Shows
Psychology@WorkSE18E7 - Strengths coaching for neurodiverse teamsIn this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton and Holly Tennock, founder of Wilder Work and Strengthscope practitioner, explore the intersection of neurodiversity and coaching. They discuss the challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals in the workplace, the significance of radical acceptance, and the need for psychological safety in team dynamics. The conversation highlights practical strategies for facilitating effective teamwork and coaching for neurodivergent individuals.
Follow Holly Tennock and Wilder Work on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollytennock/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/wilder-work/
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2025-05-1953 minPsychology@WorkBuilding team effectiveness in 2025In this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton discusses the findings from Strengthscope's latest research report, Team Effectiveness in the Workplace 2025. The conversation focuses on the strengths and habits of teams, the importance of trust and accountability, and the predictors of overall team effectiveness. Dr. Brewerton provides actionable recommendations for teams to improve their performance and emphasises the need for continuous review of team roles and goals.
00:00 Introduction to Team Effectiveness in the Workplace 202502:52 Key Findings on Team Strengths05:16 Identifying Areas for Improvement07:15 Predictors of Team Effectiveness09:42 Conclusion and Future...
2025-02-1310 minPsychology@WorkWhat energises leaders the most?In this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton discusses the findings from Strengthscope's latest research report, Team Effectiveness in the Workplace 2025. He highlights key leadership strengths, the perception gap between leaders and their followers, and the changes in leadership skills over time, particularly in the context of the pandemic. He also emphasises the importance of recognising and leveraging leaders' strengths to enhance team effectiveness and organisational success.
00:00 Introduction to Team Effectiveness in the Workplace 202502:58 Key Leadership Findings from the Research05:49 Leadership Strengths and Changes Over Time09:12 Understanding Leadership Skills and Perception Gaps12:00 Summary and Next Steps for Leaders
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2025-01-2415 minPsychology@WorkHow strengths build agile, high performing matrixed project teamsIn this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton discusses the need for organisations and teams to be more agile in the face of rapid changes brought about by AI and the evolving workforce. He emphasises the importance of cross-functional collaboration and leading through influence rather than hierarchy. The discussion covers Strengthscope's five stages of team development, the significance of clarity in goals and roles, and the role of strengths in enhancing team performance.
00:00 Navigating the Agile Workforce05:45 The Importance of Team Dynamics and Feedback
Follow Dr Paul Brewerton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brewerton-0719461/
Follow Stre...
2024-11-2807 minPsychology@WorkResearch alert: Embedding strengths development habits with strengths journallingIn this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton and Claire Graham discuss the findings from The Strengthscope Research Team on the 8-week strengths journalling challenge, and the importance of strengths in the workplace. They explore how to make strengths stick over time, the methodology used for the challenge, and the significant positive shifts observed in participants' awareness and application of their strengths.
00:00 Introduction to Strengths and Research Overview04:01 Claire Graham's Journey and Background07:04 The Strengths-Based Journalling Challenge15:20 Findings and Results of the Research22:58 Participant Experience and Feedback24:12 Challenges and Learnings from the Study32:06 Recommendations for Strengthscope® Practitioners
Download a c...
2024-11-0737 minPsychology@WorkCreating a culture of openness and feedback with the Radical Candor modelIn this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton discusses the complexities of giving and receiving feedback in organisational settings. He highlights the importance of constructive feedback, introduces the Radical Candor model by Kim Scott, and emphasises the need for a strengths-based approach to feedback. He also presents the Strengthscope360™ tool as a means to facilitate effective feedback delivery.
00:00 The Challenge of Giving Feedback06:21 Understanding Radical Candor07:48 Implementing Strengths-Based Feedback
Follow Dr Paul Brewerton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brewerton-0719461/
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Read the blog version of this episode: https://www.strengthscope...
2024-10-3109 minPsychology@WorkStrengths on World Mental Health Day – what’s the link and what can you do?In this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton discusses the importance of mental health awareness in organisations, emphasising the need for supportive workplace cultures. He highlights the alarming statistics regarding mental health issues among workers and the challenges in discussing these topics openly.
Dr. Brewerton advocates for a strengths-based approach to enhance employee wellbeing and create a more positive work environment, suggesting that organisations can significantly improve mental health outcomes by valuing employees as individuals and fostering open communication.
00:00 Enhancing Mental Health Awareness in Organisations02:55 The Role of Organisational Culture in Mental Health05:48
2024-10-1006 minPsychology@WorkHow to use strengths in early careers and onboardingPsychology@Work with The Strengths Guy!
How can strengths be used to recruit and onboard early-career employees? The main difference when recruiting early-career professionals is their lack of direct work experience, but this is when strengths come in. Tune into this episode to learn about Dr. Paul Brewerton's 8 steps to have a successful recruitment and onboarding experience.
https://www.strengthscope.com/resources
2024-06-1810 minPsychology@WorkHow strengths can help support teams to address Lencioni’s five dysfunctionsIf you're not familiar with Patrick Lencioni’s model, it describes where leadership teams can go wrong. In this episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton breaks down the five dysfunctions and introduces the StrengthscopeTeam model, which offers practical tips to turn dysfunction into high performance. Hope you enjoy!
2024-06-0415 minPsychology@WorkStrengths, business and neurodiversity with Nik Govier, Founder and CEO at BlurredIn this podcast episode, Dr Paul Brewerton and Nik Govier (Founder and CEO of Blurred) discuss why BCorp matters, neurodiversity, and how organisations can better help people with different neurodivergences thrive at work.
