Adam Grant  is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 25 most influential management thinkers, is the author of three New York Times best-selling books, and his TED Talks have been viewed more than 8-million times.

In this conversation, you will hear Adam explain how our beliefs about our relationships at work shape the success we are able to achieve.  Adam walks us through his research on givers, takers and matchers and what organizations can do to cultivate giving cultures.  He also explains how to deal with takers, the value of disagreeable givers and the small practices you can try to be an effective giver.

Connect with Adam Grant:

Website - http://AdamGrant.net

You’ll Learn:

• [02:02] - Adam shares what advice he gives the organizations on how to lead and manage people better.
• [03:23] - Adam talks about the importance of organization rewarding the right people through measuring others-focused behaviors and results.  
• [05:51] - Adam shares his thoughts on dealing with “takers” in an organization and bringing out the positive qualities in these individuals.
• [09:55] - Adam explains how to be a thoughtful giver within an organization.
• [13:56] - Adam cites that doing 5-minute favors at work raises your job satisfaction. He goes on to explain that the receivers of those favors pay back at 278%.
• [16:00] - Adam shares his thoughts on why self-compassion is important to help set boundaries and say “no” so we can be more effective givers.  
• [17:46] - Adam explains how his opinions have changed on the topic of needing takers in an organization.
• [20:56] - Adam recently found that the most important driver of engagement at work was pride in the company.
• [23:31] - The Lightning Round with Adam Grant.

Your Resources:

• Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success - Adam Grant
• Adam Grant Ted Talk: Are you a giver or a taker?
• Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy - Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
• Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World - Adam Grant
• Supernormal: The Untold Story of Adversity and Resilience - Meg Jay
• The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups - Daniel Coyle

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.  

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.

Special thanks to Adam for joining us this week. Until next time, take care!

Shane was one of the world's leading researchers on hope and was also a senior scientist and research director at The Clifton Strengths Institute, where he explored the links between hope, strengths development, academic success, and overall well-being. For me, one of the most magical moments of this year’s World Congress on Positive Psychology was the chance to honor, savor, and build upon the research of Dr. Shane Lopez. I first met Shane at a World Congress years ago, and he was generous enough to allow me to interview him on several occasions.

To give you a chance to savor Shane’s insight, I thought you might enjoy this interview, which was recorded prior to his death.  Shane explains how using your strengths - those things you are good at and enjoy doing -  can help you be more engaged in what you do each day at work.  And when managers shift their thinking to a more strengths based approach that encourages each person to do what they do best they can make a big difference in engagement, profitability and productivity. Learn how to identify your strengths, how these can change over time, and what you can do to develop yours and others strengths.

You’ll Learn:

• [01:45] - Shane shares his journey with strengths.  He talks about the work of Don Clifton at the University of Nebraska.
• [04:00] - Shane explains what a talent is and how they grow into strengths.
• [05:58] - In the workplace, we focus on weaknesses and try to “fix” those deficits rather than helping individuals find the right role.  Shane states how Don focused on talents on finding the roles for people based on those roles.
• [07:20] - Shane shares that our talents are not static over time, but they don’t change a lot.  
• [09:05] - Shane talks about Clifton Strengths Finder.  
• [11:57] - Shane discusses the difference in strengths between entrepreneurs and those working within organizations.
• [12:23] - If you have taken the strengths finder, Shane suggests you team up with someone else that has taken the assessment.
• [13:49] - Shane talks about how a workplace can be transformed by catching people doing great work and providing quality feedback.
• [15:57] - Shane talks about the 70% of disengagement in the workplace. Managers are not exempt from this lack of engagement.
• [17:33] - Shane shares what managers do to help employees use their strengths at work.
• [19:47] - Shane talks about the changes of strengths in college students and how that will eventually change the culture of workplaces.
• [20:48] - Shane speaks about seeing strength development at the preschool level.

