Ep 182: Dealing with challenges at work using Psychological Flexibility
Release Date: 03/20/2025
Ep 194: How to get the most from your leadership development programme
My Pocket Psych
And we're back! After a break to enjoy my summer holiday in Japan, My Pocket Psych is back with a focus on how to get the most from your involvement in a leadership development programme. We look at the importance of four key factors: mindset, engagement, reflection and application. These include your own thoughts and beliefs about development, the extent to which you get 'stuck in' to the programme, how you reflect on your development journey and how you put what you've learnt into practice. This epsiode is part of our Sustainable Leadership series and you can find out more about this...
info_outline
Ep 193: Taking my own medicine
My Pocket Psych
After quite a few weeks focusing on self-care and coping - as topics for leaders - I realised I was at risk of neglecting my own self-care and planned holiday. So this short episode constitutes a bit of a reflection of sorts, as I consider how I can best disconnect from work while in Japan. Resources for this episode To find out more about 'Sustainable Leadership', you can visit the resources page at . You can find out more about self-care and coping by watching our recent webinar on the topic:
info_outline
Ep 192: Threats to leaders' wellbeing
My Pocket Psych
In this episode, I take a look at some of the ways leaders' wellbeing is challenged. Stressors from the role of leadership, the culture of the organisation and from within the leader him/herself can combine to make the job much more difficult than it needs to be. I look at some of the sources of these difficulties and explore one in particular: the various ways that business travel can erode leaders' wellbeing. This is part of our series on 'Sustainable Leadership' and you can find all the resources that support it on our website at worklifepsych.com/sustainableleadership
info_outline
Ep 191: When leadership development goes wrong
My Pocket Psych
In this episode, as part of our Sustainable Leadership series, Richard explores some of the many ways that leadership development activities can fail to deliver. While it's often one of the most important people development investments an organisation can make, the results can fall of short of expectations for a variety of reasons. From a lack of evidence, over-reliance on fads, and use of 'motivational speakers', through to avoiding any kind of evaluation. Let us know what you think about the leadership development you've experienced, or have been responsible for - we love to hear from...
info_outline
Ep 190: Burnout - recognition and recovery
My Pocket Psych
This is the second part of Richard's two-part interview with Dr. Richard Duggins, all about his work in treating burnout. You can find . In this episode, Dr. Richard Duggins explains the role of the workplace and workplace culture in employees' experiene of burnout. Why 'keeping calm and carrying on' is precisely what not to do in the face of overwhelming demands. And busts some common myths about burnout. We also look at the role of leadership and its demands when it comes to burnout, the dangerous and unsustainable coping strategies leaders may be tempted to use, and how...
info_outline
Ep 189: Burnout - signs and symptoms with Dr. Richard Duggins
My Pocket Psych
In this episode of our 'Sustainable Leadership' series, we explore the antithesis of sustainable work: professional burnout. Richard is joined by Dr. Richard Duggins, consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist, who is known as the 'Doctor's Doctor' due to his work with physicians experiencing burnout in the NHS. His recent book 'Burnout-free working' explores the topic in detail, demystifying burnout and explaining how recovery is possible. In this first part of a two-part interview, we establish what burnout actually is, explore the 'burnout cliff' concept, learn about the role...
info_outline
Ep 188: Why leaders need to be emotionally literate
My Pocket Psych
This episode of the podcast is based on a webinar we recently ran on the topic of emotional literacy. In this session, Dr. Richard MacKinnon and Ross McIntosh explain what sustainable leadership is, the role of emotional literacy in leadership, the risks of neglecting it and some simple ways to develop it. This is part of our 'Sustainable Leadership' series and you can find out more and access our free white paper on the topic, by clicking the link below. Resources for this episode Find out all about sustainable leadership here: Watch our recent webinar on the role of psychological...
info_outline
Ep 187: Leadership and mental health
My Pocket Psych
Welcome to another episode of My Pocket Psych, which is part of our ongoing 'Sustainable Leadership' series. In this episode, Richard is joined by clinical and coaching psychologist Dr. Petra Gwilliam, to discuss the importance of mental health when it comes to leadership. We've previously looked at some of the challenges leaders can face at work, and the benefits of cultivating psychological flexibility (Episode 186). In this episode, Richard and Petra discuss some of the many challenges to leaders' mental health specifically, how dips in mental health can show up in leaders' emotions,...
info_outline
Ep 186: Why leaders need to be psychologically flexible.
My Pocket Psych
Continuing our theme of the importance of Sustainable Leadership, this episode is a little bit different. Earlier this month, I facilitated a webinar with my good friend and collaborator Dr. Rachael Skews. It was the first of our new series of free monthly webinars on the topic of Sustainable leadership - and I'll put a link to the booking site so you can see the details of the remaining sessions. The focus of our session was making the case for boosting psychological flexibility in leaders. I explained what we mean by sustainable leadership, Rachael introduced the concept of...
info_outline
Ep 185: What is 'Sustainable Leadership'?
My Pocket Psych
This episode is the first in a new series where we'll unpack all aspects of leadership, leadership development and the wellbeing and performance of leaders. In this episode, Richard is joined by , an experienced leadership development expert, to set the scene, outline our rationale for focusing on leadership, and explore some of the ways leadership can go wrong. In the coming episodes, we're going to look at topics like the role of coaching in leadership development, the importance of leaders' mental health at work, and why resilience just isn't enough. We hope you'll join us...
info_outlineI recently spoke at the Health and Wellbeing at Work conference in Birmingham on supporting employees to overcome challenges and setbacks. On the back of lots of positive feedback, I decided to record an episode outlining the main points I shared with delegates on the day, to share with a wider audience. And hopefully improve on my delivery!
In this episode, I explain what Psychological Flexibility is, how psychological rigidity shows up, why flexibility helps us deal with the everyday challenges and setbacks we can expect to encounter at work, and how the skills that comprise the psychological flexibility skill set contribute.
Do get in touch with your questions and comments (podcast at worklifepsych dot com) and let me know how this topic resonates with you.
As ever, thanks for listening.
Resources for this episode
Lots of psychological flexibility resources on our online hub: https://www.worklifepsych.com/psychologicalflexibility
Learn how to cultivate your own psychological flexibility on our course: https://www.worklifepsych.com/thrivingwithpsychflex/
Check out our upcoming free webinars here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/worklifepsych-ltd-14905781162
Health and Wellbeing at Work 2025: https://healthwellbeingwork.co.uk
You can watch the video of this episode on YouTube via this link: https://youtu.be/7GgMsx2Dh2U