Hope you enjoy!
2024-05-191h 00Psychology@WorkJosh Allan Dykstra on the challenge of measuring impact in the HR worldFor all of us in HR, L&D, OD, and all the subsets of the people professions, it’s difficult to measure the impact of our work in a credible, business-friendly, and commercially relevant way. So today, Dr Paul Brewerton invites Josh Allan Dykstra, CEO of #Love Work, to talk about all of this and more to provoke some thinking and discussion around the return on investment measurement in the people professions. Hope you enjoy!
2024-05-0658 minPsychology@WorkStrengths and entrepreneurism with Rachel Carrell, CEO of Koru KidsAn insightful conversation between Strengthcope Founder, Paul Brewerton, and CEO of Koru Kids, Rachel Carrell, as they dive into the strengths within leadership and entrepreneurship.
Hope you enjoy!
2024-04-2153 minPsychology@WorkScott Christie on strengths vs skills: defining the future world of workAre strengths or skills going to be more important when we think about the future world of work and the future workforce? And quite frankly, right now? What are strengths, and how are they different from skills? Can you have one without the other?
Find out in this episode with Dr Paul Brewerton - Founder & Chair of Strengthscope, and Scott Christie - Head of Training & Integration at Strengthscope.
2024-04-0959 minPsychology@WorkResearch alert – how to get the most from strengths at work… the evidence!Listen in as Dr Paul Brewerton dives into the 5-step model to maximise the chances of achieving positive outcomes from the application of strengths at work. All research-backed, of course.
Hope you enjoy!
2024-03-2515 minPsychology@WorkBringing your people to the centre of change and transformation, with Dr Pete ThomondDive into this jam-packed episode with Dr Paul Brewerton and Dr Peter Thomond as they discuss the dynamic topic of change and transformation and how you can bring your people to the centre of it all. Enjoy!
2024-03-041h 09Psychology@WorkKent Frazier, CEO of ParadoxEdge - a strengths-based approach to becoming more fully humanTune into this insightful conversation between Paul Brewerton, Founder and Chair of Strengthscope, and Kent Frazier, CEO of ParadoxEdge, on a strengths-based approach to becoming more fully human.
Hope you enjoy!
2024-01-1559 minPsychology@WorkP36 The Future of Work with Ollie Pickup – what role for humans?The Future of Work: What role for humans? An episode with Ollie Pickup.
Listen as Ollie Pickup and Paul Brewerton dive into the future of work, touching on topics such as AI in recruitment. Hope you enjoy.
Ollie is a London-based technology and business journalist. He has been labelled a "future-of-work influencer" and writes and talks about all of the subjects covered by the future of work – including employee experience, cybersecurity, workforce trends and artificial intelligence.
2023-11-2731 minPsychology@WorkS15E11 Research alert - is Gallup's latest 'global trends' engagement survey helpful or hurtfulIn today's podcast episode, Dr. Paul Brewerton provides a personal view of not just Gallup’s annual engagement survey findings but also some pointers on making sense of any research report – what to look out for from a positive point of view and from a contrary perspective, so that you can draw your own conclusions on what’s helpful and what’s not so helpful in research such as Gallup’s.
Enjoy!
2023-07-0309 minPsychology@WorkP35 Strengths in team coaching with Andy ChandlerThis podcast with Paul Brewerton and Andy Chandler (MD of Barefoot Coaching) explores using strengths in the context of coaching, and particularly, team coaching.
Enjoy!
2023-06-1859 minPsychology@WorkP34 Effective leadership in times of change - the value of strengths with Nyawera KibukaIn today's episode, Paul and Nyawera talk about leadership in times of change. A conversation about what leaders need to do more of, less of, to learn, to focus on during change… for the good of their people and for the good of their organisations. And the role of strengths in this.
Enjoy!
2023-04-1943 min
Psychology@WorkP34 Effective leadership in times of change - the value of strengths with Nyawera KibukaIn today's episode, Paul and Nyawera talk about leadership in times of change. A conversation about what leaders need to do more of, less of, to learn, to focus on during change… for the good of their people and for the good of their organisations. And the role of strengths in this.
Enjoy!
2023-04-1613 minPsychology@WorkP33 Strengthening my squiggly career with Shetel KhimashiaToday, Dr Paul Brewerton talks to Shetel Khimashia as they share some tips on managing and strengthening your own career. While also diving into Shetel's own impressive professional experience as she explains how and why she has been through many different roles in the past 3 years, for various reasons. Tune in!
2023-02-2735 minPsychology@WorkP32 Strengths in education with Paul MehraSo today’s podcast is on a topic that I know will be of major interest to a lot of our audience, as it regularly comes up in conversation – strengths in education.
Why do we need the strengths philosophy in education?
How can we introduce more strengths thinking and practice into schools, colleges, universities, all places of education?
And what needs to change to enable this?
2023-02-2052 minPsychology@WorkS14E1 Top 4 strategies for avoiding the strengths in overdrive trapDr. Paul Brewerton is bringing you the 4 top strategies for dealing with strengths in overdrive.
Before you can go to those strategies though, you need to lay the groundwork and that means knowing your overdrive risks and knowing your triggers. So let’s go there first.
2022-10-1012 minPsychology@WorkP28 Managing your emotions with Steph TranterHi, my name's Dr Paul Brewerton, The Strengths Guy, Doctor of Organisational Psychology and founder and Chair of Strengthscope. Today, I’m excited to welcome back to the show Steph Tranter.
