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Dr. Laura talks with artist Tresa Gibson in Tresa’s Calgary studio about overcoming adversities and listening to the call to live an authentic life. Tresa Gibson has been an artist for over twenty years, painting with oil on canvas in bright, vibrant colours with a lot of texture. She shares some of her life stories with Dr. Laura, including some of the struggles she overcame, and explains how art, combined with business acumen and problem-solving skills, helped her realize her most genuine life.
Tresa understood she would somehow be in business at a young age but without knowing exactly how. As an adult, she took some art classes and stumbled into her love of painting and her true passion in life. While life threw many challenges in her path, including a very difficult health diagnosis for her son, Tresa’s love of art never wavered. She tells Dr. Laura that while the path she walked looked different than she had expected, she heard the “whisper” in her ear and realized her duty in life was to heed that call. Tresa’s passion for painting, her steely resolve when faced with challenges, and her openness to listening to her intuition make for a truly inspirational story.
“... similar to when you get in your car to drive home from work, it's a route that you drive all the time, so you're driving along in the car. You're not really consciously thinking ‘I have to turn right here, I have to turn left here.’ You're kind of just doing it. You're in a natural sort of meditative state as far as the drive home. And then you can think of other things. Well, when I'm painting a painting, I kind of open up that same way and I go into sort of an open, natural groove, and the painting just comes through me.” Tresa Gibson
Watch this episode on Dr. Laura’s YouTube channel
About Tresa Gibson:
Recognized for her unique impressionist style that balances colour and depth, Tresa’s work has been described as a simultaneous sense of order and chaos. She has been a thriving self-taught artist for over 14 years specializing in oil on canvas.
Born on the west coast in Victoria, Tresa moved around at a young age, to Britain and then to Calgary which she calls home. She runs a successful fast-paced studio in Calgary and her art can be found in collections throughout the world. Walk into her studio on any given day and there will be paint flying, music playing, and an abundance of laughter!
Tresa is best explained as a fiery ball of energy & enthusiasm who throws herself with abandon into every facet of her life. Her art is an expression of her personal beliefs of optimism and spirituality. It illustrates the moments of enlightenment and positivity that we all seek.
Tresa is highly dedicated to giving to her community by participating in many fundraising efforts yearly. Her connection to others, in all occupations, fuel her excitement to express herself on canvas.
Resources:
Website: TresaGibson.com
Instagram: @TresaGibson
Facebook: Tresa Gibson Artist Studio
Email: [email protected]
Missing Children Society of Canada
Gems for Gems
Mark Groves
“Bittersweet” by Susan Cain
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura revisits the topic of toxic bosses with in-depth information about the differences between a difficult boss and a toxic boss. In conducting studies and reading research on toxic bosses for the book she’s writing, Dr. Laura has gathered an immense amount of knowledge on identifying, differentiating, dealing with, and surviving toxic bosses. In this episode, she illustrates how a difficult boss is not necessarily a toxic boss and why this difference matters.
One of the main differences Dr. Laura points to is that while a difficult boss can be unpleasant to work with, they are manageable and can be navigated. A toxic boss, however, is not a sustainable person to work for as they are incredibly bad for mental health, physical health, and career progression. Dr. Laura breaks down all the ways we can differentiate between a difficult and toxic boss through their personal styles of management, levels of micromanagement, whether they communicate poorly or with dishonest and manipulative intentions, and how it feels when working with them. This episode expands our understanding of toxic bosses and adds more information to our knowledge bank so that toxic bosses can be more readily identified and, hopefully, avoided.
“And the biggest difference, really, is that you can find ways to manage a difficult boss, and you cannot do so with a toxic boss. A toxic boss is really damaging to your engagement, your productivity and your wellbeing.” Dr. Laura
About Dr. Laura:
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is a work and career psychologist and thought leader on the evolution of work. She has always been fascinated by how work intersects with life and loves to use her expertise to improve organizations and help people thrive. Her passion for taking creative ideas and launching them into successful business strategies led her to start three counselling psychology practices (Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology), as well as six different business brands offering organizational assessment and consulting services.
Dr. Laura is honoured to have been selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014 and received a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.
Resources:
Where Work Meets Life™Episode 83 | Managing Your Boss: How to Succeed, Thrive, or Know When to Leave with Mary Abbajay
“Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss” by Mary Abbajay
Dr. Laura on LinkedIn
Where Work Meets Life™ on YouTube
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Puuttuva jakso?
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Content Warning: This episode contains frank discussions about child sex trafficking. We encourage you to care for your well-being as you listen to and share this episode about the all-too-real danger of human trafficking.
Dr. Laura welcomes a return guest alongside a new expert in this challenging and vitally important episode on child sex trafficking. Alan Smyth, Executive Director of Saving Innocence (based in LA) and co-author of “MEN! Fight For Me”, returns to the show along with new guest Conroy Kanter, President of KK Ranch Productions and Producer of the movie Trafficked. Their conversation lifts the veil of secrecy on the issue of child sex trafficking, revealing how close to home it is and the current efforts to raise awareness of the tragic reality of this heinous crime.
Alan Smyth reveals that his celebrated book, “MEN! Fight For Me”, written with the collaborative efforts of trafficking survivors, is now in audiobook form for even wider distribution. Conroy Kanter shares how her 2017 film, Trafficked, starring Ashley Judd and Patrick Duffy, is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime. Alan and Conroy readily share their knowledge with Dr. Laura. Awareness of the grim reality of child sex trafficking is necessary in order to combat the continuing spread of the criminal practice. To that end, everyone who hears this conversation is offered an opportunity to acknowledge the present danger of the issue and act by sharing these resources and protecting children with foreknowledge.
“There's a trafficker, and then there's a trafficked victim, to coin your movie title. And all of that is exploitation. There's certainly exploitation that isn't yet trafficking, but when that third-party trafficker, controller, is forcing someone to be somewhere and receiving money for some sort of sexual, you know, exploitation or effort, then it becomes trafficking. And it's usually, according to the definition, through force, physical force, oftentimes violent force, sometimes lethal force, fraud or coercion.” Alan Smyth
“And [trafficking] is not something that you just want to say, oh, that happens in another country far far away. It happens right here!” Conroy Kanter
About Alan Smyth:
Alan Smyth is married and a father of two children and one grandchild. He is the Executive Director for Saving Innocence, an anti-human trafficking agency based in Los Angeles California.
Alan has responsibility for Direct Services and Business Operations.
