Podcast Summary
Cultivating skills for the uncertain future: Cultivate creative leadership, build rapid rapport, learn resilience, use imagination, practice kindness, and adopt positive behavioral science to thrive in the modern world.
In today's rapidly changing world, it's essential to prepare for uncertainty and thrive in both our personal and professional lives. Gabriela Kellerman, the chief innovation officer at BetterUp and co-author of the book "Tomorrow Mind," emphasizes the importance of cultivating creative leadership, building rapid rapport, and learning resilience. Kellerman, who is also a Harvard-trained physician, argues that these skills can help us navigate the uncertainties of the 21st century. Furthermore, she highlights the importance of imagination, kindness, and positive behavioral science in creating a workplace that fosters growth and development. The collaboration between Kellerman and Martin Seligman came about when Kellerman was asked to start BetterUp Labs, and she wanted to work with Seligman to develop the knowledge base of critical skills needed to thrive in the modern world. Through research and collaboration, they have been exploring ways to help individuals and organizations build the necessary skills to adapt and succeed in an uncertain future.
Imagining and planning for the future: Prospection: Prospection is a crucial skill for navigating uncertain times, involving quick imagination and deliberate planning, and is essential for future-proofing careers and organizations.
Prospection, the ability to imagine and plan for the future, is a crucial skill for navigating the uncertain and rapidly changing 21st century workplace. Prospection involves both quick, optimistic imagination and more deliberate, evaluative planning. It's a broader project than creativity, which is a subset of prospection. Prospection allows us to see multiple possibilities and respond agilely to them, giving us a sense of agency in uncertain times. The authors argue that developing this skill is essential for future-proofing our careers and organizations. They also present a novel typology of creativity, which helps individuals identify with the label of creativity and provides concrete examples of divergent thinking. This skill, along with prospection, is a key focus of their coaching and is known to move dramatically during the coaching process.
Exploring different types of divergent thinking and creativity hygiene: Understanding various types of divergent thinking like integration, splitting, figure ground reversal, and distal thinking can boost creativity and form diverse ideas in innovation teams. Applying creativity hygiene, which optimizes conditions for creativity through lifestyle choices and habits, can further enhance creative output.
Understanding different types of divergent thinking, such as integration, splitting, figure ground reversal, and distal thinking, can help individuals identify their creative strengths and encourage a more diverse range of ideas within innovation teams. The concept of creativity hygiene, which aims to optimize conditions for creativity through lifestyle choices and habits, can also be applied to foster a more productive and creative mindset. By understanding the nonconscious aspects of creativity and implementing practices that support it, individuals can enhance their creative output and contribute to innovative solutions.
Recognizing and nurturing team members' creative self-efficacy: Leaders should acknowledge and recognize team members' creative output, encourage risk-taking, and maintain a portfolio of projects to foster a culture of innovation and creativity.
Effective creative leadership involves recognizing and nurturing creative self-efficacy in team members, even in small ways. This self-belief in one's creativity is crucial for fostering a rich and innovative team environment. Leaders can encourage this by acknowledging and recognizing creative output, regardless of its scale. Additionally, companies must be willing to tolerate risks and accept that not all creative efforts will result in market success. Failure is a natural part of the creative process, and it's essential to maintain a portfolio of projects, some of which will inevitably fail. It's crucial for organizations to avoid punishing team members for these risks, as the consequences can have a significant impact on morale and the team's overall creative output. In essence, fostering a culture of creative risk-taking and self-efficacy is essential for driving innovation and creativity within a team.
The importance of feeling safe and mattered in the workplace: Creating a culture of mattering and appreciation in workplaces fosters openness, ideas, and self-actualization, but it's complex and requires considering socioeconomic implications.
Creating a culture of mattering and appreciation in the workplace is essential for fostering openness, ideas, and self-actualization. This concept links to the need to feel safe and matter, which is crucial for positive psychology. Isaac Palatansky's work on the need to matter is valuable in this context, as it acknowledges that not everyone starts from the same privileged position. The importance of mattering as a component of meaning and purpose in work is a complex issue, with valid arguments on both sides. However, it's essential to consider the implications of expecting work to be meaningful for all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status. Toxic agency, where individuals believe they have unlimited power without regard for constraints, should be avoided. Instead, restoring agency to those who have lost it due to victimization is crucial. The approach advocated for is different from traditional medical models of psychology or psychiatry, as it aims to distribute and apply scientific knowledge better in adults' and children's daily lives.
Exploring the Science of Happiness and Well-being through Positive Psychology: Positive psychology helps individuals optimize well-being, reach potential, and build resilience through emotional regulation, physical health, cognitive flexibility, social connections, and meaningful work.
