The Psychology of Work: Why People Do What They Do

In this episode of "The Psychology of Work," Jeff Brittain reveals the secret behind transforming team dynamics and breaking down communication barriers to achieve organizational harmony. Discover how listening with intent and understanding team priorities can turn conflict into collaboration.Jeff Brittain is a seasoned professional known for his holistic approach to teamwork and mission accomplishment. With extensive experience in the corporate world, Jeff has successfully led immediate teams as well as collaborated with a wide array of partners. His expertise spans overseeing IT support functions involving 650 third-party personnel from various companies. Jeff excels in uniting diverse groups, whether within a startup or a large organization, to achieve a common goal. He fundamentally believes in the broadest definition of a team, encompassing all necessary contributors to drive success.Below are the key takeaways from this episode:Communication Techniques: Jeff Brittain highlights the significance of analyzing meeting dynamics and focusing on verbal and non-verbal cues, advocating for a listening-first approach.Collaboration in Problem-Solving: Jeff shares an example of diverse departments overcoming blame through data analysis and collective action, emphasizing the power of collaborative solutions.Holistic Leadership: Jeff stresses the importance of treating everyone as unique contributors, respecting their priorities, and co-creating solutions for a cohesive team.Importance of Context: Both Jeff and Dr. Bobbi Wegner discuss how understanding context and questioning assumptions can resolve conflicts and enhance team alignment.Networking and Understanding: Jeff's network-oriented leadership approach, centered on understanding and helping, is highlighted as a way to improve team dynamics and alleviate social anxieties.Todays guest, Jeff Brittain, can be found online at:Website: HealthCare.Bayer.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbrittain/Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Harvard Extension School Faculty Spotlight: https://youtu.be/zwLai-lu-pk?si=GpKNhtxVvTrS3-puLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/

Join Julia Milner, a leadership professor and founder of the stylish workout brand Tayamoon, as she redefines the approach to habits. Julia shares how treating habits like relationships can foster lasting behavior change. She emphasizes the importance of realistic goal-setting for busy lifestyles and normalizing the process of quitting and restarting habits. Discover the interplay between motivation, personal empowerment, and workplace wellness, and learn to embrace self-indulgence as a part of a healthy, balanced life.

Join us on this insightful episode of "The Psychology of Work" as Dr. Bobbi Wegner and Kat McDavitt dive into the intricacies of scaling a people-centric business without losing its essence. Discover the delicate balance between innovation and structure and how embracing individual styles can lead to remarkable team success.Kat McDavitt is the president and founding partner of Innsena, a consultancy specializing in market access, public affairs, communication strategy, and growth within the healthcare technology sector. Leading a fully remote team, Kat emphasizes scaling people over products and maintaining a relationship-based approach during rapid growth. She also co-hosts the "Health Tech Talk Show" and runs the Zorya Foundation, which provides cash grants to women in healthcare roles. Passionate about blending innovation with practical frameworks, Kat advocates for a balanced, individualized approach to business scaling and operational efficiency.Below are the key takeaways from this episode:Balancing Growth and Culture: Kat McDavitt and Dr. Bobbi Wegner discuss the challenges of scaling a business while preserving its core relationship-based approach. Kat emphasizes scaling people over products and hiring slowly to maintain uniqueness.AI Use in Business: Innsena has strict policies against AI-generated client deliverables. They explore internal AI for efficiency, with Dr. Bobbi Wegner recommending secure platforms like Playground AI to ensure privacy.Flexibility and Communication: The importance of flexible work environments and clear communication is highlighted. Kat mentions using personalized "user manuals" to cater to individual communication preferences while meeting practical expectations.Sustainable Growth: Kat focuses on building a sustainable health tech company, prioritizing financial conservatism and long-term stability over immediate sales to maintain market presence during economic downturns.Thoughtful Hiring: The episode advocates for "hire slow, fire fast" practices to ensure team alignment with the company's work style, emphasizing clear communication of job expectations and fostering creativity through diverse talent.Today's guest, Kat McDavitt, can be found online at:Website: https://www.zoryafoundation.org/Website: https://www.innsena.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katkovalchikmcdavitt/Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Harvard Extension School Faculty Spotlight: https://youtu.be/zwLai-lu-pk?si=GpKNhtxVvTrS3-puLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/

Join Dr. Bobbi Wegner and Craig Forman as they delve into how military precision and psychological insights can transform workplace culture, revealing the secrets to creating high-performing, cohesive teams in a post-COVID world. Discover why understanding relational dynamics is key to thriving in the new era of work.Craig Forman is the founder of Culture C Consulting and a seasoned expert in organizational psychology and people analytics. With a background that traces his understanding of human behavior to frequent childhood relocations and a four-year stint in the Air Force, Craig has since obtained a degree in business and a master's in industrial-organizational psychology. His impressive career includes roles at Achievers, LinkedIn, and Culture Amp, where he specialized in enhancing workplace culture through data-driven insights. Today, Craig leverages his military and corporate experience to help organizations create actionable strategies that foster psychological resilience and high performance.Below are the key takeaways from this episode:Integrating Military Insights into Workplaces: Craig Forman emphasizes using military principles of cohesion and structured hierarchy to enhance civilian team performance.Clearly Defined Goals: The necessity for teams to have clear goals and visions is highlighted to prevent conflict and foster collaboration and trust.Effective Meeting Framework: Craig shares a structured meeting framework, covering welcome, connection, work, action, and close, to enhance meeting effectiveness.Balancing Tech and Human Interaction: The episode stresses integrating human relational aspects with technology in the workplace to address human-centric challenges effectively.Adapting Post-COVID Workplaces: Emphasizing adaptability, they advocate using data to shape work policies and integrating AI while maintaining focus on human relationships.Today's guest, Craig Forman, can be found online at:Website: https://www.culturecraig.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/culturecraig/Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Harvard Extension School Faculty Spotlight: https://youtu.be/zwLai-lu-pk?si=GpKNhtxVvTrS3-puLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/