Alan recently collaborated on a book with numerous survivors of Human Trafficking entitled MEN! Fight For Me. It’s a book for everyone but with a special emphasis on the male audience. You can learn more about this book at www.fightforme.net
Website: SavingInnocence.org
Book: “MEN! Fight For Me” by Alan Smyth and Jessica Midkiff
Audiobook: “MEN! Fight For Me Audiobook” by Alan Smyth and Jessica Midkiff
About Conroy Kanter:
Conroy Kanter, President and Founder of KK Ranch Productions, Inc. nestled in the sunny heart of Malibu, CA, is a dynamic force in the world of film and activism. An accomplished producer, actress, speaker, and advocate, Conroy’s dedication to storytelling with purpose shines through her work. Currently steering the post-production journey of the highly anticipated Romantic Comedy, “Days When The Rains Came,” Conroy’s creative vision weaves tales of life, loss, and the enduring search for love. Her past endeavors include thought-provoking independent dramas like “Trafficked,” which premiered at the United Nations, igniting crucial conversations about human trafficking. Another gem in her portfolio, “A Million Loves In Me,” stands tall as Malaysia’s most celebrated film, garnering accolades worldwide.
Beyond the silver screen, Conroy is revered as a captivating speaker, harnessing her platform to advocate for social justice causes and empower audiences globally. Her unwavering commitment to combating human trafficking has earned her prestigious awards and widespread recognition. Driven by the transformative power of film, Conroy channels her passion into every project, striving to provoke thought, evoke emotion, and inspire positive change. With each endeavor, she reaffirms her belief in the inherent ability of storytelling to reshape perceptions and illuminate paths toward a better world.
Website: KK Ranch Productions
Movie: TraffickedResources:
Episode 25 | Calling All Men to Action: Let’s End Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking! – Part 1
Episode 26 | Calling All Men to Action: Let’s End Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking! – Part 2
Watch Trafficked on Amazon Prime
Find “MEN! Fight For Me” on Amazon
Canada: Human Trafficking Hotline / phone: 1-833-900-1010
America: National Human Trafficking Hotline / phone: 1-888-373-7888
European Commission: National Hotlines
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Brigid Schulte, journalist, think tank program director, keynote speaker, and author of the best-selling book, Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time. Brigid is currently the Director of the Better Life Lab and her latest book Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life, focuses on how our lives can improve by examining overwork. She and Dr. Laura discuss what contributes to overwork and how we can make meaningful changes in work in terms of policy, gender equality, and cultural attitudes and behaviors.
The notion of overwork is not exclusive to Western cultures and in researching Over Work, Brigid spent time in Japan and other countries in addition to studying American work attitudes. In Japan there is a word for when people die from overwork: karoshi. Brigid wants to understand what drives people to overwork and how change can be made at a cultural level. She describes the symptoms and ultimate results of overwork with Dr. Laura and their discussion examines why all work should be good work, rewarded with a liveable wage and dignity in whatever job is being done. This episode digs deep into why we value working too much instead of valuing the work itself and how it contributes not just to our personal gain but to the common good and shared prosperity.
“I argue that we need to think much differently about what work is, that work is not only what we do for pay, it is also all of the unpaid work of care and home that women have mainly done for generations … We need to consider that work. But we also need to be thinking about the contributions we make to our communities, to our society, and thinking about reclaiming the sense of why we work, not necessarily for personal enrichment or GDP growth or the stock market.” Brigid Schulte
About Brigid Schulte:
Brigid Schulte is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author. She was a staff writer at the Washington Post and Washington Post magazine for nearly 17 years, and part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize. In addition to the Post, her work has appeared in, among other places, the Atlantic, the Boston Globe, The Guardian, Slate, Time, CNN, The Toronto Globe & Mail and Quartz. She has been quoted in numerous media outlets and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs including NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, BBC World News, and NPR’s Fresh Air, Morning Edition and On Point.
Brigid’s first book, Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time, about time pressure, gender and leisure, was a New York Times bestseller, named a notable book of the year by the Washington Post and NPR, and won the Virginia Library award for literary nonfiction.
She has spoken all over the world about time, productivity, the causes and consequences of our unsustainable, always-on culture, and how to make time for Work, Love and Play by rethinking how we work so that it’s effective, sustainable and fair. She is currently the director of the Better Life Lab, the work-family justice and intersectional gender equity program at New America, a nonpartisan think tank.
She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, Tom Bowman, a reporter for National Public Radio, and their two children. She grew up in Portland, Oregon and spent her summers with family in Wyoming, where she did not feel overwhelmed.
Resources:
Website: BrigidSchulte.com
Podcast: Better Life Lab
“Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life” by Brigid Schulte
LinkedIn
“Dying for a Paycheck” by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Healthy Work Campaign
Karoshi Syndrome
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura reflects on the past four years as she welcomes everyone to Season Five of Where Work Meets Life™. In looking back through nearly one hundred episodes, she reiterates her desire to help people and organizations thrive, find career fulfillment, and advocate for a better world. What, then, does Season Five hold for us? Dr. Laura gives a glimpse into the future and the pressing issues she will continue to research and pursue as well as those she is revisiting to shine more light on.
Employee mental health concerns, burnout, and overwork are increasing in young workers and Dr. Laura’s first guest of the new season, Brigid Schulte, wrote a book called “Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life” to address exactly these issues. Dr. Laura will continue to focus on growth and evolution, discussing the importance of overcoming trauma for leaders with author Kelly Campbell (“Heal to Lead”) and finding meaning in life with artist Tresa Gibson. She also revisits a terrible and difficult subject matter that nonetheless requires us all to look at unflinchingly: exploring the reality of human trafficking with producer Conroy Kanter and author Alan Smyth. Season Five will bring a wealth of insight into toxic bosses and their equally toxic leadership, as well as career fulfillment and how to thrive in this challenging but beautiful world.
“So this is a warning call for organizational leaders to really double down on investing in your culture and your leadership development. And employee wellbeing declined despite a lot of talk about the importance of mental wellness; the talk is not leading to action. It's not changing things.” Dr. Laura
About Dr. Laura:
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is a work and career psychologist and thought leader on the evolution of work. She has always been fascinated by how work intersects with life and loves to use her expertise to improve organizations and help people thrive. Her passion for taking creative ideas and launching them into successful business strategies led her to start three counselling psychology practices (Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology), as well as six different business brands offering organizational assessment and consulting services.
Dr. Laura is honoured to have been selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014 and received a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.