While traditional psychology and psychiatry have focused on treating mental illness, positive psychology aims to help individuals optimize their well-being and reach their potential. This approach, which emerged in the early 1990s and 2000s, involves studying the science of happiness and well-being, and it requires a scientific approach to sustain and have a meaningful impact. Positive psychology can be thought of as moving individuals from a negative state to a positive one, focusing on areas like perspection, resilience, creativity, and social support. In the workplace setting, resilience is crucial, and it can be built and developed through five key drivers: emotional regulation, which involves acknowledging, identifying, and managing emotions; physical health and self-care; cognitive flexibility and problem-solving; social connections and support; and meaningful work and purpose. By focusing on these areas, individuals can build resilience and thrive in their personal and professional lives.
Fostering Resilience in Teams: Cognitive Agility, Self-Compassion, Self-Efficacy, and Optimism: Managers can instill resilience in their teams by focusing on cognitive agility, self-compassion, self-efficacy, and optimism through personalized growth plans, accountability, supportive relationships, gratitude exercises, and modeling these traits.
Managers can foster resilience in their teams by focusing on cognitive agility, self-compassion, self-efficacy, and optimism. These qualities, derived from research on coaching and resilience, can be instilled through personalized growth plans, accountability, and building supportive relationships. Managers can also incorporate practices like gratitude exercises into team meetings and processes. By modeling these traits and creating a supportive work environment, leaders can improve team productivity, innovation, and overall well-being. Additionally, having a strong sense of personal resilience as a leader can positively impact the team, leading to less burnout and more effective collaboration.
Building Rapid Rapport for Effective Teams: Creating positive team environments and fostering trust through 'rapid rapport' is crucial for achieving success and productivity in today's world.
Building strong connections and fostering trust within teams is crucial for achieving success and marking milestones. Gabriela Kellerman, the Chief Innovation Officer at BetterUp, emphasizes the importance of this skill, which she calls "rapid rapport." With the increasing cynicism and distrust in today's world, creating a positive and collaborative team environment is essential. Gabriela, who is passionate about helping people thrive, shares her personal experiences and the importance of the intellectual and emotional aspects of her work. She has found her niche in technology, where innovation and impact can be achieved quickly. As a leader in a company with over 3,000 coaches globally, Gabriela's impact is significant. Rapid rapport is a skill she brings up in her book, emphasizing its importance in overcoming distrust and creating effective and productive teams.
Building deep connections despite barriers: Simple acts of compassion and kindness, even brief moments, can build deep connections and improve productivity and collaboration.
Building deep and authentic connections at work, despite the barriers of time, space, and differences, is crucial for productivity and collaboration. The science of trust-building offers solutions to overcome these barriers. For instance, in high-pressure professions like medicine, where time is a significant barrier, simple acts of compassion and kindness, even for just a few seconds, can significantly reduce anxiety and improve health outcomes. It's essential to recognize that meaningful connections don't always require extended interactions. Even brief moments of acknowledgement and empathy can have a lasting impact. Additionally, research shows that performing kind acts for others can foster a deep sense of connection. Overall, the key is to prioritize and invest in building connections, no matter the circumstances.
Building Meaningful Connections: Sync vs Async: Invest time in crafting thoughtful messages and building relationships in asynchronous communication to foster positivity resonance and meaningful connections.
Synchronous communication, such as in-person interactions, phone calls, and video calls, is more effective in building positivity resonance and fostering meaningful connections than asynchronous communication, like emails and text messages. This is particularly important in today's remote and hybrid work environment, where exhausting virtual meetings have become common. To make the most of asynchronous communication, it's crucial to invest time in crafting thoughtful messages and being intentional about building relationships. The authors also emphasize the importance of acknowledging the impact of constant change on mental health and preparing for the future. Overall, their message is that by focusing on relationship-building through various communication mediums, we can create meaningful connections and thrive in today's evolving work landscape.
Assess and Improve Financial Health with Free Quizzes and Resources: Free financial wellness quizzes offer insights into current financial health, while companies expand offerings to prioritize overall wellness including healthcare, mental health, and travel opportunities.
There are resources available to help individuals assess and improve their financial health. Facet's free financial wellness quiz is an example of such a resource. This quiz provides a score and snapshot of one's current financial health, offering valuable insights and potential next steps. Additionally, companies like CVS Health are expanding their offerings to prioritize overall wellness, including healthcare, mental health, and travel opportunities for seniors. For those seeking adventure and learning in their golden years, organizations like Rhodes Scholar offer educational travel experiences. These examples demonstrate that there are various ways to prioritize and address financial and personal well-being.