Now a couple of years back, Steph very kindly talked about her experience of using strengths in her consulting work and that conversation is Podversation 19 – Making strengths work for your business. It remains one of our most downloaded podversations, so do please check it out.
But today, I want to get more into what Steph focuses on as part of her consultancy work – helping people...
2022-10-0355 minPsychology@WorkP27 Maximise your Adaptability Quotient using strengths with Scott ChristieDr. Paul Brewerton, The Strengths Guy, discusses the emerging idea of Adaptability Quotient with Scott Christie, Head of Training and Integration from Strengthscope. They will talk about what AQ is and how it can be developed. Plus, how you can develop AQ using strengths. There will also be some bonus material.
Listen to Maximise your Adaptability Quotient using strengths with Scott Christie.
2022-07-1858 minPsychology@WorkS13E9 How to work out what you really really want, post-pandemicPeople have been fearful about their job security, followed by a stampede for the exit door in the great resignation. Concerns about the rising cost of living is putting pressure on people to be more careful about making a move. It’s pretty confusing and no one knows what’s next.
How can you work out what you really really want post-pandemic? Dr. Paul Brewerton has 5 questions for you to consider. And wow, are they big questions.
Listen to the podcast now.
2022-07-0312 minPsychology@WorkS13E8 Setting clear expectations with your line managerThis week, Dr. Paul Brewerton goes into a little more depth, with some ideas both for line managers and for their direct reports about setting clear expectations.
What he'll be covering includes:Asking for feedback from your boss (and actually the other way round too)Giving feedback – both positive and constructiveUnderstanding each other’s strengths and valuesHow to align when we’re coming from different places – the art of compromise
2022-06-1711 min
Psychology@WorkP19 Making strengths work for your business with Steph TranterIn this podversation, Dr Paul Brewerton (aka The Strengths Guy) sits down with Steph Tranter.
Steph knows all about taking the strengths approach into various different types of organisations and making it work and that’s something we wanted to share with the wider Strengthscope community.
In this episode, we'll cover:
How you position strengthsHow you sell itWhere it works and where it doesn’tSome of your success storiesHow you assess the impact you’veYour strengths wisdom and strengths experience as an independent practitioner out on the table so that more people can benefit.
2021-08-0957 min
Psychology@WorkS11E1 Four truths about strategic leadership“Finding time for strategic leadership means finding ways to be less occupied with management activities.”
― Paul A. Sacco, Strategy Quest: The Executive Guide to Finding Business Opportunities
In this podcast, discover:
That it’s not about what you know, it’s about what you thinkWhy you need to think w i d e when you’re at the topHow it is possible to do less and still contribute more
2021-08-0212 min
Psychology@WorkP11: Using strengths to drive inclusion and equity with Derek AppauThis week, Dr Paul Brewerton (aka The Strengths Guy) sits down with Derek Appau; founder of Limitless Personal Excellence, a certified coach, personal effectiveness trainer and facilitator.
They’ll be talking about the strengths approach and the use of psychometrics in the context of creating more inclusive, equitable, fair and diverse workplaces. Derek has some interesting experiences and views he'll share on the role of strengths and psychometrics to level the playing field for people from an ethnic minority background.
Read more:
https://www.strengthscope.com/using-strengths-to-drive-inclusion-and-equity-a-podversation-with-derek-appau/
2021-03-2957 min
Psychology@WorkP10: Empowering women with Roohi & Nida MohiyuddinIn this podversation, Paul Brewerton, the strengths guy, talks with sisters Roohi and Nida Mohiyuddin, two inspiring women who have just launched Nu(pw)R, a new business designed to empower women through a unique three stage process.
Roohi and Nida tell their story – what led them to set out on their journey and what difference they hope to achieve in the world.
They tell us about their programme – The Confident Empowered Woman – and provide some tips and advice on how women can
shut down their inner critic, break down their ba...
2021-03-0733 min
Psychology@WorkP9: Managing millennials with Rebecca ChristiansonThis week, Dr Paul Brewerton (aka The Strengths Guy) welcomes Rebecca Christianson.
Rebecca’s been building her own people consultancy for some time. She’s an Executive coach and an expert on innovative People & Culture practices as she worked as an internal P&C senior leader and Executive for over 15 years. She coaches senior leaders to focus on mind-set shifts to thrive, using a strengths based and neuropsychology approach.
Rebecca is super passionate about harnessing the power of Millennial leadership capability which is the focus of this weeks podcast.
Read more:
http...
2021-03-0143 minPsychology@WorkThe Strengths Guy podcast trailerhttps://www.strengthscope.com/blog/
A series of real talk weekly podcasts covering topics to inspire, educate and well, maybe even transform. Occupational psychologist Dr Paul Brewerton takes you inside some of the stuff that can help you get the most from work and from life, every day. Get ready.
2020-11-1803 min
Psychology@WorkS8E11 Managing a team through changehttps://www.strengthscope.com/managing-a-team-through-change/ Many teams are experiencing significant change as a result of the events of 2020 but change within teams presents a perennial challenge. Team membership is always fluid, goals and objectives need to be revisited, projects and focuses come and go.
This podcast focuses on what you can practically do to lead a team through change by ensuring they remain strong, fit and able to deal effectively with the challenges of change as they come up.
The current context for teams is more turbulent than ever. The threat or reality of redundancies...
2020-09-2019 min
Psychology@WorkS8E10 - Returning to work - the strengths wayMore offices and workplaces are now starting to open and more people are returning to work, and there’s an unusual atmosphere of normality combined with concerns about the unknown.