Resources:
“Overwork: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life” by Brigid Schulte
“Heal to Lead: Revolutionizing Leadership through Trauma Healing”t by Kelly Campbell
Tresa Gibson
“Men! Fight For Me: The Role of Authentic Masculinity in Ending Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking” by Alan Smyth and Jessica Midkiff
Trafficked - produced by Conroy Kanter
Dr. Laura on LinkedIn
Where Work Meets Life™ on YouTube
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura’s exploration into the topic of toxic bosses continues in this episode. During her extensive research on the subject of toxic bosses, she learned a great deal that she is compelled to share and is writing a book based on her findings set to publish in 2025. Her research is continuous and each insight she gains is passed on to listeners in these solo episodes. This time Dr. Laura instructs on how to identify three specifically brutal types of toxic bosses, detailing how they operate and what they are looking to gain.
The first persona Dr. Laura identifies is that of a dishonest manipulator. Bosses of this type are inherently dishonest people and create an environment of mistrust in their team due to chronic lying. The second persona of a toxic boss is that of a great divider. This type prefers to cause dissension and conflict in their teams by pitting people against each other. And the third persona identified is the unethical corrupter. This boss lacks integrity to the point of corruption. They’re not just dishonest, they’re corrupt and unethical. Dr. Laura breaks down the mindset and actions of each type of toxic boss, explains how they will attack and undermine us, and gives straightforward advice on how to handle their toxicity.
“People are not at their best when they're reporting to a toxic boss. In fact, it depletes their energy. It depletes their creativity and innovation. They live in a state of fear with high anxiety, and their self-esteem and confidence get eroded over time.” Dr. Laura
About Dr. Laura:
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is a work and career psychologist and thought leader on the evolution of work. She has always been fascinated by how work intersects with life and loves to use her expertise to improve organizations and help people thrive. Her passion for taking creative ideas and launching them into successful business strategies led her to start three counselling psychology practices (Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology), as well as six different business brands offering organizational assessment and consulting services.
Dr. Laura is honoured to have been selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014 and received a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.
Resources:
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Oscar Trimboli, award-winning author, podcast host, and global expert on listening, to the show to talk about listening and how our inability to listen properly is hurting us at work and beyond. Oscar worked extensively in marketing and technology in his career and has a lot of experience in consulting with organizations, all of which give him great insight into the way people listen, or don’t listen, to each other and how to change that.
Oscar traces his work in listening back to a boardroom in 2008 where he was challenged by the CEO’s statement to him: “If you could code how you listen, you could change the world”. He explains that the difference between hearing and listening is action. His new book, How to Listen, addresses research on the subject of listening as well as guidance into listening to what is said and not simply our interpretations of what we hear. Dr. Laura and Oscar discuss different ineffective listening styles that people often fall into and Oscar’s tips on how to improve listening. Oscar’s insight will resonate with everyone who hears this episode and challenge us to really listen, and not just hear, what he’s saying.
“So please just be conscious that you can improve your listening simply by asking people one extra question, or simply by knowing that the word listen and the word silent have exactly the same letters. So if you just wanted one tip from our conversation today, that would be it. … Therefore just be silent just a little bit longer and you'll be surprised. That breath they've taken doesn't mean they've finished what they're saying. They're just collecting their thoughts.” Oscar Trimboli
About Oscar Trimboli:
Oscar Trimboli is an author, host of the Apple award-winning podcast Deep Listening and a sought-after keynote speaker. Along with the Deep Listening Ambassador Community, he is on a quest to create 100 million deep listeners in the workplace.
Through his work with chairs, boards of directors, and executive teams, Oscar has experienced first-hand the transformational impact leaders can have when they listen beyond words. He believes that when leadership teams focus their attention and listening, they will build organizations that create powerful legacies for the people they serve – today and, more importantly, for future generations.
Oscar is a marketing and technology industry veteran working for Microsoft, PeopleSoft, Polycom, and Vodafone. He consults with organizations, including American Express, AstraZeneca, Cisco, Google, HSBC, IAG, Montblanc, PwC, Salesforce, Sanofi, SAP, and Siemens. He is the author of how to listen – discover the hidden key to better communication – the most comprehensive book about listening in the workplace, Deep Listening – Impact beyond words and Breakthroughs: How to Confront Assumptions
Oscar loves his afternoon walks with his wife, Jennie, and their dog Kilimanjaro. On the weekends, you will find him playing Lego with his grandchildren.
Resources:
Website: OscarTrimboli.com
Oscar Trimboli Podcast: Deep Listening - Impact beyond words
“how to listen: discover the hidden key to better communication” by oscar trimboli
Oscar Trimboli on LinkedIn
“The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook” by Niall Ferguson
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier, leadership psychologist, executive coach, and author, to the show to tackle the issue of resilience. Resilience is a quality that increases our ability to handle stress and bounce back from setbacks with greater ease. But how do we identify healthy ways to develop resilience and to tap into it when needed? How can it assist our work performance? Marie-Hélène answers these questions in her new book “The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health” and shares key insights in this episode.
In working with her clients through executive coaching and in her speaking work, Marie-Hélène would hear feedback about how helpful her knowledge of resilience was. That led her to write this book so she could share the message with a greater audience. Resilience, according to Marie-Hélène, is the skill we need to hone to deal with the chronic demands at work and life in general. In her book, she walks us through analyzing the demands on our time and how to create a strategic plan to strengthen our resilience through action. The ideas that Dr. Pelletier shares are uniquely positioned to help us survive increasing patterns of burnout and her ideas can be tailored to each of our individual needs.
“Then you may have had people around you that tell you, oh, you're so resilient, we can give you anything and it always works. And then they'll start calling you the rock, the rock of the team, the rock of the family. And so you get to a point where you buy it, you associate with that idea. It feels like it's an identity. And that's a trap because we know from research [that] resilience is not a personality trait. It's a state.” Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier
About Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier:
Throughout her career in business management and psychology, Dr. Pelletier has spearheaded the dialogue on the crucial issues of leadership resilience and work performance. Drawing on her extensive background in corporate, insurance, governance and public sectors, she brings an international perspective and unique expertise on leadership. She is a practicing leadership psychologist and executive coach with over 20 years of experience and holds a Ph.D. and an MBA from the University of British Columbia. Marie-Hélène is a Member of the Global Clinical Practice Network of the World Health Organization and past Director on the boards of the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology. She has presented, authored and co-authored a number of industry and academic publications and has won numerous academic and industry awards. In 2024, Dr. Pelletier published her award-winning book, The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health.