Your Resources:

• Making Hope Happen: Create the Future You Want for Yourself and Others - Shane Lopez

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. 

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.

Vale Shane Lopez. Until next time, take care!

Richard Ryan is a professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology in Education at the Australian Catholic University. He is also a research professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester in New York. Rich is a clinical psychologist and co-developer of self-determination theory, one of the leading theories of human motivation. With over 300 papers and books in the areas of human motivation and personality and psychological well-being, he is among the most cited and influential researchers in psychology and social sciences.

In this conversation, Rich discusses how we can motivate ourselves and others at work and what we can do practically to cultivate autonomy, competence and relatedness.  He also explains the motivational pull of games and shares how elements within games can be used to improve wellbeing.

Connect with Rich Ryan:
Rich's Website

You’ll Learn:

• [01:53] - Many organizations still struggle with motivating individuals to do their best work. Rich shares his findings in what actually works.
• [02:41] - Rich explains why many organizations struggle with implementing strategies based on his findings.
• [03:54] - Rich shares some of the factors his research finds are important for leaders to be able to enable in team members.
• [05:10] - Rich explains why there are fundamental needs for flourishing.
• [06:39] - Rich describes how neuropsychology is adding to his understanding of what motivates us.
• [08:03] - Rich shares some outcomes leaders can expect if they make these changes.
• [09:47] - Rich talks about how to teach leaders to be more autonomy supportive of their employees.
• [10:53] - Rich shares that he has been inspired by the rise of the executive coaching culture.
• [12:00] - Rich talks about the balance of incentives without undermining motivation.
• [14:01] - Rich wrote a book on the motivational pull of games and he discusses the elements of games that can be utilized in workplaces. He also explains why gamification can be bad for organizations.
• [18:04] - Rich talks about new health programs that use incentives to encourage behavior changes.
• [20:19] - Rich talks about the importance of change in the process.
• [21:26] - The Lightning Round with Rich Ryan

Your Resources:

Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development, and Wellness - Richard Ryan and Edward Deci
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel Pink
Glued to Games: How Video Games Draw Us In and Hold Us Spellbound - Scott Rigby and Richard Ryan
7 Minute Workout
Primed to Perform: How to Build the Highest Performing Cultures Through the Science of Total Motivation - Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor

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. 

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.

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

Kristin Neff is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research. In addition to writing numerous academic articles and book chapters on the topic, she’s the author of the book, Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself and creator of the CD series Self-Compassion Step by Step: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself.  In conjunction with her colleague, Dr. Chris Germer, she’s developed an 8-week training program called Mindful Self-Compassion.

In this conversation, you will hear Kristin talk about self-compassion. She explains why our fear of failure and anxiety over performance are the two biggest reasons we don’t do as well as we should and shares how the simple practices of self-compassion can help us to feel more confident, motivated and resilient.

Connect with Kristin Neff:

Website: http://self-compassion.org/

You’ll Learn:

• [01:58] – Kristin provides some cultural and biological reasons that self-criticism is often our first response when things don’t go to plan.
• [04:06] – Kristin shares what her research shows to indicate that self-compassion is a better response in these moments.
• [05:41] – Kristin describes some of the key skills people can learn through her program on self-compassion.
• [07:26] – Kristin lists a few self-compassion practices that are ideal for work settings.
• [09:17] – Kristin talks about the universal sound for comfort and compassion.
• [13:49] – Kristin discusses the importance of self-compassion in the mix of other positive psychology practices.
• [14:33] – Kristin shares some things organizations and leaders can do to encourage self-compassion practices.
• [17:13] – Kristin explains “backdraft” and the types of people that may struggle with implementing self-compassion practices.
• [19:20] – Kristin reports that women are less self-compassion, but more compassionate to others than men.
• [20:58] – The Lightning Round with Kristin Neff

Your Resources:

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - Angela Duckworth
• The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions - Christopher K. Germer and Sharon Salzberg

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.

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