To ease those concerns and increase the feeling of normality, my headline advice is to go for familiarity and control, that will help ease any stress and tension you might be feeling, and that includes remembering your own strengths that can help you and risk areas which could hinder you.
This week, then, I want to talk about returning to work…the strengths way.
Re...
2020-09-1309 min
Psychology@WorkS8E9 How strengths can boost your well-being at workWell-being at work is a hotter topic than ever and rightly so. We’re regularly being told that employees’ mental health is worsening and that stress-related absence is on the increase.
According to the UK’s official HR-representing body (the CIPD) between 2018-19, work-related stress increased in 40% of organisations and reporting of mental health conditions increased by 60%. Now this may be in part to do with the reduction of stigma associated with mental health and stress which is a good thing but nonetheless, the figures are stark. And events of 2020 will have an additional significant impact, once the da...
2020-09-0609 min
Psychology@WorkS8E8 Sidestepping into a new roleSomething we’re hearing from more and more organisations is how they’re looking to help their employees explore new opportunities in areas of the business that are continuing to do well even when faced with the challenges we’re seeing today.
Sometimes, this kind of role sidestep might mean a need to upskill and it may well also give people an opportunity to pursue areas of strength that they haven’t yet had much access to.
I have five steps for you: know your strengths; work on your resilience; find your strength opportunities; take your str...
2020-08-3109 min
Psychology@WorkS8E7 Adjusting to the new normalThe new normal is a funny phrase because it makes you think that at some point, change is going to stop and normal is going to be forever and then we can all chill a bit and get a bit of certainty back.
Let’s hope that’s true but for now, one thing we know for sure is that there’s a lotT of change around and more change ahead. We don’t know what it will bring but we know it will mean that things won’t be the same as today.
That's alongside...
2020-08-2309 min
Psychology@WorkS8E6 How to aim for progress not perfectionAre you a perfectionist? Perfectionism has significant negative health impacts. Learn how to keep it under control so that it remains in service to you rather than you becoming a slave to perfection.
https://www.strengthscope.com/how-to-aim-for-progress-not-perfection/
In a 2019 study of around 41,000 young people, researchers found that over the last 25 years, people across the US, Canada and the UK have become more perfectionistic in terms of: others having higher expectations of us, us having higher expectations of others, as well as us having higher expectations of ourselves. The rise of social media has been u...
2020-08-0109 min
Psychology@WorkS8E5 Getting the best from your strengths in a crisishttps://www.strengthscope.com/getting-the-best-from-your-strengths-in-a-crisis/
Once upon a time, the strengths approach wasn’t so well-known as it is today and one of the pushbacks to the approach I used to hear fairly often was about strengths being a great idea for the good times, but actually how helpful are your strengths in bad times, when you’re under pressure, in a crisis if you like?
So today’s podcast relates directly to that challenge and the question – ‘how can you get the best from your strengths in a crisis?’
My name’s Dr Paul Brewer...
2020-07-2608 min
Psychology@WorkS8E4 Building out your support networkYour social network can have a significant effect on your health – studies have shown that those with stronger social networks enjoy multiple physiological, psychological and long-term health benefits than those who lack social support.
This is particularly important at times of pressure and stress, when a sense of isolation can lead to higher experienced stress levels. And what about at work?
Today, I want to talk about the importance of cultivating a strong support network at work – what kind of people it might be most helpful to have around you and how to go about doing...
2020-07-1909 min
Psychology@WorkS8E3 It's all fake news – learning to unbias what you see and hearWhy is it that the ‘news’ is pretty much always negative? We live in a world wired towards negativity bias (I podcast on this in Season 1, episode 2).
As humans, we react quickly to potential threats, that is we’re programmed to hear about those things first; in addition, we kind of like to hear about other people’s misfortune so that we feel better about our own situation (so called schadenfreude). And the media has evolved to give us more of what we want…negative stories about bad things happening because study after study has shown that that’s wha...
2020-07-1208 min
Psychology@WorkS8E2 Building resilience – 4 things you and your team need to do“A resilient individual is not someone who avoids stress but someone who learns how to tame and master it”. And my favourite definition is one that I heard at an event once – that “Resilience isn’t just the ability to bounce back, but to bounce forward”.
So if you want to get the best from yourself and your team during challenging times, what are the four things that you need to do to build resilience?
Read more:
https://www.strengthscope.com/building-resilience-4-things-you-and-your-team-need-to-do/
2020-07-0609 min
Psychology@WorkS8E1 The future of leadership in the new normal‘New normal’ seems to be the phrase of the moment (at least it was last month). But in truth, nothing ever really gets a chance to ‘normalise’ these days, so pretty soon, ‘new normal’ will be ‘old world’ and the next wave of new will be on us.
https://www.strengthscope.com/the-future-of-leadership-in-the-new-normal/
So how can leaders - how can anyone at any level for that matter - effectively navigate new after new after new? Today, I want to talk about the future of effective leadership, which to be honest is the now of effective leadership too...
2020-06-2808 min
Psychology@WorkS7E12 Are you getting the most from the diverse strengths of your employees?Diversity is one of the hottest topics in organisational life and for good reason: it relates to fair treatment of all groups, and all people.
Visit: https://www.strengthscope.com/getting-the-most-from-the-diverse-strengths-of-your-employees/
Taking a positive approach to diversity in organisations can also bring big commercial benefits, as I touched on in my podcast from not so long ago on ‘diversity and inclusion: how strengths can help’, at Season 7, episode 9.
Today’s podcast considers in even more depth the business benefits of diversity and poses the question ‘are you getting the most from the diverse strength...