Resources:
Website: DrMarie-Helene.com
Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier on LinkedIn
“The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health” by Marie-Hélène Pelletier, PhD MBA
Sarah Marquis books
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Dr. Lynn Imai, a Registered Psychotherapist, Clinical Director at Canada Career Counselling, and Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Ivey Business School, to the show to talk in-depth about careers and career changes. Lynn works at the national psychology practice Dr. Laura founded, and the conversation with Lynn digs into practical and psychological insights, delving into how to change, choose, and assess careers.
Dr. Lynn Imai understands the uncertainty that can accompany a major career change as she did one herself, pivoting from being a full-time professor teaching global leadership at a business school to being a registered psychotherapist with a career counselling focus. The expectations, pressures, and anxieties of such a move inform much of how she relates to clients. She and Dr. Laura discuss what not to do when choosing a career and how to manage the worry that comes with navigating a drastic change in one’s career. This episode serves as a starting point for anyone who wants to start on a new career path or is just beginning to decide what their career journey will look like.
“I do think that the traditional career path [of] climbing the ladder is breaking apart a little bit in society and you see a lot of people taking career breaks or changing their careers, doing nontraditional work, you know, shared work gigs, coming back in from retirement. But what's interesting is, psychologically, people still tie their self-worth to the traditional notions of success, like money, prestige and title and those things. And so a lot of my work is helping them undo what they've learned.” Dr. Lynn Imai
About Lynn Imai:
Lynn Imai, Ph.D., is a Registered Psychotherapist and Career Counsellor in Toronto. Many of Lynn’s clients, when they first come to her, are at a critical point in their lives. They are questioning their careers and asking themselves why they do what they do. They are often feeling unfulfilled, purposeless, and stuck between the pain of staying where they are in their careers, and the pain of dealing with the confusion, overwhelm, stress, and anxiety of figuring out what comes next.
Lynn’s approach to career counselling draws on psychotherapy, which helps her clients manage difficult emotions and develop deep self-awareness, while at the same time, focusing on making strategic, informed decisions with practical action planning. In addition to career counselling, Lynn provides psychotherapy on personal issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, low confidence & self-esteem, relationships, and interpersonal issues. Lynn draws from a variety of evidence-based psychotherapy modalities including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT).
Outside her clinical work, Lynn is a recognized expert on organizational behaviour, workplace effectiveness, culture & diversity, and global leadership. As a former professor at Ivey Business School (Western University), Lynn’s research and teaching have focused on how individuals can develop as global leaders in workplace contexts such as cross-cultural negotiations, global virtual teams, and strategy consulting in emerging markets. Lynn’s research has appeared in top-tier academic journals, and both her research and teaching have garnered national press coverage.
Personally, Lynn is a “third culture kid” who grew up in Japan, the U.S., Canada, and Belgium, and brings a multicultural perspective to therapy. She obtained her Hon. BSc. in Psychology from the University of Toronto—Trinity College, and her M.Psy. in Clinical and Counselling Psychology from Adler Graduate Professional School. Lynn also has graduate degrees in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Maryland—College Park.
Resources:
Website: CanadaCareerCounselling.com
Lynn Imai on LinkedIn
Lynn Imai at Ivey Business School
“Evolution to Purpose: Choosing a Life of Authenticity with Work” by Bryan Hong PhD
The Happiness Lab podcast
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura explores more on the subject of toxic bosses, a topic she is passionate about researching for the benefit of people suffering under one. In this episode, she explains some of the defining and brutal behaviors of a toxic boss. Since a toxic boss can be anyone from a first-time manager to a CEO, it’s the psychological and physical health damage they cause to people working under them that makes them toxic. Understanding their behavior will help people to identify a toxic boss and, ideally, leave their sphere of control.
There are fourteen categories of behaviors that Dr. Laura and her research assistant, Renee Pye, have learned through their study. Toxic bosses have many different ways of presenting themselves. Dr. Laura addresses three types of behavior in detail today: 1. Control and micromanagement, 2. Power dynamics and favoritism, and 3. Self-serving and exploitative behavior. She describes each set of behaviors in detail, addressing how the toxic boss comes across and the damage they inflict. The more information Dr. Laura uncovers and shares about toxic bosses, the sooner people struggling under them can see warning signs and get help to navigate the situation.
“The only way to know if a leader is a great leader, a mediocre leader, or a toxic leader, is to find out from the people that report to him or her. So with that said, I think that whether the leader is controlling and micromanaging, whether they're creating power dynamics and divides in their team, or whether they're self-serving and exploiting others, all of these things are brutal behaviors and are causing a lot of harm to people.” Dr. Laura
About Dr. Laura:
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is a work and career psychologist and thought leader on the evolution of work. She has always been fascinated by how work intersects with life and loves to use her expertise to improve organizations and help people thrive. Her passion for taking creative ideas and launching them into successful business strategies led her to start three counselling psychology practices (Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology), as well as six different business brands offering organizational assessment and consulting services.
Dr. Laura is honoured to have been selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014 and received a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.
Resources:
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes special guest Erin Diehl to the show to talk about radical empathy and Erin’s new book “I See You!: A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team Through Radical Empathy”. Erin Diehl is a Business Improv Edutainer, author, and keynote speaker who hosts the improve it! podcast. Dr. Laura and Erin talk about Erin’s recent journey of self-exploration and why she was called to write her book after emerging from an oppressive hustle mentality.
Erin understands how people get to a place of being overloaded, stressed, burnt out, and feeling like they don’t matter. Her desire through the book and her work is to help people, including leaders, give to themselves and take moments of self-reflection. She shares her journey through struggles with infertility and the physical pain that came from overwork. Erin’s story of how she decluttered her life, found her purpose, and claimed inner peace is inspiring. The revelations and discoveries in her book are for everyone to apply to their own lives, especially those in management positions so toxic leadership can be replaced by leaders who are empathetic and supportive.
“And it's so crazy how our thoughts really affect every cell in our body. And I'll tell you this, I didn't heal, I had chronic back pain, like shoulder pain and back pain that was so tight... I would literally cry myself to sleep at night because I was just so frustrated. … I took every ergonomic chair on Amazon into my office. I tried all the things, all the pillows, and went to all the doctors. And no one could say what was wrong. And I finally realized it was just my own mental emotions and my own thoughts that were really stagnating me. And I had not dealt with a lot of things.” Erin Diehl
About Erin Diehl:
Erin “Big” Diehl is a Business Improv Edutainer, Failfluencer, and Professional Zoombie. Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn, play, and grow. Among her many accolades, Erin is most proud of successfully coercing over 30,000 professionals to chicken dance.
