Episode 31: “Other People Matter: Character, Culture, and Workplaces at Their Best” with Dr. Jillian Coppley

What happens when leaders see character not as a buzzword, but as the invisible architecture of how they show up every day?

In this episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons and co-host Jason Viyar sit down with Dr. Jillian Coppley, President and Chief Products, Programs, and Services Officer at the VIA Institute on Character. 

Drawing on her experience leading the reinvention of Mayerson Academy, spearheading VIA’s Workplaces at Their Best initiative, and learning from some of the brightest hearts and minds in the science of character, Jillian offers a deeply hopeful — and practical — vision of what leadership can be.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Jillian defines a flourishing leader and why she sees leadership as both an opportunity and a responsibility to be a change agent.
• Why she thinks of character as the “invisible architecture” that aligns what we think, feel, say, and do — and how that coherence builds trust.
• The story behind her reflective series “10 Years, 10 Lessons,” and why she describes it as a gratitude-filled love letter to the people who have shaped her.
• What inclusive, strengths-based cultures look like in practice, and what VIA has learned from years of working with organizations around the world.
• How strengths-spotting can transform teams — especially when people’s strengths look very different from our own.
• Why small, daily behaviors (not grand gestures) are the real engine of culture change and flourishing at work.
• How character strengths like courage, prudence, social intelligence, and compassion may become even more important in an age of AI and constant disruption.
• The profound leadership wisdom behind Chris Peterson’s reminder that “other people matter — and they can’t read your mind.”

Whether you’re leading an organization, a classroom, a team, or simply your own life, this conversation will help you see how character science can become a practical roadmap for leadership, well-being, and human flourishing.

• Take the VIA Character Strengths Survey and learn your own strengths: viacharacter.org
• Learn more about Workplaces at Their Best and VIA’s programs: viacharacter.org (Workplace section)
• Connect with Dr. Jillian Coppley on LinkedIn to read her  “10 Years, 10 Lessons” reflections and more on character and leadership.
• You can watch Season Two of Standing Up Strong, on YouTube. Standing Up Strong is a podcast series hosted by Jillian exploring character strengths and upstanding in partnership with the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center.

Thank you for listening to the Flourishing Leaders Podcast!
Hosted by Dr. Scott Parsons, this podcast explores how character, virtue, wisdom, and purpose can shape a more flourishing life and leadership journey.

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Flourish with us—because leadership rooted in character changes everything.