2020-06-2108 min
Psychology@WorkS7E11 Diversity and inclusion: how strengths can helpToday’s podcast relates to diversity and inclusion, the strengths way – how you can help your people identify what makes them truly unique and then support them in bringing that uniqueness to work each day.
Diversity and Inclusion strategies are seen as a technical necessity in organisations focused on fulfilling their legal requirements and stakeholder expectations.
https://www.strengthscope.com/diversity-and-inclusion-how-strengths-can-help/
But this misses one of the greatest opportunities in people management today: discovering and encouraging the unique contribution that can be made by each and every employee that works for you.
Wh...
2020-06-1408 minPsychology@WorkS7E10 Managing anxiety through your strengthsIn a recent study cited by the Mental Health Foundation, there were just over 8 million cases of anxiety reported per year in the UK and the global figures country-by-country are similar.
https://www.strengthscope.com/managing-anxiety-through-your-strengths/
During extraordinary times, particularly during times of crisis, economic or otherwise, people’s anxiety levels can increase significantly, as can other mental health outcomes, such as a depression and stress. And those 8 million were just the reported cases, which will represent only a fraction of the total number.
Anxiety affects an awful lot of people from time to...
2020-06-0709 min
Psychology@WorkS7E9 Find your joySomething we tend to forget as adults as we take on more responsibility, more life baggage, more ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’, is how to reconnect with the child that is still there in all of us. A particular child as well, our ‘free child’, the child who did things for the sheer joy, the enjoyment, the fun, the feeling.
https://www.strengthscope.com/find-your-joy/
As we grow, it’s easy to lose that connection with the younger freer us and all too soon, the opportunities, and responsibilities, that we so craved as children moving into adulthood, can feel more...
2020-05-3109 minPsychology@WorkS7E8 Empowering your team with strengthsWherever your team are located right now – remotely or physically, some together, some apart, research shows us that when people play to their strengths, they are more likely to perform well.
https://www.strengthscope.com/empowering-your-team-with-strengths/
The business case therefore for bringing strengths into everyday management performance conversations with employees include:
Higher levels of well-being, motivation and self-confidence at the individual levelMore effective teamworking, problem-solving and improved relationships at the team levelFocusing on strengths during performance management conversations has a significant impact on employee performance, improving performance by over 36% on average.
Today’s podc...
2020-05-2407 min
Psychology@WorkS7E7 The power of discomfort – managing your emotions wellDuring the course of each day, you’re likely to experience some emotions that are uncomfortable, difficult, distracting or we might even label them as negative or unwanted. These emotions can be brought on by a whole range of triggers – work, relationships, memories, pressure, stress, the weather, our general mindset and so on – humans are complex creatures.
The power of discomfort – managing your emotions well
These uncomfortable emotions can be distracting and can sometimes lead us to a place of what feels like ‘stuckness’ because we don’t notice or can’t pinpoint what we’re feeling so we j...
2020-05-1808 minPsychology@WorkS7E6 Why you should be directing your learning towards your strengthsDaily strength users enjoy higher levels of well-being, lower stress levels, higher levels of motivation, are more effective at problem-solving, have improved relationships at work, higher self-confidence, see greater career success and enjoy higher levels of job satisfaction.
For the research findings which back up all of that, check the references at the end of this blog. What we also know is that if you seek to learn and develop in areas of strength, where energy and motivation already exist, you’re also more likely to see quick and strong results.
Today’s podcast is abou...
2020-04-2708 min
Psychology@WorkS7E5 Managing your mindset in tough times – the path of possibilityThere’s negativity all around us and sometimes that can make things feel stuck, like we can’t move forward. It’s relatively easy to get caught up in those negative feelings so our focus can become even more negative and we see even more of the negative when actually nothing much has really changed.
Get this on the Strenghtscope blog
Today’s podcast is all about becoming aware of your mindset and making conscious choices about shifting it when you’re ready to do so. That is, learning how to move from the path of limitati...
2020-04-1908 min
Psychology@WorkS7E4 Managing stress and changeStress affects us more than we might think. The American Institute of Stress recently reported that over 80% of workers feel stressed at work at some time, so understanding what stress is is important.
Stress occurs when the demands of a situation exceed your perceived ability to deal with them. The more that we perceive we can control, the less stressed we feel.
Today’s podcast is about managing stress and change and controlling the controllables, so that you can stay on top of stress and stay at your best.
2020-04-1408 minPsychology@WorkS7E3 What to do when you don't have the strengthWe’ve all been there – when you feel you’re in a situation where you just don’t have the strength to get the best outcome. You might be facing change without having a Flexibility strength. Or you might need to work with others but you don’t have Collaboration as a strength.
Or you may be needing to think about the future, without the benefit of a Strategic mindedness strength.
What can you do in these situations? You might second guess yourself, you might feel anxious that you don’t have what it takes, you might ev...
2020-04-0506 minPsychology@WorkS7E2 Getting the best from virtual teamworkingSo I’ve been working with wholly or partially dispersed or virtual teams for around 15 years, across a number of industries and today, I’d like to talk about what I’ve learned from working with these teams to help them ensure that they get the very best from themselves and from others in the team when working at distance.
This podcast is best consumed in combination with my others on Making homeworking work for you (Season 6, Episode 12) and Getting the most from remote management (Season 7, Episode 1), so check those out too. Whether you’re a team leader...
2020-03-3008 min
Psychology@WorkS7E1 Getting the most from remote managementMore and more people are managing some or all of their team remotely these days – partly because technology allows and in some cases, because circumstances dictate.
Whatever the reason for you managing others remotely, or even you being managed remotely, I’d like to share some tips with you on today’s podcast as to how to get the very best from yourself and your team if you’re in that place.
Transcript - Getting the most from remote management
First up, there’s nothing virtual or remote about virtual or remote management, at least n...
2020-03-2209 min
Psychology@WorkS6E12: Making Homeworking work for youWorking from home is on the increase thanks mainly to improvements in communication and work technology, and for some people it’s more of a necessity because of their location or home circumstances.
Personally, I work from home 2 days a week so that I can do the school run twice a week and I’ve had periods of my working life where I’ve been full time working from home and also part-time homeworking, so I kind of know the territory both with kids in my life and without kids.
Today’s podcast is about how you c...
2020-03-1506 min
Psychology@WorkS6E11: The energy lifeline - plotting your year aheadThe energy lifeline - plotting your year ahead
As we come to financial year end for many organisations, it may well be worth taking a moment to stop and reflect on how the last year at work has been for and how you can get more out of the year ahead.
To do that, I want to introduce you today to the energy lifeline – a handy tool that can be used in all sorts of ways…looking at your whole career, your relationships, your family and home life, all sorts really, with the same basic appr...
2020-03-0107 min
Psychology@WorkS6E10 The greatest leadership risk of allSo what is the greatest leadership risk of all? It’s not the stuff that leaders do badly or don’t do at all, despite what you might think.
It’s not having a lack of skills in certain areas, although of course that can be a problem all of its own.
No, the greatest leadership risk of them all is the dreaded strength in overdrive.
Today I want to talk about this leadership risk in more detail – how to recognise strengths in overdrive and what to do about it once that overdrive behaviour h...
2020-02-2309 min
Psychology@WorkS6E9: Energise your employee experience or dieEnergise your employee experience
Employers are starting to wake up to the fact that it’s them who need to start flexing to the needs and expectations of their employees rather than the other way around.
And in my view, these changes are accelerating, won’t be reversed and any employer that doesn’t shift its thinking will fail to attract and keep good people, ultimately leading to untimely death.
In todays podcast I am going look through a strengths lens – well there’s no greater relevance for strengths than in the context of the employ...
2020-02-1708 min
Psychology@WorkS6E8: How to change the habits of a lifetimeHow to change the habits of a lifetime
Changing habits comes up a lot on people’s to do lists – when we want to keep our NY resolutions, lose weight, get fit, stop smoking, eat healthily and so on and so on. With the stuff I talk about on these podcasts, it’s usually the case that we’re wanting to change habituated behaviour by adopting new thinking or new behavioural patterns and using our brain’s innate ability to create more efficient neural networks.
But some of our habituated patterns of thinking and behaviour go soooo fa...
2020-02-1110 min
Psychology@WorkS6E7: Creating super strengths and not strength monstersToday's podcast is about how adding strengths together can actually lead to a multiplication of strengths (I know right, mad maths), which can make those strengths either super-strong, or which may lead to them getting totally out of control.
How to create super-strengths and not strength monsters
2020-02-0308 min
Psychology@WorkS6E6: Want to live longer - you need IkigaiMy podcasts focus on the intersect between life and work and strengths and Oh My Actual God (other deities are available), today’s podcast really does cover all three.
Like literally, in the form of a diagram - Ikigai.
Live Longer With Ikigai
2020-01-2708 min
Psychology@WorkS6E5: How to make your leadership 360 degree feedback process actually workToday’s podcast is all about the intersection between work and strengths and how to do this best, particularly when it comes to leadership development.
Make your leadership 360 degree feedback program work
2020-01-2007 min
Psychology@WorkS6E4: 4 key tips for engaging employeesEmployee engagement is a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organisation’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of wellbeing.
Engaging employees is seen as a bit of a ‘holy grail’ when it comes to managing people and looking after their well-being.
So how exactly do people professionals – from departments like Human Resources, Learning and Development and Organisation Development - create the conditions to engage employees in their work?
That’s the topic of today’s...
2020-01-1307 min
Psychology@WorkS6E3: 5 Top tips for goal-setting in the year aheadSo as we head in to the new year, there’s a good chance that you’ll be thinking about your goals for the year ahead.
So the question I’m posing this week, and giving you some tips for, is how best to structure your goal-setting for the start of the year (or quite frankly for any time) to give you the best possible chance of success. And, as usual, my tips are backed by science.
2020-01-0607 min
Psychology@WorkS6E2: Being present at ChristmasBeing present at Chrismas
I know you know that Christmas can be stressful. Forget that, Christmas is stressful. In fact, hold on, has someone actually designed-in stress to Christmas as a way of making more money from us?
Or is that a conspiracy theory too far?
Ok, so assuming no one's actually deliberately manipulating our stress levels against our will at Christmas, we’re probably more in control of the Christmassy goings-on than we think.
Present-buying, late-night shopping, organising family events, friend get-togethers, work socials, Christmas dinner organising, cooking, hosting, present-giving, fa...
2019-12-0907 min
Psychology@WorkS6E1: Decision making - getting the best from your head AND your heartThere’s a lot of contrary advice out there on whether we’re better at making decisions with our ‘hearts’ (keying into our intuition, values and feelings) or with our ‘heads’ (referencing logic, facts and evidence), so I wanted to spend today’s podcast considering how you can get the best from both worlds, rather than ignoring, suppressing or overplaying one or the other.
How to make decisions
2019-12-0207 min
Psychology@WorkS5E12: How to own your development...the strengths wayIn today’s podcast, I want to talk about a popular topic – how to own your own development, in a work context. In some organisations, there will be a formal process for putting together your personal development plan. In others, there will be less of a formal process and more of an informal ‘development by request’ process, where you’ll need to put together your reasoning behind requesting a particular piece of development. So how do you take control of your development? The strengths way?
2019-11-1807 min
Psychology@WorkS5E11: Maximising the strengths of others - the art of great leadershipWhen you watch people who lead and manage others well – people that you come into contact with at work, or that you hear about from others, they’ll all be very different people – different values, stories, experiences, attitudes – everyone’s unique, right? But in terms of some of the behaviours of the very best leaders and managers – there is some commonality. And one of the things that the best leaders and managers have in common is that they are able to identify areas of natural strength for people, hold them accountable in these areas and encourage them to stretch those areas...
2019-11-1108 min
Psychology@WorkS5E10: Strengths-based coachingWhat is strengths-based coaching and how does it differ from more traditional approaches? In today’s podcast, I’m going to give you some tips and some killer questions that will help you supercharge any coaching-type conversation that you may have – whether it’s with a colleague, a direct report or an actual coachee.
2019-11-0408 min
Psychology@WorkS5E9: How to set expectations at workToday’s podcast has a clear work focus and is how to set expectations. Well I say it’s a clear work focus…actually, who’s to say that following some of these approaches wouldn’t be helpful outside of work too. But mainly I’m going to be talking about work as the focus.
Transcript: How to set expectations at work
2019-10-2107 min
Psychology@WorkS5E8: How to improve employee engagement at workTo be successful with any task or activity, you need to be engaged with it, particularly at work. Increasing employee engagement at work has been shown to directly relate to organisational success – profitability, productivity, customer loyalty and reduced levels of absenteeism and turnover.
In today’s podcast, I am going to talk about what are some of the proven benefits of increased employee engagement are.
2019-10-1407 min
Psychology@WorkS5E7: Setting yourself up for a great winterThis week I talk about the challenges, both physically and mentally, that the change of the season brings.
Listen in to hear my tips on setting yourself up for a great winter and beat those winter blues.
2019-10-0307 min
Psychology@WorkS5E6: What are management and leadership strengths and how can you get themWhat are management and leadership strengths and how can you get them?
One of the questions I am often asked in my work with leaders is ‘do I have the right strengths to be a leader?’.
In this podcast I talk about how it matters far less which strengths you have, but what matters more is how you use them. Listen in to hear my tips on getting know your strengths and using them effectively in any role.
2019-09-2608 min
Psychology@WorkS5E5: Upgrade your performance management process - setting expectations the strengths wayPerformance management processes – you know, what many people still call appraisals – are having a bit of facelift, an overhaul, a loving boot in many organisations that we’re working with at Strengthscope. Why? Because traditional appraisals don’t work so well, or even at all, with today’s employees.
In this podcast, I want to talk about how the performance management process is getting an upgrade the strength way and what that means in practice.
2019-09-1307 min
Psychology@WorkS5E4: Can strengths change?In our work around strengths – helping people to find, share and develop their strengths – we’re often asked the question…do strengths change over time?
On this podcast, I want to describe a couple of occasions where strengths do shift over time, both to become more prominent, or to play a lesser role.
2019-07-2907 min
Psychology@WorkS5E3: Habit stacking - what and howOne of the most frequently mentioned challenges I hear from people wanting to improve their work performance, or developing their strengths is making behaviour changes stick.
It’s tricky. Behaviour change hurts, needs discipline, and there are no short cuts.
However, there are cute ways that you can use what’s already in your brain to help changes stick.
One idea that seems to be getting a bit of love and noise around it at the moment is habit stacking – possibly because it sounds cool and efficient and quick.
So, in today’...
2019-07-2205 min
Psychology@WorkS5E2: Taming the energy monsterHave you come across the term ‘strength in overdrive’?
Well it’s a phrase that we use a lot at Strengthscope® - what it means is when you’re using something that is usually a positive quality for you, one that gives you energy and that you are good at using or at least have that potential.
But in certain circumstances, that strength can go just that little bit too far, so it tips into ‘overdrive’ territory, leading to unexpected consequences either for you or the people around you.
On this podcast, I want to give...
2019-07-1508 min
Psychology@WorkS5E1: Supercharging your development with strengths reflectionSo last week, I recorded a podcast on the power of your reflection.
It’s not 100% necessary that you listen to that podcast before this one, but it will add to it for sure – for easy reference, it’s at Season 4, episode 12.
On this podcast, I want to talk about how you can take your reflection to the next level by factoring your strengths into the equation. Supercharging your development with strengths reflection
2019-07-0808 min
Psychology@WorkS4E12: The power of your reflectionNo no no, this isn’t a podcast on how to take the best possible mirror selfies, that’s not what I mean by the power of your reflection, not on this podcast anyway; no, this is a podcast on the science behind reflecting on your experiences so that you can learn better and achieve lasting changes in your behaviour, and in your attitudes too.
2019-07-0107 min
Psychology@WorkS4E11: Taking your early career from strength to strengthIn our work with students, graduates and apprentices, we have seen the central role the strengths approach can take in accelerating people’s early careers by building confidence, certainty in career direction and flexibility in managing careers.
In this podcast I’d like to give you a bit more on each of these points to make sure you can build the best career for you and enjoy every day of it too.
2019-06-2405 min
Psychology@WorkS4E10: De - Cluttering - science and solutionsApart from the TV personalities who have made a career out of helping/bullying people to clear their homes and lives up so that we can all watch and say to ourselves ‘thank God I’m not as bad as that’, how many people do you know who are actually incredible at keeping their homes and workplaces and lives de-cluttered?
Not many right?
You may know one or two but one or two only and that’s because it’s not easy.
In this podcast i’m going to explain the science behind clutter, why...
2019-06-1706 min
Psychology@WorkS4E9: What meditation did for meIn several of my podcasts, where I’m offering tips for getting more from life or work, I mention meditation as an option to try. Beating the winter blues, coping with interruptions, ways to stay positive and how to do the holiday transition – meditation gets a namecheck in all of them.
So I want to focus this podcast on my own story with meditation – how I’ve found it’s helped me in ways I definitely didn’t expect and also what it’s not. And I’m going to give you some thoughts on how to try it if...
2019-06-1008 min
Psychology@WorkS4E7: Dealing with strengths awe, strengths envy and strengths denialIn this podcast, I’d like to talk about some common challenges for people who become familiar with the strengths approach and who start to use it in their organisations, with their clients or in their lives.
These are things that we all face in one way or another, they’re all completely normal, they all have value and there are practical steps you can take to make the most of each one.
2019-05-2807 min
Psychology@WorkS4E8: How to be curious without being weirdWell, you are here, which means that you’re curious about being curious, let’s get curious now...
Why be curious, is it worth it? particularly if being curious risks perceived weirdness. Today’s podcast relates to the whole of life, including work, and also relates to strengths and to spotting these in others.
2019-05-2007 min
Psychology@WorkS4E6: Strengths fear and what to do about itIn this podcast, I’m really excited to talk to about an important topic and it affects all of us – I want to talk about strengths fear and what to do about it.
2019-05-1308 min
Psychology@WorkS4E5: How to find your values and why it mattersIn this podcast, I cover why knowing your values is important, how to find your values and how to use that knowledge.
2019-05-0709 min
Psychology@WorkS4E4: How to do the holiday transition wellBack from a mid season break. On this podcast I’m going to talk about how to prepare well for transitioning to holidays from work and from holidays to work, so that you get the very best from yourself and for yourself. Check it out.
2019-04-2911 min
Psychology@WorkS4E3: Self protection - staying safe when you're under attackThis week's podcast focuses on how you can protect yourself and get the best from the situation when you feel attacked by criticism, negative feedback or a particularly aggressive or full-on person at work. Check it out.
2019-03-3108 min
Psychology@WorkS4E2: Self sabotage and what you can do about itWhether it’s relationships, personal goals (like weight loss or exercise) or projects at work, self sabotage seems to be something that many of us are drawn to. Today’s podcast explores self sabotage – what it is, why it happens and most importantly, what you can do about it. Check it out...
2019-03-2409 min
Psychology@WorkS4E1 How to deal with imposter syndromeFeeling that you’re not as competent or worthy or valuable as other people and that you might get ‘found out’ at any minute? This podcast explores what imposter syndrome is, why it happens and how to deal with it.
2019-03-1708 min
Psychology@WorkS3E12: Being your authentic self at workThere are a lot of reasons why people find it hard to turn up as their authentic, natural selves at work and in this week's podcast I'm going to explore this and offer some thoughts on why it’s important to be your authentic self at work and how to do it too. Check it out - Being your authentic self at work
2019-03-1007 min
Psychology@WorkS3E11: Who needs a mentor anywayMentoring seems to be on the rise in the self-help circles. There’s an increasing number of businesses also introducing mentoring schemes most often for managers and leaders. And some particularly forward-looking organisations are introducing more inclusive mentoring schemes such as reverse mentoring. So what is mentoring and how does it differ from other personal development approaches? How do you pick a mentor? And, who needs a mentor anyway? Check it out...
2019-03-0307 min
Psychology@WorkS3E10: Getting gravitas - how to build credibilityGravitas is a word that is rarely well-defined, and which is therefore very hard to measure objectively, and it seems to be used as an umbrella term for ‘not having enough of an impact, or enough credibility, which is limiting career-wise’. And up it comes again and again and again with leaders and managers. What I want to do in today’s podcast is to try and define gravitas, and how it can best be developed, so that you can be more impactful and more credible to whoever it is you’re working with. Check it out...
2019-02-2407 min
Psychology@WorkS3E9: Find your hidden strengthsThis week's podcast is all about hidden strengths - those things you didn’t even realise you were good at, or could be good at but that you do naturally - and how to out them and why it's important you do. Check it out...
2019-02-1707 min
Psychology@WorkS3E8: Reduce your stress by doing nothingWe live in a time where everything is quantified, measured, assessed in terms of likes, followers, shares, retweets, relative value of this activity over that, size of cake baked, complexity of dish cooked, number of steps taken, distance run, side hustles started, exoticism of holiday destinations booked. Exhausting, right? Happy with that? No? Ok, then check this week's podcast out and discover how to reduce stress by doing nothing.
2019-02-1006 min
Psychology@WorkS3E7: Work-life balance or work-life blend?So we’re all striving for a better work-life balance right? Or is balance even the right word? Today’s podcast gives you some tips to keep in mind when managing those two aspects of your world. Check it out.
2019-02-0107 min
Psychology@WorkS3E6: How to stay positiveWelcome to my Top 4 tips for staying positive. These are finding things to be grateful for, recording and recalling one positive thing that happens every day, meditating and lastly, being kind. Why? Because science tells us these things work! Check it out - How to stay positive
2019-01-2708 min