Making Positive Psychology Work

Michelle McQuaid
  • 4.8 (65)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

If you believe as we do that by uncovering tested, practical ways to help people move from functioning to flourishing at work, we can better navigate the incredible challenges and opportunities our world faces, then this podcast is for you. Our goal each week is to give you access to the world' leading positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and neuroscience researchers and practitioners to explore their latest research findings on how you can improve wellbeing, develop strengths, nurture positive relationships, make work meaningful and cultivate the grit to accomplish what matters most. If you want evidence-based approaches to bringing out the best in yourself and others at work, then consider this podcast your step-by-step guide.

  1. 4D AGO

    BONUS SEASON: The Complexity Conundrum

    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 organizations navigating the polycrisis, Margaret introduces the shift from just-in-time to just-in-case thinking, the early warning system every workplace needs, and what it looks like to trust ourselves and each other in the midst of unpredictability.  01:36 Margaret explains why we struggle with uncertainty — and why the promise that data and models can deliver certainty is oversold.  05:00 Margaret outlines what the world's best forecasters say about how far ahead anyone can reliably predict changes — and what that means for our strategy plans.  08:04 Margaret makes the case for optionality over efficiency: when a surprise comes along, running too lean leaves you more fragile.  12:41 Margaret explains the polycrisis — multiple crises amplifying each other — and why supply chains built for maximum efficiency have become a liability when complexity hit.  19:29 Margaret introduces the shift from just-in-time to just-in-case thinking — and the shares examples of how this builds resilience in workplaces.  26:22 Margaret describes what a language of uncertainty sounds like for leaders: not an admission of defeat, but naming what's complex and opening the conversation to options.  28:03 Margaret outlines the practice of naming your assumptions after a decision — and agreeing in advance on the signals that would tell you the plan isn't playing out as intended.  32:09 Michelle shares what the Change Lab research found at the organisational level: making help-seeking the norm and breaking change into tiny steps so teams can sense, learn, and adapt.    Take our free five-minute change survey to see how you're navigating change right now at thechangelabs.com.  Want to go deeper? Explore evidence-based tools for navigating change — including our self-paced certificate in leading the heart of change — at thechangelabs.com.

    43 min

  2. MAR 24

    BONUS SEASON: The Change Fatigue Continuum

    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.  01:37 Michelle outlines the four groups on the change fatigue continuum — and explains why the grouped percentages are smaller than the true reach of each experience, and what the ungrouped picture actually shows.  04:33 Michelle explains why the first signs of doubt in fatiguing workers turn inward — toward self-doubt — rather than toward the strategy, the team, or the change itself, and why that makes them so hard for leaders to spot.  06:51 Michelle shares why fatiguing workers are almost 13 times more likely to later find themselves quietly cracking — and why this is the critical intervention window leaders need to know about.  08:03 Michelle unpacks the scale of change US workers are currently navigating: 83% experiencing significant change in the past year, with leadership changes, policy shifts, and AI technology among the most common — and rarely arriving one at a time.  09:27 Michelle describes why high-performance makes the fatiguing-to-cracking window so easy for leaders to miss — and what they should be watching for instead.  14:27 Michelle reveals why individual behaviors hold up better under pressure than team or organizational support — and the three things people can do for themselves when change gets hard.  16:38 Michelle explains why teams are the life raft in uncertainty — and the three things leaders can do to keep people from quietly cracking, including the difference between communicating and connecting.  18:07 Michelle shares why ordinary questions produce ordinary conversations — and what one leader did differently that changed everything about how his team talked about change.  24:22 Michelle identifies the organizational level as where support most visibly fails — and the three things organizations need to build into change processes before people fatigue, not after.  27:25 Michelle explains how C-suite leaders can role model help-seeking by taking extraordinary questions into team meetings rather than arriving with all the answers.    Take our free five-minute change survey to see how you're navigating change right now at thechangelabs.com.  Want to go deeper? Explore evidence-based tools for navigating change — including our self-paced certificate in leading the heart of change — at thechangelabs.com.