In this episode of "The Psychology of Work," Dr. Bobbi Wegner and leadership expert Dr. Dossier Harps delve into the transformative power of leadership philosophies shaped by personal experiences, the science behind psychological safety, and the intricate dynamics of diverse teams. Discover how intentional spaces and innovative questioning can revolutionize your work environment.Dr. Dossier Harps is a distinguished expert in organizational behavior and leadership, holding a doctorate in organizational leadership. She serves as a regional leadership facilitation manager at LifeLabs Learning and is a faculty member in the MBA program at Savannah State University. Driven by personal experiences as a minority in work settings, Dr. Harps' leadership philosophy centers around creating safe, inclusive workspaces and championing diversity. She is passionate about leveraging pain and purpose to drive impactful leadership and has a keen focus on fostering psychological safety and encouraging diverse perspectives within organizations.Below are the key takeaways from this episode:Leadership and Safe Spaces: Garcia discusses the importance of leadership philosophy as a guiding compass and the creation of intentional safe spaces in the workplace.Psychological Safety: Safe environments are crucial for fostering innovation and creativity, allowing for bold and divergent thinking.Ego and Self-Reflection: Effective leaders lower their egos, embrace not knowing everything, and highlight others’ intellect to build a respectful and safe culture.Purpose and Fulfillment: Purpose evolves over time and isn’t necessarily tied to one’s primary job; individuals can find fulfillment in various pursuits that energize them.Diversity and DEI: DEI is pivotal in creating a culture of psychological safety where diverse perspectives thrive, preventing groupthink and promoting open discourse.Today's guest, Dr. Dossier Harps, can be found online at:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dossierharps/Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Harvard Extension School Faculty Spotlight: https://youtu.be/zwLai-lu-pk?si=GpKNhtxVvTrS3-puLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/

Join us as Jen Fisher, former chief well-being officer at Deloitte, reveals the unexpected ripple effects of checking her email on vacation and shares insightful strategies for fostering psychological safety and connection in the workplace. Discover how vulnerability and transparency can transform your team's well-being and performance.Jen Fisher, the former Chief Wellbeing Officer at Deloitte, spent nearly three decades at the company creating and leading initiatives that prioritized human and social connection in the workplace. Fisher is renowned for her focus on integrating well-being and high performance, fostering psychological safety, and driving innovation. After experiencing burnout and receiving support from a mentor, she transitioned into a role as a Human Sustainability Leader, addressing systemic barriers to well-being. Recently, Jen has embarked on a new journey dedicated to well-being, human sustainability, public speaking, writing, and collaboration to improve the work environment.Below are the key takeaways from this episode:Support Without Spending: Jen Fisher underscores the significance of asking employees how to support them in ways that don’t involve financial expenditure, focusing on actionable and controllable aspects within organizations.Transparency and Vulnerability: Both speakers stress the difficulty yet necessity of leaders modeling vulnerability and maintaining transparent communication about personal struggles and goals for improvement with their teams.Innovative Vacation Management: Jen Fisher describes a creative system her team developed to manage work during vacations, utilizing spreadsheets instead of emails to track tasks, which significantly improved communication and catch-up processes.Impact of Personal Narratives: Dr. Bobbi Wegner discusses how personal stories and experiences influence well-being and work-life balance, highlighting the empowerment that comes from creating a supportive team in a toxic environment.Human Connection and Well-Being: Jen Fisher highlights the critical role of human and social connection in the workplace for fostering psychological safety, innovation, and overall well-being, and calls for organizations to prioritize a culture of connection.Today's guest, Jen Fisher, can be found online at:Website: https://jenfisher.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jen-fisher-cwbo/Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Harvard Extension School Faculty Spotlight: https://youtu.be/zwLai-lu-pk?si=GpKNhtxVvTrS3-puLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/

Welcome to the first episode of "The Psychology of Work: Why People Do What They Do," a podcast dedicated to delving into the science and narratives behind high cohesion and high-performing teams. Hosted by Dr. Bobbi Wegner, a Harvard lecturer in Organizational Psychology and founder of Groups, this series will explore the psychological dynamics that drive team and individual performance. In each episode, we'll engage with industry experts to tackle real-world challenges and provide actionable insights designed to help teams thrive. Thank you for joining us on this journey to better understand and optimize workplace dynamics.Your host, Dr. Bobbi Wegner, can be found online at:Groops: https://www.joingroops.com/Personal Website: https://www.drbobbiwegner.com/Harvard Faculty Page: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/directory/faculty/bobbi-wegnerLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbiwegner/