Making Positive Psychology Work

Garry Davis’ corporate career has included more than a decade in executive HR and OD roles in public and private sectors.  His work in leadership development and applied positive psychology has been recognized through various awards.   In this conversation, you’ll hear Garry share his award-winning approach to introducing positive leadership into organizations and his tips for embedding these behaviors to create lasting changes.  Garry also shares the surprising truths he learned about organizational cynics and how to manage them through the change process. Connect with Garry Davis: Website - thestylewisegroup.com [01:47] – Garry shares takeaways from his award-winning work.  He explains the importance of context.   [05:13] – Garry explains why a one-size fits all approach may not work when considering smaller teams within an organization.  There can be different cultures with these teams. [07:18] – Garry shares his award-winning case study for the introduction of positive leadership into a workplace. [09:19] – After the conversation is changed, the behaviors need to be embedded. This takes time and using this company as an example, Garry talks about the time-frame to reach sustainability. [13:48] – Garry talks about early adopters and laggers and the impact they can have on implementing these practices.  He draws a parallel to the movie, Toy Story.   [18:03] – Garry shares what the strategy should be when it comes to the “terrorists” that don’t immediately buy in. [19:56] – Garry shares that there may be companies that are not ready for positive psychology practices. [21:10] – The Lightning Round with Garry Davis. Your Resources: The Positive Business Conference Employee Engagement in Theory and Practice – Catherine Truss and Kirsten Alfes 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 Garry for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Sue Ashford is a professor in management and organization at the University of Michigan.  Her research interests include leader effectiveness and development, issue selling, self-management and feedback processes in organizations.   Are you keen to step up to a leadership role but worried you aren’t quite ready?  Sue suggests that everyone has leadership potential, and you learn leadership mostly from experience.  But if you’re racing through your experiences mindlessly, you could be missing out on a lot of learning.  By mindfully engaging in your experiences, and being open to growing, developing your skills and getting feedback you can be more effective at learning leadership skills. Connect with Sue Ashford: Sue’s Website You’ll Learn: [01:42] – Sue will be presenting at the upcoming Positive Business Conference on ‘Control Your Own Destiny: Leadership Development through Mindful Engagement.’ [03:41] – Sue discusses the leadership is part skill, part mindset, and in part risk. [05:32] – Sue defines ‘mindful engagement’ as a set of practices that allow you to learn more from the experiences you’re in. [07:53] – Sue explains that it’s not possible to be mindful every moment of every day, but she says that you can be mindful in certain experiences. [12:45] – Sue says that experimentation with different approaches allows you to find what works and doesn’t work. [14:08] – Both anxiety and too much positivity can prevent learning. Emotion regulation can keep your emotions in a middle ground. [15:48] –Referring to yourself in the third person has been found to help regulate emotions. [17:14] – Sue talks about feedback-seeking and explains two strategies for gaining this information. [20:20] – Sue explains why managers struggle with reflection. [23:15] – The Lightning Round with Sue Ashford. Your Resources: The Positive Business Conference A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Being a Better Leader – Ari Weinzweig Betwixt and between identities: Liminal experience in contemporary careers – Herminia Ibarra 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 Sue for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Edwin Locke is the Dean’s Professor of Motivation and Leadership Emeritus at the University of Maryland.  He has published over 300 chapters and articles in professional journals on topics such as motivation, job satisfaction, incentives and the philosophy of science.  He is internationally known for his research on goal-setting. Goals are critical in helping us create change in our lives, and yet most people struggle to stick with the goals they set. In this conversation, you’ll hear Ed explain the importance of setting goals and what his 35 years of research has discovered about setting effective goals and why SMART goals may not be as smart as you thought they were. Connect with Edwin Locke: Website: http://edwinlocke.com You’ll Learn: [01:37] – Ed explains that life is a goal-directed process and if we remain passive in setting goals it’s unlikely we will thrive. [04:44] – Ed shares why people struggle with goals.   [06:14] – Ed explains why we should be setting difficult goals for ourselves. [07:08] – Ed describes the difference between a performance goal and a learning goal.   [09:18] – Ed explains why SMART goals are incomplete.   [10:55] – Ed shares the power of goal hierarchies and how to avoid goal conflicts. [12:16] – Ed reminds us that it’s important to set goals for your own life and not setting goals to “show off” or goals based on someone else’s life. [13:45] – Ed explains why “emotional intelligence” is over-rated for leadership. [15:00] – The Lightning Round with Ed Locke Your Resources: American Psychologist Article – Building A Useful Theory  Of Goal Setting & Task Motivation Selfish Path to Romance: How to Love with Passion and Reason – Edwin Locke and Ellen Kenner New Developments in Goal Setting and Task Performance – Edwin Locke and Gary Latham 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 Ed for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Peggy Kern is a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education in the Center for Positive Psychology. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, and her research addresses the question, “Who flourishes, and why?” Are we oversimplifying positive psychology?  While the field has made much progress over the last 15 years in helping people find ways to improve their wellbeing, however, at best interventions are only beneficial for some people, some of the time, and are far from a magic bullet for everyone in all situations.  Peggy suggests combining positive psychology’s focus on the individual with systems science to take into account the complex reality of our everyday contexts, could assist target interventions for individuals and the collective good. Connect with Peggy Kern: Website: http://peggykern.org You’ll Learn: [01:36] – Peggy has been working with a team of collaborators at Melbourne University that merges positive psychology with systems science to create positive systems science. She explains this merging of two interdisciplinary fields. [04:49] – Peggy shares how systems science helps us figure out which positive psychology interventions will be helpful for specific outcomes at different times. [11:10] – Peggy talks about how a systems map helps discover the relationships between things. [13:12] – Systems are complex, dynamic and changing. [15:13] – Peggy talks about how system science needs to be developed to help people flourish. [17:23] – Peggy addresses how we can get organizations to see themselves as wellbeing systems. [18:24] – To determine if a system is flourishing, measurement is necessary. Peggy talks about how the measurements work. [21:08] – This is the early days of this type of thinking.  Peggy shares some resources for you to learn more, such as her blog. [22:08] – The lightning round with Peggy Kern. Your Resources: The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources – Lynne Twist Peggy’s Positive Systems Science Blog Understanding Systems Science: A Visual and Integrative Approach – Andreas Hieronymi 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 Peggy for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Professor Carol Dweck is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading researchers in the fields of personality, social psychology, and developmental psychology.  She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the US Academy of Sciences and won nine lifetime achievement awards for her research.  Her work is used by organizations around the world to transform their cultures. In this conversation, you will hear Carol talk about fixed and growth mindsets and how her research has found they can impact our performance at work.  She draws on her experience of helping organizations implement this type of mindset to share the small changes workplaces can make to cultivate growth mindset environments and where this can go wrong.  Connect with Carol Dweck: Website: http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/ You’ll Learn: [02:10] – Carol explains the differences between fixed and growth mindsets, according to her research. [04:56] – Carol shares how her studies have found that when there is a fixed mindset culture with an organization, there’s a lot of unethical and unhealthy behaviors because of the pursuit of outcomes. [08:41] – Carol shares that innovation is coming out of growth mindset companies at a higher rate. [10:22] – Carol’s recent article in the Harvard Business Review points out some of the misconceptions around growth mindsets in workplaces.  She explains what those misconceptions are. [13:00] – Carol talks about how Microsoft are cultivating growth mindsets across their teams. [19:32] – Carol explains why she believes self-compassion works well with a growth mindset. [23:20] – Carol shares where the growth mindset and these strategies can go wrong and the importance of evaluation. [24:16] – The Lightning Round with Carol Dweck. Your Resources: Carol’s article in Harvard Business Review: What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means How Microsoft Uses Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol Dweck 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 Carol for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Dacher Keltner is a professor of psychology at UC Berkeley.  He is also the faculty director of The Greater Good Science Center. Dacher’s research focuses on the biological and evolutionary origins of compassion, love, beauty, power, social class, and inequality. Do you run towards or away from having more power?  Often perceived as the need to manipulate, coerce or dominate others, it turns out that power is actually the ability to make a difference in the world by influencing others.   As a result power is not something to be taken, but given to us through the practices of empathy, kindness, generosity and gratitude.  The paradox however is that as our power grows from these practices, it often ends up disconnecting us from the very people we serve.  