Erin Diehl is a graduate of Clemson University, and a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater and The Annoyance Theatre.
Erin has spoken on global stages both virtually and in person - with companies like Uber Freight, Walgreens, Motorola, LinkedIn and The Obama Foundation (to name a few)! She is a member of The Chicago Innovation Awards Women’s Cohort and a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program. She is also the proud host of a Top 1% Global Podcast, The improve it! Podcast, which you can find anywhere you listen to pods!
When she's not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys walking on the beach with her husband, son, and eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG DIEHL.
Resources:
Website: LearnToImproveIt.com
The improve it! Podcast
Erin Diehl on Instagram
“I See You!: A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team Through Radical Empathy” by Erin Diehl
Marie Kondo
“When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress” by Gabor Maté MD
Bestseller Masterclass with Gabby Bernstein
“The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura is pleased to welcome special guest Dr. Bill Howatt to the show to talk about mental health in the workplace and the myths surrounding it. Bill Howatt is the Founder of Howatt Human Resources Consulting and an international expert in workplace psychology and psychological health and safety. His newest book, out of 60 written throughout his career, is titled No Regrets and focuses on the very issue of workplace mental health and what can be done about it.
Dr. Howatt describes how the pandemic inspired his latest book, No Regrets, by detailing how he noticed people languishing instead of flourishing and realized that we have never really been taught how to deal with the unpleasant emotions that are part of existence. His book is a strategy of sorts to help people move through unpleasant emotions and work on their mental fitness. Dr. Laura and Dr. Howatt explore why the quick band-aid fixes of pop-up wellness programs in workplaces are not addressing the underlying mental health crisis and what leaders should be doing instead. The conversation covers a lot of ground and brings fundamental issues to light, providing a roadmap for improvement.
“Mental health literacy in our country, we haven't really gotten sophisticated yet in this conversation where we confuse mental illness with mental health. So mental illness is a functional impairment very much like being deaf and it impacts your potential to function to your potential. Where mental health is different. It's basically how we are actually seeing the world and experiencing the world through our emotions.” Dr. Bill Howatt
About Dr. Bill Howatt:
Dr. Bill Howatt is the founder of Howatt Human Resources Consulting and an international expert in Workplace Psychological Health and Safety.
He is a highly sought-after speaker on leadership, mental fitness, and creating inclusive, psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. A behavioural scientist, he is passionate about supporting employees and leaders to create thriving workplaces.
Dr. Bill’s 30-plus years of professional experience includes providing services in clinical mental health, teaching courses for colleges and universities, being a committee chair, and filling various senior leadership roles in Canada and the United States, including the Wall Street financial district. His firm provides HR consulting globally, focusing on employees’ psychological safety.
Dr. Bill has published over 60 books and 600 articles and regularly contributes to workplace mental health research like WSPS Moving to Action: Implementing Workplace Safety and Prevention Services’ Mental Harm Prevention Roadmap and Boston Consulting Group’s recent study, The Next Frontier of Workplace Culture, viewed by over 30 million readers.
He is the founder of www.MFIQinc.com and creator of the University New Brunswick’s Certificate of Completion in Psychologically Safe Leadership. He publishes a weekly workplace mental health newsletter for leaders and workers called Exploring Workplace Mental Health.
Resources:
Website: BillHowatt.com
LinkedIn
“No Regrets: How to Live Today for Tomorrow’s Emotional Well-Being” by Dr. Bill Howatt
“Navigating Workplace Wellness Programs in the Age of Technology and Big Data” by Hannah-Kaye Fleming for the ‘Journal of Science Policy & Governance’
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
Sponsor For This Podcast:
This episode is brought to you by The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl, a top 1% global podcast.
Are you ready to transform your life through laughter, lifelong learning, and a little bit of improv magic?
Well, get ready because The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl is here to add a dose of playfulness to your Wednesdays. Erin sits down with personal and professional development gurus to explore the pesky and beautiful aspects of life. They dive deep into the things that make us tick, laugh, and sometimes even cringe.
You can find The improve it! Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or learntoimproveit.com. Subscribe today!
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Dr. Laura welcomes best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and president of Careerstone Group, Mary Abbajay, to the show to talk about her book Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss. Through Careerstone Group, Mary offers different organizational and leadership solutions for businesses and government. Her vast experience with all types of bosses, which her book focuses on, compliments Dr. Laura’s research into the toxic ones.
Mary speaks to how the relationship with one’s boss needs to be managed and requires effort to be productive. Through her work, she hears a lot of complaining from both sides without evidence that there’s enough attention put towards creating a positive relationship. Mary and Dr. Laura discuss the differences between sucking up and managing up, the positive reactions from bosses and managers to her book, why HR may not be the best place to get help for dealing with a toxic boss, and how to handle toxic management in the workplace. This conversation is filled with real insight from Mary’s experience dealing with all manner of leadership.
“But managing up the way I see it is about not managing the person, but managing that relationship. It's like taking that power differential and turning it on its side, because in a relationship we all have agency, right? We all have advocacy. And so managing up is about making a concerted and intentional, sometimes a strategic effort to build a productive and positive working relationship so that you can succeed.” Mary Abbajay
About Mary Abbajay:
Mary Abbajay, author of the best-selling, award-winning Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss is the president of Careerstone Group, LLC, a full-service organizational and leadership development consultancy that delivers leading-edge talent and organizational development solutions to business and government. As a sought-after author, speaker, consultant, and trainer, Mary helps clients develop the strategies, skills and sensibilities needed for success in the 21st century. Mary is the co-host of the weekly workplace advice podcast, Cubicle Confidential, and is a highly-rated LinkedIn Learning instructor. As a frequent expert contributor for television, radio, and print publications Mary provides practical leadership and career guidance. Her work and advice have appeared in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, Money Magazine, Southwest Airlines Magazine, CNN.com, Monster, CNBC, and the BBC.
Resources:
Website: CareerstoneGroup.com | ManagingUpTheBook.com
Mary Abbajay on Instagram
Mary Abbajay on LinkedIn
Mary Abbajay on YouTube
Podcast: Cubicle Confidential“Managing up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss” by Mary Abbajay
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
Sponsor For This Podcast:
This episode is brought to you by The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl, a top 1% global podcast.
Are you ready to transform your life through laughter, lifelong learning, and a little bit of improv magic?
