistakes they've made along the way and how they've won the hearts and minds of employees. 

Connect with Vincent Stanley

Vincent Stanley’s Website

You’ll Learn:

• [02:18] - Vincent shares why he believes organizations shouldn't focus on sustainability.
• [04:23] - Vincent talks about Patagonia’s journey towards responsibility.
• [07:17] - Vincent explains how Patagonia have used story-telling and experiences to convince their employees to embrace this change.
• [13:15] - Vincent shares how Patagonia's willingness to stumble on it's responsibility journey has helped the company plan more proactively.
• [14:30] - The lightning round with Vincent Stanley.

Your Resources:

• The Responsible Company: What We’ve Learned From Patagonia’s First 40 Years - Vincent Stanley and Yvon Chouinard
• Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman - Yvon Chouinard
• Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges - C. Otto Scharmer
• How to Thrive in the Next Economy: Designing Tomorrow’s World Today - John Thackara
• Thinking in Systems: A Primer - Donnella H. Meadows and Diana Wright
• Positive Business Conference

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 Vincent for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!