So how can we navigate the power paradox? Connect with Dacher Keltner: Website – http://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/dacher-keltner You’ll Learn: [01:35] – Dacher defines “power” as your capacity to influence other people. [06:53] – Dacher explains that there are small things you can do to feel more powerful. [09:05] – Dacher speaks about Adam Grant’s work on keeping your generosity right for the context. [13:06] – Dacher explains how feeling powerful helps ignite your approach system by focusing on rewards, and when you’re not feeling powerful it trigger your inhibition system making you more aware of risks. [15:05] – Dacher gives strategies to use to overcome the power paradox. [23:32] – Dacher shares some thoughts on servant leadership. [24:59] – Dacher explains what a future workplace looks like with shared power. [26:40] – The Lightning Round with Dacher Keltner Your Resources: Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life – Dacher Keltner The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness – Dacher Keltner The Power Paradox: How We Gain and Lose Influence – Dacher Keltner Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals – Frans B. M. de Waal The Ethics for a New Millennium – Dalai Lama The Greater Good Science Center The Varieties of Religious Experience – William James 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 Dacher for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Vanessa King is a board member of Action for Happiness, which is a UK-based not-for-profit that focuses on proactively building skills for psychological well-being and resilience. She’s also the architect of the Ten Keys to Happier Living. She joins me on this episode to talk about In this episode, you will hear Vanessa’s Ten Keys to Happier Living, which form the acronym, GREAT DREAM.  Vanessa lists these ten keys and describes how they can bring about happier living.  She also talks about her program, Doing Well From the Inside Out and describes some of the success she’s seen through that program with building well-being in the workplace.  As technology changes the landscape of business and the future becomes more difficult to predict, getting back to the basics with well-being is more important than ever. Connect with Vanessa King: Action for HappinessTen Keys to Happier Living You’ll Learn: [01:45] - Vanessa explains that the Ten Keys to Happier Living are areas that we can take action in to help ourselves and other people be happier.   [02:14] - GREAT DREAM is the acronym for these ten keys and Vanessa walks us through each of the keys.   [05:40] - Vanessa talks about how people can stick with these shifts.  She explains that approaching these changes with an attitude of experimentation rather than lifestyle transformation where to set expectations. [06:30] - Vanessa explains how sharing what you’re doing with other people can help create momentum through accountability. [08:57] - The evidence is still out on these strategies, but Vanessa shares why she believes it’s possible long-term improvements in people’s well-being. [11:40] - Vanessa emphasizes that these are ten keys to happier living, not ten keys to happiness. [14:06] - Vanessa talks about her program, Doing Well From the Inside Out, which helps build well-being in the workplace.   [15:47] - Vanessa shares a few stories about participants that went through this and other programs who experienced transformations. [18:34] - Vanessa explains how she presents these strategies to businesses.  She shares there’s a need to think about organizations systemically. [22:30] - Technology makes it difficult to predict the future in business.  Vanessa explains that requires us to get back to the basics with happy living. [23:14] - The Lightning Round with Vanessa King. Your Resources: Mindful Compassion: How the Science of Compassion Can Help You Understand Your Emotions, Live in the Present, and Connect Deeply with Others - Paul Gilbert PhD Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself - Kristin Neff Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul - Stuart Brown and Christopher Vaughan 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 Vanessa for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

George Bonanno is professor of clinical psychology, Director of the Lost Trauma and Emotion Lab, and Director of The Resilience Center for Veterans and Families at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College. George’s research focuses on resilience in the fact of loss and traumatic events.   Most of us have the natural tools to deal with extreme adversities in our lives. We cope well when extreme things happen to us.  To deal with the world around us, it takes a repertoire of behaviors.  Sometimes, this involves what George calls “coping ugly.”  Sometimes we might need to do something that doesn’t seem pretty but is reasonably effective.   Connect with George Bonanno: Website for Lost Trauma and Emotion Lab You’ll Learn: [01:55] - George will be presenting on loss, trauma, and resilience at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology.  He shares what he would like attendees to take home from his presentation.  [03:45] - Media coverage ensures that we are aware of negative events.  The negative psychological consequences can be overcome, and eventually they go away. [05:38] - George believes that resilience is natural and speaks to the fact that organizations are spending money on trying to enhance resilience. [08:50] - George talks about the behaviors that make us cope better.    [11:43] - “Coping ugly” is a phrase that George coined and he talks about what this means.   [12:55] - George talks about how laughter can be an example of coping ugly.   [14:20] - We all know the famous five stages of grief.  George states that these stages have been harmful to many people.   [16:25] - The Lightning Round with George Bonanno Your Resources: 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss - George A. Bonanno Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo - Hayden Herrera 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 George for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Jeffrey Auerbach designs and delivers executive coaching and emotionally intelligent leadership programs.  He is the founder and President of The College of Executive Coaching, and past Vice President of the International Coach Federation Global Board of Directors. In this conversation, you will hear Jeffrey talk about the well-being coaching he does with people in the workplace.  The biggest part of well-being is career well-being.  Jeffrey explains the importance of using strengths intelligently, and when one can’t rely on their strengths, doing the work to learn something new.  A weakness is sometimes a strength that is overplayed.  Jeffrey shares examples of coaching clients to demonstrate how these strategies can be implemented to make positive lifestyle changes. Connect with Jeffrey Auerbach: Website: http://executivecoachcollege.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-e-auerbach-4155722b/ You’ll Learn: [01:45] - Jeffrey will be presenting at the 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology. He’ll be talking about coaching for executive well-being.  He shares what he hopes attendees will take away from his presentation.   [03:10] - Jeffrey shares how he coaches people to make changes to achieve well-being. He talks about a few practical applications people can implement. [06:02] - Jeffrey talks about his new book, Positive Psychology in Coaching: Applying Science to Executive and Personal Coaching. [07:59] - In his new book, Jeffrey talks about the dangers of over-using strengths.  In the world of leadership, people are hired and promotion because of their strengths.  But, when their careers fail, it’s because they rely on those strengths rather than being an agile learner. [10:50] - Jeffrey shares how he coaches individuals to build on their strengths, but also be aware of and owning their limitations.   [14:49] - Jeffrey cites Barbara Fredrickson’s work on the upward spiral of lifestyle change. He shares an example of how positive emotions can make lifestyle changes more likely. [19:33] - Jeffrey talks about situations where well-being or strength-based coaching approaches are not appropriate.   [21:07] - Group coaching situations are becoming more common. Jeffrey explains the reasons that he likes this approach.   [25:08] - The Lightning Round with Jeffrey Auerbach Your Resources: 5th World Congress on Positive Psychology Personal and Executive Coaching: The Complete Guide for Mental Health Professionals - Jeffrey E. Auerbach Positive Psychology in Coaching: Applying Science to Executive and Personal Coaching - Jeffrey E. Auerbach and Sandra L. Foster Good Business: Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans - W. Bruce Cameron 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 Jeffrey for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!

Angela Duckworth is a professor at The University of Pennsylvania. She is also the founder and scientific director of The Character Lab. She has advised the White House, professional sports teams and Fortune 500 CEO’s.   In this conversation, you will hear Angela discuss the research that she is doing on character with children and teachers in middle schools.  Character is not one thing, it is many.  Various character strengths fall into three dimensions: interpersonal character, intellectual character, and intrapersonal character.  Angela also talks about these types of characters in regards to the workplace.  You will also hear Angela talk about grit, and her opinions on the things workplaces are doing to try to cultivate grit.  Connect with Angela Duckworth: CharacterLab.org You’ll Learn: [01:59] - Angela shares some of the takeaways from her upcoming presentation on character at the 5th World Congress in Positive Psychology.   [03:53] - In Angela’s research, she looked at a subsets of strengths in the VIA (Values in Action Inventory). [05:31] - Angela says that self-control and grit are in the strength of will family.   [06:41] - Angela describes the interpersonal strengths.  These allow you to appreciate other human beings.   [07:36] - Angela lists some characteristics that she defines as intellectual character. [09:26] - Angela talks about determining where students are in their strengths in these areas of character.   [10:42] - Angela believes that these areas of character strengths are relevant to adults, in addition to youth.  She describes how these translate to the workplace. [12:36] - Angela talks about the relationship between grit and character and their roles in achievement. [14:00] - Grit is sought-after in the workplaces, and Angela talks about the idea that the role of character will grow in businesses.  She explains how strengths in some areas of character can lead to the individual being likelier to have or develop strengths in other areas of character. [16:31] - Angela talks about what workplaces are doing to successfully cultivate grit. [19:42] - Angela shares some concerns she has with workplaces implementing grit exercises. [22:09] - The Lightning Round with Angela Duckworth. Your Resources: 5th World Congress in Positive Psychology CharacterLab.org Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance - Angela Duckworth Getting Grit: The Evidence-Based Approach to Cultivating Passion, Perseverance, and Purpose - Caroline Adams Miller Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise - Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool 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 Angela for joining me this week. Until next time, take care!