Making Positive Psychology Work

Now displaying: February, 2018

Can Tough Workplaces Afford Wellbeing? with Jo Mitchell 0

Feb 22, 2018

Jo Mitchell is a clinical psychologist and co-founder of the Mind Room, a health, wellbeing and performance psychology practice in Melbourne, Australia. Jo has over 20 years of sports industry experience and has a specialist interest in working with high performers across all fields to improve their wellbeing, particularly by using the tools of Positive Psychology, Acceptance Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness. She is also on the board for Action for Happiness Australia.

In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing how to introduce wellbeing practices into workplaces that are cautious or skeptical about ‘soft skills’. We’ll explore how to tailor language, create a systems approach and a new app that opens this science up to a much wider market.

Connect with Jo Mitchell:

Website: themindroom.com.au

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You’ll Learn:

[01:58} - Jo explains how she taylors the language used to present ideas of positive psychology, to be openly accepted in typically tough and competitive workplaces.
[04:55] - Jo talks about setting up a support network to help footballers stick with newly learned behaviours, using repetition and reinforcement.
[10:24] - Jo talks about her new wellbeing mobile app called Mind Max.
[14:37] - Jo discusses the gender bias in men around wellness and wellbeing.
[20:45] - Jo explains how we can prevent burnout by scheduling moments of rejuvenation into our daily life, and the importance of giving ourselves permission to do this.
[21:39] - Lightning round with Jo Mitchell

Your Resources:

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.

Until next time, take care! Thank you Jo!

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Is Employee Engagement Over-Rated? with Patty McCord 0

Feb 15, 2018

Patty McCord is a workplace innovator, culture and leadership consultant, and former chief talent officer at Netflix. Patty has many years of working with business leaders and aspiring management to help people realize and practice leadership. She is the author of a wonderful new book, Powerful: Teams, Leaders and the Culture of Freedom and Responsibility, which pushes the boundaries of thinking about the way we work. From abolishing performance reviews to challenging the need for policies, Patty believes people come to work as fully formed adults with a desire to make an impact and to be proud of what they do. Her ideas have been featured in publications around the world, including the Harvard’s Business Review, Fast Company and The Wall Street Journal.

In today’s podcast Patty explains why mapping engagement and happiness measures against productivity in workplaces may undermine the very results workplaces are trying to create. She also shares how Netflix built a thriving culture by treating employees like adults, balancing freedom and responsibility and replacing performance reviews with radical honesty.

Connect with Patty McCord:

Website: pattymccord.com

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You’ll Learn:

[02:03] - Patty gives some of the dangers of overlaying engagement and happiness scores with team performance.
[06:48] - Patty talks about the value of saying something radically honest every day.
[07:53] - Patty explains how if you practise giving people feedback every day, 50% of it will work and be positive feedback.
[11:24] - Patty says why the freedom and responsibility has to live inside of the business that you're trying to accomplish.
[12:28] - Patty explains why strategy is figuring out what not to do.
[16:52] - Patty tells how to orchestrate vigorous debates to encourage people to get curious, and put themselves on the other side of the argument.
[19:23] - Patty gives examples of what should managers do instead of formal perfomance reviews.
[21:40] - Lightning round with Patty McCord.

Your Resources:

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.

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 Patty!

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Is Humor The Key To Improving Relationships? with Peter McGraw 0

Feb 8, 2018

Dr. Peter McGraw is an associate professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. As a behavioral scientist, his research examines the interrelationship of judgment, emotion, and choice—with a focus on the production and consumption of entertainment. McGraw directs The Humor Research Lab (HuRL) and is the co-author of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny.

His research has been covered by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME NPR, BBC, and CNN. His work appears in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, Psychological Science, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is currently trying to kick a sweater vest habit – even if it does get him kicked off the Stylist Scientist List.

Today we’re talking all about humor; how it can bring people together and push them apart. We’ll also cover it’s role in generating success for several key business areas.

Connect with Pete McGraw:

Website: petermcgraw.org/

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You’ll Learn:

[03:17] - Pete explains the principles of humour, and it's commonalities and differences across various demographics.
[05:03] - Pete dicsuses how to cultivate humour.
[07:32] - Pete covers the negative side of humour, and how it should be regulated in a work environment.
[09:53] - Pete talks about humour within cultures, and how forgiveness can be a complimentary quality.
[11:03] - Pete uses the analogy of being a supporting actor in life, and how productive it is when people act with this mindset.
{16:59] - Pete discusses the role of humour in sales and marketing, and how enthusiasm is a powerful tool for making an impact.
[18:55] - Pete lists some qualities that present charisma, including the use of movement and well placed silence.
[20:41] - Lightning round with Peter McGraw.

Your Resources:

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.

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 Gervase!

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Do Your Leaders Have The Right Mindset? with Gervase Bushe 0

Feb 1, 2018

Gervase Bushe is the Professor of Leadership and Organisational Development at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. His career spans over three decades of transforming organisational structures, cultures and processes, away from command and control and towards more collaborative work systems. Gervase is an award winning author of over one hundred papers and has three books on organisational change, leadership, teams and teamwork. His newest co-authored book, “Dialogic Organisation Development: The Theory and Practise of Transformational Change,” builds on his ground breaking research into how appreciative inquiry leads to transformational change, and is gathering international acclaim. He has consulted to blue chip corporations and start-ups, public sector and business corporations in a variety of sectors and, in 2016, HR Magazine in the UK added him to their list of the 30 Most Influential HR thinkers.

Today we’re talking with Gervase about how to create changes in workplaces that enable them to flourish. Gervase shares his award-winning insights on why we need to understand more about how living systems thrive, the role of leaders and the danger of big visions, and how to ask generative questions that shift people’s thinking and behavior.

Connect with Gervase Bushe:

Website: gervasebushe.ca

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You’ll Learn:

[03:05] - Gervase introduces transformational change processes, and explains the results of tests he's done in that area.
[07:18] - Gervases gives his experience of how self organisation has been integrated into the workplace.
[11:26] - Gervase explains the difference between a 'positive' and 'generative' approach.
[16:27] - Gervase shares his tips on asking more generative questions.
[16:35] - Gervase talks about how to focus on developing positive traits, rather than trying to eliminate the negative.
[26:59] - Lightning round with Gervase Bushe

Your Resources:

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.

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 Gervase!

Download this Episode