Well, get ready because The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl is here to add a dose of playfulness to your Wednesdays. Erin sits down with personal and professional development gurus to explore the pesky and beautiful aspects of life. They dive deep into the things that make us tick, laugh, and sometimes even cringe.
You can find The improve it! Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or learntoimproveit.com. Subscribe today!
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Dr. Laura explains more about toxic bosses and what they do in this episode. Toxic bosses can be at any level in an organization, from a supervisor up to the CEO, and they impact people negatively through harmful behavioural patterns. How do they impart the damage they do? And how can you identify not only their toxic behaviour but when it’s time to get out? Dr. Laura draws on her own experiences and her professional expertise to offer guidance.
Toxic bosses can do damage in a myriad of ways, including abusive supervision, extreme narcissism, gaslighting, and eroding your confidence. They are not leaders because leaders inspire and motivate, the opposite of a toxic boss. Dr. Laura shares the story of a friend currently engaged in a court battle against a toxic boss who tried to derail her career. How do you identify the behaviour and know it’s not you at fault but your toxic boss? And when should you consider leaving the job? Dr. Laura offers insight into what to look for and the things to consider when looking at leaving. Above all, she empathizes with anyone currently suffering under a toxic boss.
“And you may be suffering under a toxic boss or one of your loved ones might be. And what happens is you start to see all these impacts on the person. They're dreading going to the office on a Monday. They are increasingly not sleeping well. And when you're not sleeping well, that impacts everything! That impacts your ability to think clearly, that impacts your emotionality and your reactivity to things. It really does a lot of damage.” Dr. Laura
About Dr. Laura:
Dr. Laura Hambley Lovett is a work and career psychologist and thought leader on the evolution of work. She has always been fascinated by how work intersects with life and loves to use her expertise to improve organizations and help people thrive. Her passion for taking creative ideas and launching them into successful business strategies led her to start three counselling psychology practices (Calgary Career Counselling, Canada Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology), as well as six different business brands offering organizational assessment and consulting services.
Dr. Laura is honoured to have been selected as a Woman of Distinction in Canada in 2014 and received a Canadian Woman of Inspiration Award as a Global Influencer in 2018.
Resources:
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
Sponsor For This Podcast:
This episode is brought to you by The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl, a top 1% global podcast.
Are you ready to transform your life through laughter, lifelong learning, and a little bit of improv magic?
Well, get ready because The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl is here to add a dose of playfulness to your Wednesdays. Erin sits down with personal and professional development gurus to explore the pesky and beautiful aspects of life. They dive deep into the things that make us tick, laugh, and sometimes even cringe.
You can find The improve it! Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or learntoimproveit.com. Subscribe today!
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In this episode, Dr. Laura branches away from the specific subject of career fulfillment and speaks with her guest, country music star George Canyon, about spirituality and servanthood. George Canyon has recently released his memoir, My Country, and the book reveals the challenges and adventures he’s faced, his determination to help others dealing with Type One diabetes, and the faith that keeps him going.
George tells Dr. Laura that though his book is full of vulnerability and authenticity, he shied away from relating negative stories. He chooses positivity wherever he can because, as he says, “nobody needs to read more negativity”. The conversation delves into the challenges his teenage diagnosis of Type One diabetes brought him, how hard he worked to succeed in the music industry, and his spirituality and faith in The Creator that drives him day to day. It’s a more spiritual conversation than is usually had with Dr. Laura’s guests but it’s not tied to any specific religion and it’s a conversation full of hope that everyone can benefit from.
“... we're humans, we put titles to everything - everybody has to title something, I don't know why. It's just, I guess, to make us feel more safe and conformed. Church, the title church, is a community. It's a community of people. The original churches were held in people's homes. It wasn't a big building you went to with four walls. It was a home where you got together to talk about your faith, to talk about what the Creator's done for you, to encourage each other, to pick each other up, not to be judgmental and condemn each other.” George Canyon
About George Canyon:
George Canyon rose to become one of Canada’s hottest Country Music stars in the early 2000s and has won countless accolades and awards, including Juno Awards, CCMA Awards, and ECMA Awards to name a few. He has been inducted into the Nova Scotia Country Music Hall of Fame, recorded 12 albums, and was recently presented a certified Platinum Award for his debut album ‘One Good Friend’. With country hits like Just Like You, I Believe in Angels, Drinkin’ Thinkin’, Daughters of the Sun, I Got This, I Want You To Live, Slow Dance and many, many more. He is also a highly regarded humanitarian, a strong supporter of the military, and, most importantly, a proud father and devoted husband.
Over the years George has also had the privilege of collaborating with fellow talents, a prime example being when he joined forces with multi-platinum pop and rock icon Richard Marx to produce two albums, 2008’s ‘What I Do’ and 2011’s ‘Better Be Home Soon’, the latter of which featured When Love Is All You Got, written for George by Marx and the legendary Kenny Rogers. ‘What I Do’ was an enormous success, going Certified Gold during the first three weeks of release.
George is so much more than an award-winning musical talent. Helping others has always been a huge priority for him, particularly for children with Diabetes and his work as a spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It’s a cause close to Canyon’s heart, starting from when he himself was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at the age of 14.
In addition to his work with JDRF, George is an ardent supporter of our military, having performed many times for troops overseas and even releasing a moving tribute with the single I Want You to Live, which touches on the very heartbreaking fact that in fighting for our country, some of our troops won’t make it back home. The music video for the single features several real soldiers talking about their lives and careers, putting faces to the group of people working to make our country safe.
Among his many identities, Canyon is also a proud Canadian and huge hockey fan, and roots for his team, the Calgary Flames, for which he just completed his 8th season singing the national anthem during the home games.
Resources:
Website: GeorgeCanyon.com
“My Country” by George Canyon
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Gerald Auger on Instagram
Episode 54 | Special Episode on the LiLoHia Project: with guests Gerald Auger and Sass Jordan
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Joe O’Connor, co-founder of the Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence, to the show to continue exploring the topic of the 4-day workweek. Joe originally served as CEO of 4 Day Week Global, the company co-founded by the last episode’s guest, Andrew Barnes. Joe and Dr. Laura explore the 4-Day workweek in great detail, examining both myths and truths about the four-day week and looking at the future of this global movement.