    34 min

  3. MAR 17

    BONUS SEASON: The Self-Compassion Challenge

    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 cope, but how your team talks about mistakes, how psychological safety takes root, and what becomes possible when a whole workplace builds the practice together. SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT 01:38 Kristin explains when the ground keeps shifting, how might being a wiser, kinder friend to yourself actually help — and why does it matter for the people around you? 04:37 Kristin outlines how the three elements of self-compassion — mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity can practically help us navigate change. 09:09 Kristin shares why bumping up against your limits and making mistakes isn't failure — it's precisely how we learn and grow. 11:26 Kristin provides a simple brain hack to help us break free from our tendency to criticize, ruminate, and isolate ourselves when we're under pressure. 16:44 Kristin explains how soothing the body helps us our nervous system to navigate change when words alone aren't cutting through. 22:03 Kristin shares how self-compassion spreads through teams and shares how a hospital has used this to build a culture of care that is reducing fatigue. 28:46 Kristin shares how workplaces can design changes to support more self-compassion. 30:39 Kristin outlines how self-compassion can be fierce and help us to set boundaries, say no, and motivate change when needed. SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT Take our free five-minute change survey to see how you're navigating change right now at thechangelabs.com. Want to go deeper? Explore evidence-based tools for navigating change — including our self-paced certificate in leading the heart of change — at thechangelabs.com.

    33 min

  4. JAN 20

    BONUS SEASON: Learn To Trust Yourself When Challenged

    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. Explore how to navigate what's ahead without pretending you have all the answers — and help others do the same.  00:03 Michelle and Evie recap the first two episodes: learning to see which zone your nervous system is in, and how to soothe your body to get back on the wobble board.  05:57 Evie shares her "back and forth to the grass" email story — why soothing the body sometimes isn't enough when we keep re-triggering ourselves.  07:12 The safari guide insight: why "don't run" makes people panic, but "stay with me" helps the brain feel safe enough to figure things out.  11:16 Why we attack ourselves when threatened — Dr Kristin Neff explains how we turn our stress responses inward with self-criticism, shame, and rumination.  13:30 The three steps of self-compassion: acknowledging this is hard, remembering we're not alone, and asking what a wise and kind friend would say.  16:15 Does self-compassion make us soft? Kristin's research shows the opposite — warmth and support make us stronger and more able to take accountability.  18:17 Going deeper: Michelle introduces Internal Family Systems (IFS) and psychologist Dr Tori Olds, who explains that our capacity for self-compassion is what our brains are wired to do at their best.  20:02 The 8 C's of self energy: calm, clarity, curiosity, creativity, compassion, connectedness, confidence and courage — what's available when our connection circuit is on.  24:19 Why our protective parts aren't enemies — they're like exhausted toddlers doing the best they can with strategies they learned when we were young.  29:14 What happens when "an adult comes into the room" — how parts can finally relax when they trust that self energy is present and not trying to fix or get rid of them.  30:00 The "moving towards" tool: three steps to notice the part, get to know what it's protecting you from, and ask what it needs to trust you can handle things now.  36:44 When you still can't get back on the wobble board — a preview of the Drama Triangle tool available in the Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass.  Want to go deeper? Grab your free tiny nudge tools to settle your brain at michellemcquaid.com and check out our Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass at www.michellemcquaid.com.

    42 min

  5. JAN 13

    BONUS SEASON: Build Your Take-Anywhere Somatic Toolkit

    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 listeners back and recap last episode's core insight: our brain is constantly asking "am I safe enough?" — and our nervous system responds accordingly.  05:36 Why trying to "think your way calm" doesn't work — when we're in our protection circuit, we have less blood and oxygen in the thinking part of our brain, so we need to soothe our body first.  09:53 Nahid de Belgeonne introduces the powerful reframe: think of your nervous system as an inner toddler that needs to be soothed, not told to "get a grip."  11:47 Tool one: breath awareness — Nahid explains how breathe can act like "a remote control to the brain" and Evie guides listeners through a simple breath practice.  18:57 Tool two: oscillation — Michelle shares Nahid's jiggling techniques, from subtle toe and finger movements you can do in meetings to full arm oscillations that release shoulder tension.  24:48 Tool three: shaking it out — Evie leads a full-body shake, explaining how it releases the stuck energy our body holds when we're primed for action but don't actually need to fight or flee.  29:48 Nahid on why "ambition has no place in this practice" — learning by getting things wrong, staying curious rather than performative, and giving your nervous system new possibilities.  32:42 Building proactive practice — why practising these tools when you're already in the green zone helps them feel more natural when you tip off the wobble board.  Want to go deeper? Grab your free somatic nudge playsheets and videos and check out our Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass at www.michellemcquaid.com.

    36 min

  6. JAN 11

    BONUS SEASON: Decode Your Nervous System Signals

    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 red zones is the first step to navigating the super cycle of change we're all living through. 00:03 Michelle and Evie introduce this special bonus season on why so many of us have been feeling like our nervous systems are fraying. 01:03 The research behind "quiet cracking" — why 1 in 2 workers feel like they're holding it together on the outside while falling apart inside. 03:23 Why many of our resilience tools and self-care practices aren't working like they used to — and what the "super cycle of change" is doing to all of us. 08:44 How your brain decides if you're safe enough or not safe enough and how this impacts your nervous system. 13:36 What happens when you feel safe enough — your nervous system keeps your thinking brain online, so you stay flexible even when things get hard. 16:07 Unpacking the "I'm fine" pattern — when your nervous system shifts into protection mode by shutting down, withdrawing, and disconnecting from your feelings. 21:12 Exploring the "I'll fix it" pattern — when your nervous system shifts into protection mode by heating up, creating urgency, and driving you to over-function. 32:05 Simple ways to notice what's happening in your body throughout the day — and preview the hands-on calming tools coming in the next episode. Want to go deeper? Grab your free somatic nudge playsheets and videos and check out our Nervous System Advantage mini-masterclass at www.michellemcquaid.com.

    36 min

  7. 10/23/2025

    BONUS SEASON: Leading Human-Centered Change - Your HEART Check

    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 with leaders about the supercycle of change they are currently experiencing and the emotional and social impact it is having on their people. 06:35 Michelle explains how she helps leaders understand how to prioritize a more human-centered approach to change. 13.25 Michelle outlines why and how she gets leaders to embrace "I don't know" when it comes to navigating complex changes. 16:25 Michelle shares why and how she helps leaders to understand the power of self-organization when it comes to navigating change. 20:27 Michelle explains why and how she encourages leaders to accept that their most important goal is growing their people's capabilities to navigate complex change together, rather than making change stick. 27:15 Michelle shares how she helps leaders use the five HEART factors to practically support a human-centered approach to change. 32.19 Michelle summarizes how we can break down human-centered change in a way leaders can understand and action. 33.54 Michelle walks through the HEART Check tool to help you choose how you will navigate change. 43:52 Michelle shares her final post-it note takeaway for leading human-centered change.

    48 min

  8. 10/16/2025

    BONUS SEASON: Take Tiny Steps – Sustaining Momentum

    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 Steps when it comes to navigating change. 09:30 Chelle shares the four elements that make it easier to take tiny steps together from polarities to celebrations. 16:44 Chelle offers a metaphor from Peter Senge to understand why we need to sense, learn, and adapt when it comes to navigating complex change. 20:52 Chelle provides two personal tools to embrace "both/and" thinking as we navigate the polarities of change. 25:58 Chelle shares two team tools to leverage The Progress Principle practices to celebrate small wins together. 32:49 Chelle offers two organizational tools to embed adaptative learning across organizational cultures. 39:24 Chelle shares an example of how her team apply these tools for The Michelle McQuaid Group. 48:13 Chelle explains where workplaces tend to struggle when it comes to taking tiny steps. 50:50 Chelle shares the post-it note a-ha for taking tiny steps.

    53 min
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4.8
out of 5
65 Ratings

About

If you believe as we do that by uncovering tested, practical ways to help people move from functioning to flourishing at work, we can better navigate the incredible challenges and opportunities our world faces, then this podcast is for you. Our goal each week is to give you access to the world' leading positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship and neuroscience researchers and practitioners to explore their latest research findings on how you can improve wellbeing, develop strengths, nurture positive relationships, make work meaningful and cultivate the grit to accomplish what matters most. If you want evidence-based approaches to bringing out the best in yourself and others at work, then consider this podcast your step-by-step guide.

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