Dr. Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University. As a pioneer in the field of science help, her mission is to translate insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal wellbeing and strengthen communities.

Kelly is the author of several books, including the international bestseller, The Willpower Instinct, The Upside Of Stress, and her upcoming book, The Joy Of Movement. Her TED Talk, How To Make Stress Your Friend, is one of the most viewed TED Talks of all time with over 20 million views.

In today’s podcast, we explore how we can tap into our different stress responses to shape our wellbeing and performance at work.

Connect with Kelly McGonigal: 

• http://kellymcgonigal.com/

You’ll Learn:

• [03:12] - Kelly shares some of the latest research insights on the upside of stress when it comes to our wellbeing and performance at work.]
• [06:45] - Kelly explains biologically how our fight-or-flight stress response helps us to engage better with life.
• [07:53] - Kelly shares how a challenge stress response can help us step up in challenging situations.
• [10:16] - Kelly explains how a social stress response can help us reach for courage and connection during challenging experiences.
• [14:37] - Kelly outlines how our resilience stress response works to help us learn and grow in the face of difficult or traumatic experiences.
• [18:46] - Kelly explains how we can trigger the stress responses that will serve us best as we navigate work and life.
• [21:49] - Kelly recommends some exercises to help build our levels of stress confidence so we can respond in the ways that serve us and others best.
• [27:24] - Kelly shares her tips on how we can help to shape the conversations about reducing stress in workplaces.
• [33:38] - Kelly completes the Lightning Round.

Your Resources:

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• https://storycorps.org/podcast/
• Books by Kelly McGonigal

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 of 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 Kelly!

Dr Peggy Kern who is an associate professor at the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education. Her research is collaborative in nature and draws on a variety of methodologies to examine questions around who thrives in life and why. She is the world’s leading researcher on measuring wellbeing using the PERMAH pillars, and has published 2 books and over 80 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

In today’s episode, we explore how systems informed positive psychology is can help workplaces to think more holistically about their wellbeing strategies and the tools that researchers and practitioners can use to help them take a systems approach.

Connect with Peggy Kern: 

• http://www.peggykern.org/

You’ll Learn:

• [02:37] - Peggy explains why we need a systems-informed approach when it comes to improving wellbeing in our workplaces.
• [04:01] - Peggy defines how a systems-informed positive psychology approach makes visible what is invisible.
• [05:19] - Peggy shares some of the underlying assumptions of positive psychology research and practices that limit our ability to positively impact a system.
• [07:51] - Peggy offers some tips for helping leaders embrace “simplexity’ when it comes to understanding how to impact wellbeing in their workplace.
• [09:59] - Peggy explores how we can better understand what is happening across a workplace to create a systems-informed approach for improving wellbeing.
• [11:28] - Peggy explains how Appreciative Inquiry approaches can be used to help map a system's response for workplaces wanting to improve wellbeing.
• [15:31] - Peggy shares how mapping energy networks in workplaces can help identify the best people and teams to target for wellbeing interventions in the system.
• [17:54] - Peggy explains why a systems-informed mindset needs us to let go of the illusion of control and instead learn to dance between order and chaos.
• [21:26] - Peggy shares why creating feedback loops is an important part of any systems informed strategy to improve wellbeing.
• [23:41] - Peggy explains how thinking though a systems lens can help us to build our growth mindsets, psychological safety, and self-compassion.
• [23:41] - Peggy explains why systems are always changing and what this means for our workplace wellbeing strategies.
• [27:39] - Peggy completes the Lightning Round.

Your Resources:

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• https://thesystemsthinker.com/

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 of 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 Peggy!

Jerry Colonna is the CEO and Co-Founder of reboot.io, an executive coaching and leadership development firm dedicated to the notion that better humans make better leaders. After many years as a partner and founder of private equity firms, Jerry has spent the last 20 years using the knowledge gained as an investor, an executive, and a board member for more than 100 organizations, to help entrepreneurs and others to lead with humanity, resilience, and equanimity to overcome the psychological baggage that has held them back professionally. In his new book 'reboot, leadership and the art of growing up', Jerry captures his unique blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy and entrepreneurial insight. 

In this week’s episode, we explore why better humans make better leaders, and what we can do practically to improve our leadership and resilience skills as we work.

Connect with Jerry Colonna: 

• https://www.reboot.io/

You’ll Learn:

• [02:37] - Jerry explains why better humans make better leaders.
• [04:01] - Jerry shares why so many leaders struggle to prioritize becoming better human beings.
• [05:19] - Jerry outlines why we tend to be fixated on outcomes in workplaces, even when this approach often burns us out.
• [07:51] - Jerry explains the simple steps we can take to become more effective and resilient leaders who don’t burn ourselves out.
• [09:59] - Jerry offers some questions to help us create a sense of wellbeing and discover the kind of leaders we are capable of being.
• [11:28] - Jerry explains how our stories about our past, present, and future shape our belief systems and the outcomes we’re able to achieve.
• [15:31] - Jerry offers some tips to help leaders challenge the stories that undermine their resilience and effectiveness as leaders.
• [17:54] - Jerry explains how our willingness to be better humans helps us to build more psychological safety in our workplaces.
• [21:26] - Jerry explains how why becoming a better human being is an ongoing process and how we can navigate it gracefully.
• [23:41] - Jerry shares his formula for enhancing leadership and building greater resiliency.
• [27:39] - Jerry completes the Lightning Round.

Your Resources:

• MPPW Podcast on Facebook
• Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer
• Tim Ferris Podcast
• On Being Podcast with Krista Tippett

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 of 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 Jerry!