Joe O’Connor points out that the adoption of the five-day workweek and eight-hour workday over a century ago was driven by major technological advancements. Yet more recent technology, such as the internet, email, and digital communication, haven’t shifted that structure despite gains in productivity. Joe and Dr. Laura discuss significant research that supports shifting to a 4-day workweek and Joe dispels common myths that prevent companies from considering the change. Joe addresses the flexibility of this possible structure, trusting and empowering employees, and why company leaders need to course correct in order for the change to work. Their conversation provides yet more eye-opening evidence that points to variations of the 4-day workweek as a compelling choice for the future of workplace productivity and wellbeing.
“... we often advise leaders that are looking at this to think about it in terms of by the time you push the button to move to a shorter workweek, so by the time your trial starts or you've introduced the policy, you really want to have figured out to a pretty significant extent what are the things that we need to change in order to make this work operationally. You don't want to be doing those things after you've already started the trial. You don't want to be figuring it out, kind of building the aircraft while it's in flight.” Joe O’Connor
About Joe O’Connor:
Joe is CEO and co-founder of the Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence, a consulting and research organization based in Toronto, which specializes in shorter workweek models and reduced-hour, outcome-focused working. Internationally acclaimed as one of the leading experts on the shorter workweek, Joe developed the world’s first pilot program for the four-day workweek in Ireland at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. In collaboration with Boston College and University College Dublin, he codesigned a pioneering research project to measure the impact of the pilot. As CEO of 4 Day Week Global throughout 2020 and 2021, he expanded this model to lead the large-scale, heavily publicized trials of the four-day week in the UK, North America, and Australia. In this role, he supported hundreds of organizations and thousands of employees to shorten their work hours and optimize their productivity. Joe also led a research project on work-time reduction as a visiting research scholar at Cornell University.
Resources:
Website: WorkTimeReduction.com
Joe O’Connor on LinkedIn
Joe O’Connor’s 2023 reading list
4-Day Workweek joint research study by Josh Bersin Company with The Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence
“Work-Life Bloom” by Dan Pontefract
“Irresistible” by Josh Bersin
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
Sponsor For This Podcast:
This episode is brought to you by The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl, a top 1% global podcast.
Are you ready to transform your life through laughter, lifelong learning, and a little bit of improv magic?
Well, get ready because The improve it! Podcast with Erin Diehl is here to add a dose of playfulness to your Wednesdays. Erin sits down with personal and professional development gurus to explore the pesky and beautiful aspects of life. They dive deep into the things that make us tick, laugh, and sometimes even cringe.
You can find The improve it! Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or learntoimproveit.com. Subscribe today!
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Dr. Laura welcomes author, entrepreneur, and pioneer of the 4 day week movement, Andrew Barnes, to the show to examine the benefits of his innovative 4 day work week movement. Andrew explains why he originally piloted a 4 day week and how that led to a global research program involving academics from leading universities. Would this benefit us? And in what ways would we realize that benefit?
Dr. Laura’s conversation with Andrew Barnes starts with the big question: how can fewer days lead to more productivity? Andrew first defines what productivity is before diving into how the 4 day week can change our work-life wellness. It’s clear from the statistics and research Andrew shares that the 4 day week is a viable alternative companies should be considering. Rather than reducing one’s pay to 80%, people are paid their full-time salary but complete their work over 4 instead of 5 days. This reduced workweek increases productivity and efficiency, leading us to have more control over our time, in turn improving our health and wellness. Dr. Laura and Andrew Barnes have a compelling discussion that will change the way we perceive work structure.
“So one of the most interesting pieces of research that we run is when we've had people on a four day week, and at the end of the pilot we ask them: how much do I have to pay you to go back to five days from four days? And about 15% say you just physically can't pay me enough, just not doing it. About another 15% will need a 75% pay rise. And then, you know, a large chunk of them are going to need about 50%. So what that says is that an employee values the time off at a higher price than you are actually paying for it.” Andrew Barnes
About Andrew Barnes:
Entrepreneur Andrew Barnes has made a career of market-changing innovation and industry digitisation leading and transforming companies in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. In 2018, he made international headlines across the world with an idea that he believed would raise productivity in the workplace, while also contributing to the personal wellbeing of his staff – a 4 day work week. Through his company – New Zealand's largest corporate trustee company, Perpetual Guardian – Andrew announced a 4 day week trial, with staff receiving an extra day off work, on full pay, each week. The trial was an undeniable success, sparking widespread international interest and winning a number of global awards.
Today, Barnes is considered the pioneer and architect of the global 4 day week movement. As co-founder of 4 Day Week Global with his partner, Charlotte Lockhart, they are conducting the largest ever trials, currently taking place across the UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. More than 250 companies around the world with over 100,000 staff are taking part in the trials to change their workplaces combined with a global research programme involving academics from leading universities including Boston College, Cambridge, Oxford and many more.
Additionally, in the last 4 years Andrew has worked with companies such as Unilever and has been part of the advisory process for close to a dozen country and regional governments who are all effecting change to the way their populations will work now and in the future. Recently he was recognised Introducing The Forbes Future Of Work 50 as a leader in workplace innovation.
Andrew and Charlotte’s vision is to provide a community environment for companies, researchers/academics and interested parties to be able to connect and advance this idea as part of the future of work. Through this work he is on the advisory boards of both the US and Ireland 4 day week campaigns and the board of the newly created Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University and is a founding member of the World Wellbeing Movement.
In 2019 he wrote The 4 Day Week book, as a how to guide for companies trying to reduce work hours and increase productivity.
Resources:
Website: 4DayWeek.com
Andrew Barnes on LinkedIn
“The 4 Day Week” by Andrew Barnes with Stephanie Jones
“The Worst Journey in the World” by Apsley Cherry-Garrard
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura talks with guest Sterling Hawkins, a keynote speaker and the author of “Hunting Discomfort”, about the possibilities inherent in working through our discomfort. Sterling shares a bit of his story, which started with amazing opportunities, and then plunged him into the depths of discomfort. He reveals how much he learned from that experience.
One of the things that spurred Sterling out of his ultimate low point was something his mother said, “the way out is through”. That piece of advice inspired him to move through the uncomfortable, the painful, and the embarrassment to get to the other side where things improve. Sterling took that advice, and all the experiences he pushed himself into after it, and channelled it into his book, “Hunting Discomfort”. He and Dr. Laura break down the five types of discomfort people experience and discuss how they can be used to one’s advantage. This episode is a look at how resilient we can be if we choose to embrace discomfort and push through it. It’s a key lesson with a success rate Sterling can personally attest to.
“...sometimes people hear ‘hunting discomfort’ or conversations about discomfort and they're like, Sterling, look at my career, my relationships, my bank account. I don't need to hunt discomfort, I'm surrounded by it. But my answer is always the same, which is if you're surrounded by discomfort, you're not hunting it, you're living with it, you're placating it. You're rationalizing why you have to live with those things in your life. When I'm talking about hunting discomfort, I'm talking about getting to the source, the root of what's driving that discomfort, and freeing yourself from that place that leaves you forever and permanently free.” Sterling Hawkins
About Sterling Hawkins:
Sterling Hawkins is out to break the status quo. He believes that we can all unlock incredible potential within ourselves, and he’s on a mission to support people, businesses and communities to realize that potential regardless of the circumstances.
From a multi-billion dollar startup to collapse and coming back to launch, invest in and grow over 50 companies, Sterling takes that experience to work with C-level teams from some of the largest organizations on the planet and speaks on stages around the world.
Today, Sterling serves as CEO and founder of the Sterling Hawkins Group, a research, training and development company focused on human and organizational growth. He has been seen in publications like Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, The New York Times and Forbes.
Based in Colorado, Sterling is a proud uncle of four and a passionate adventurer who can often be found skydiving, climbing mountains, shark diving or even trekking the Sahara. Maybe you’ll even join him for the next adventure – and discover the breakthrough results you’re looking for. He’ll have your back, #NoMatterWhat.
Resources:
Website: SterlingHawkins.com
Book: “Hunting Discomfort: How to Get Breakthrough Results in Life and Business No Matter What” by Sterling Hawkins
Sterling Hawkins on LinkedIn
“The Presence Process” by Michael Brown
Huberman Lab Podcast
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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In a companion episode to Dr. Laura’s last episode on burnout (E73), she addresses what we need to know to identify and treat our burnout. Rather than talking to workplaces about how to prevent burnout in employees, this episode is all about us as individuals. What does burnout look like? What contributes to it? And what can we do about it? How do we help ourselves?
Dr. Laura first defines burnout as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress” which means that personal and relationship stress, though impacting burnout, do not define the syndrome. She explains that mental health is on a continuum on which four main stages of depletion exist. We start off Healthy, move into Reacting, then if our needs are not addressed we enter into the Injured stage until, finally, we are deeply unwell in Illness. Each of these stages of burnout comes with increased mental and physical symptoms that must be recognized. Dr. Laura shares her insight on how we start to feel, the things we start to give up, and the ways in which we become ill. She explains how we need our work lives to foster our mental wellness so we can avoid burnout and mental illness in general.
“I want to leave you with the fact that there is a way to address burnout once it happens, once you reach that end stage of burnout and you just feel a lack of energy, cynical, like you're not good enough, there is a way to get well again. And that burnout is not your fault. Oftentimes it's the organizational conditions you're in. It's the overload. It's the brutal boss that you're working for. It's the unhealthy team dynamics that are grating and wearing away at you. So it's not your fault, but you have the power to get the help you need.” Dr. Laura
Note: If you wish to see the images Dr. Laura references, this episode can also be found on her YouTube channel here.
About Dr. Laura:
Bringing nearly 25 years of expertise as an Industrial/Organizational and Career Psychologist and pioneer in the future of work, Dr. Laura helps organizations evolve their cultures, and leaders and employees to thrive in their work and lives.
She shares her expertise through keynote speaking, the Where Work Meets LifeTM podcast, strategic career coaching, and writing articles and books.
Resources:
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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Dr. Laura welcomes Soren Kaplan, bestselling author, founder of Praxie.com, and Columnist for Inc. Magazine, to talk about his latest book, “Experiential Intelligence”. Soren talks about the impetus behind writing his book and defines Experiential Intelligence, or XQ, as a key factor in the road to success, alongside Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
Soren shares examples of experiences from his childhood that have shaped into skills he uses today to explain XQ. Experiential Intelligence, or XQ, draws on experiential elements that give us understanding and abilities beyond what simple intelligence and resumés can explain. How we have lived matters to who we are. Dr. Laura and Soren Kaplan dive into elements of his book, explore how people learn and grow, and detail how leaders and managers can learn to assess XQ when hiring. Soren’s insights offer a way to look at the whole of a person and what they bring to the table, as well as opening each of us up to discover skills and attributes developed from our experience to aid us moving forward.
“Usually we're talking about different assets other than emotions and IQ. We're talking about different attributes that we develop, usually based on our experience. And you and I were just talking about those experiences that we had in our home life that gave us practice doing certain things that give us these higher order abilities to navigate uncertainty or be resilient or understand group norms that exist underneath the surface of teams, whatever those things might be. And that's what I mean by experiential intelligence. It's your mindsets, your abilities, and really the know-how and skills that you develop over time through experience.” Soren Kaplan
About Soren Kaplan:
Soren Kaplan is a Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author, a Columnist for Inc. Magazine, a leading keynote speaker, the founder of Praxie.com, and an affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Business Insider and the Thinkers50 have recognized him as one of the world’s top management thought leaders and consultants.
His latest book, Experiential Intelligence, reveals how life experience contributes to real intelligence on par with IQ (intellect) and EQ (emotional intelligence) and can be leveraged for breakthrough in leadership and innovation. Concepts from the book have been profiled in Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, Forbes, National Public Radio, and other media.
Soren has advised and led professional development programs for thousands of executives around the world, including Disney, NBCUniversal, Kimberly-Clark, Colgate-Palmolive, Hershey, Red Bull, Medtronic, Roche, Philips, Cisco, Visa, Ascension Health, Kaiser Permanente, CSAA Insurance Group, American Nurses Association, and many others. He has lectured at the Harvard Business School, Copenhagen Business School, Melbourne Business School, Breda University in the Netherlands, and with other MBA and executive education programs globally. Soren’s debut book, Leapfrogging, was named “Best Leadership Book” and The Invisible Advantage received the “Best General Business Book” distinction by the International Book Awards. He has been quoted, published, and interviewed by Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, CNBC, National Public Radio, the American Management Association, USA Today, Strategy & Leadership, and The International Handbook on Innovation, among many others. He holds Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Psychology.
Resources:
Website: SorenKaplan.com
“Experiential Intelligence” by Soren Kaplan
“Leapfrogging” by Soren Kaplan
Soren Kaplan on LinkedIn
Praxie.com
Tech Nation Radio Podcast
The Drive podcast
The Ezra Klein Show podcast
Making Sense podcast
Psychology Today
Inc. Magazine
Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live
For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:
Canada Career Counselling
Synthesis Psychology
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