Do You Have A Wellbeing Strategy? with Dr. Peggy Kern
Making Positive Psychology Work
Release Date: 09/03/2021
Making Positive Psychology Work
One in 3 workers are carrying grief about the changes happening at work — and our data suggests this runs deeper than just sadness: layers of feeling invisible, abandoned, and distrusted by the people making decisions. In this fourth episode of Season 7 — The Change Fatigue Remedy Series — Dr Michelle McQuaid sits down with Dr Margaret Wheatley, renowned teacher, advisor, and author of Restoring Sanity, to explore why leaders often transmit the very fear they're trying to protect their teams from — and what it takes to build an island of sanity where people can find refuge from the...
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What if what's defeating us isn't the speed of change but the complexity — multiple crises amplifying each other in ways that no forecasting tool was ever built to handle? In this third episode of Season 7 — The Change Fatigue Remedy Series — Dr Michelle McQuaid sits down with Dr Margaret Heffernan, professor of practice at the University of Bath and author of Embracing Uncertainty, to explore why the focus on efficiency leaves organizations more fragile when complexity hits — and why we need to prioritize optionality instead. Drawing on her work with...
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Nearly 1 in 2 American workers are quietly fatiguing, cracking, or burning out right now — but the data reveals that these aren't just different degrees of the same thing. In this episode of Season 7 — The Change Fatigue Remedy Series — Katie Beresford interviews Dr Michelle McQuaid about the findings of the most recent US Change Lab study, and what the data tells us about where people are on the change fatigue continuum, why leaders keep missing the early warning signs, and what individuals, teams, and organizations can actually do about it. ...
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When change keeps coming, research suggests the way we talk to ourselves is making it harder. In this first episode of Season 7 — The Change Fatigue Remedy Series — Michelle explores with Dr Kristin Neff what it practically looks like to be a wiser, kinder friend to yourself when things get hard: why "I should be handling this better" is your threat system talking, not the truth, and what to do instead. With more than two decades of research behind her, Dr Neff explains why the three elements of self-compassion — mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity — shape not just how you...
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Understand what makes it safe enough to admit mistakes, ask for help, and learn alongside each other — even when you're struggling. In this final episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share the powerful mantra "stay with me" — the opposite of abandoning ourselves when things get hard. With insights from self-compassion researcher Dr Kristin Neff and Internal Family Systems psychologist Dr Tori Olds, discover why your inner critic thinks it's helping (even when it's not), and learn to meet your protective parts with curiosity instead of shame....
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Our bodies have to calm down before our thoughts can follow — and this is the step most of us skip. In this second episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share practical body-based tools you can use anywhere, anytime: in meetings, during difficult conversations, or mid-presentation (without anyone noticing). With guest insights from somatic expert Nahid de Belgeonne, author of Soothed, learn how to think of your nervous system as an inner toddler that needs our compassion and care — not criticism. 00:03 Michelle and Evie welcome...
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Discover why the pace of change has left so many of us quietly cracking — and why this isn't a personal energy or resilience failing. In this first episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright explore how to decode the signals your nervous system sends: why you say "I'm fine" when you're anything but, or "I'll take care of it" when you're already exhausted. With guest insights from therapist and author Sue Marriott, learn about the connection and protection circuits that shape your responses to stress, and discover why understanding your green, blue, and...
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While new data suggests 58% of changes fail, organizations using human-centered methods achieve 93% success rates. What's the difference? This final episode reveals how the HEART framework helps teams thrive through today's supercycle of change by helping people feel 'safe enough' to embrace not having all the answers, self-organize around actions they care enough to own, and measure success by growing their capabilities to navigate uncertainty together. We bring together all five HEART factors into one simple practice you can do anywhere, anytime. 02:00 Michelle shares how she talks...
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Change initiatives often start with such confidence - neat timelines, clear milestones, everyone aligned - yet within weeks things feel messy and unpredictable. What makes the reality so different from the plan? This episode explores why "tiny is mighty" when it comes to navigating complex change. We share the T in our HEART framework with practical tools for embracing polarities rather than false choices, starting where you are, sensing when to adapt, and celebrating small wins that build the resilience needed to thrive in ongoing uncertainty. 01:04 Chelle explains the benefits of Taking Tiny...
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Why do some teams emerge from uncertainty stronger and more connected, while others splinter into silos where everyone's fending for themselves? The difference lies in whether people feel safe enough to admit they're struggling and ask for help. This episode reveals why reaching out is often the one simple act standing between you and success during change. We share the R in our HEART framework with practical tools for normalizing struggle, making it easier to ask for and offer help, and ensuring no one burns out from caring. 01:12 Chelle explains why Reaching Out helps us to navigate the...
info_outlineDr. Peggy Kern is an associate professor at the Centre for Wellbeing Science within the University of Melbourne's Graduate School of Education. Originally trained in social personality and developmental psychology, Peggy's research focuses on understanding, measuring, and supporting wellbeing across the lifespan. She works with schools and workplaces to examine strategies for supporting wellbeing and bridging gaps between research and practice and has published three books, over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and most recently the wonderful and freely available Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education.
In this week's podcast - our very last one ever – we explore what we’ve learned from 250 episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work and the best of these insights can be used to support wellbeing strategies in workplaces, schools, and communities."
Connect with Peggy Kern:
You’ll Learn:
- [03:55] - Peggy reflects on the evolution of the field of positive psychology and what it means practically for workplaces, for schools, for communities, when it comes to caring for our wellbeing.
- [09:04] - Michelle shares her reflections on how the application of positive psychology has evolved in workplaces, schools, and communities in recent years.
- [13:33] - Peggy explains why workplaces, schools, and communities are prioritizing the need for wellbeing strategies.
- [15:26] - Peggy recommends some of the key factors workplaces, schools, and communities might want to include in their wellbeing strategies.
- [19:47] - Michelle shares a case study of how large organizations pivot their wellbeing strategy to embrace thriving and struggle and what this has meant practically in terms of the changes they have made.
- [26:02] - Peggy reflects on the importance of building wellbeing literacy and having a shared – non pathologized – language to talk about how we are feeling.
- [29:47] - Michelle and Peggy reflect on how we can use the science of positive psychology wisely to help – rather than unintentionally harm – others.
- [34:17] - Michelle explains how she positions the science of positive psychology to clients in an effort to acknowledge its limitations and do no harm.
- [36:21] - Michelle shares new research on the benefits of combining wellbeing and mental health approaches in workplaces.
- [38:42] - Peggy and Michelle reflect on what’s next for the field of positive psychology.
- [45:27] - Peggy begins the lightning round!
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.
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Until next time, take care! Thank you, Peggy!