Did you miss our webinar on Connecting for Success? No worries…scroll down and watch it. A message from Robert Rosales From Languishing to Flourishing at Work Whether organizations and their employees languish or flourish largely depends on the quality of the social connections they nurture. We spend most of our waking hours at work and thus improving social connections will impact productivity, engagement as well as community, organizational and individual wellbeing. The bottom line is that focusing on enabling high-quality relationships at work changes everything, for the better. Is it that simple? Yes. Is it easy? No. It takes persistence and hard work. But it’s worth it. Learn critical skills to develop better relationships at work by watching the following webinar. Connecting for Success with Robert Rosales.    

Kat Koppett Thank you to everyone who attended Improv for Business, our very first Positive Business DC Webinar!  We had a great turnout so be sure to join our Meetup so you don’t miss any announcements. If you missed it, our guest speaker was Kat Koppett, founder of Koppett & Company and author. Kat and Shannon Polly had a riveting discussion about the principals of  Improv and how applying to business can be transformative.  If you missed it, you can check out this Modern DC Business article and also the recording of the webinar itself. If you did not get enough, and I know we didn’t, Kat has graciously offered to do an online “on-the-fly” sample instruction.  So, if you want to participate, just post a message here on our Facebook page.  Here is the question to answer:  ”What’s a part of your business you want to improv? Finally, we… …

How do we live a life of well-being? Through pleasure seeking? According to Aristotle, we live a life of well-being through eudaimonic life. Indeed, putting more focus on the process of living well (eudaimonic approach) over the outcomes of happiness (hedonic approach) is associated with increased well-being. An eudaimonic lifestyle is marked by investment of energy on values and goals that are intrinsic to the individual (done for the interest and enjoyment that the activity provides) to that individual (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008). Furthermore, individuals who have intrinsic goals are more likely to persevere in accomplishing them, thus enjoying greater well-being. Intrinsic activities are autonomous by, 2008). Furthermore, extrinsic motivation can actually weaken intrinsic motivation because it fosters the perception that the cause of the behavior is external to that individual (Brown & Ryan, 2004). The relative autonomy of goals is not only predictive of performance but well-being in general (Ryan etal, 2008). Those with intrinsic goals, 2008). Perseverance and passion for long-term goals, coined grit by Angela Duckworth, is predictive of… …

Did you miss our webinar on May 10, 2016? No worries, we have it for you here. In this webinar, Author Cathy Salit will show us how leveraging our inborn ability to perform and pretend can help us grow in our work. Whether you are navigating your way on a new team, expanding your leadership role, or just trying to get heard in a meeting, you’re facing the kind of workplace challenge we all run into sooner or later: you need a new performance. And the good news, Cathy Salit says, is that even though you might not have been onstage since you played a tree in third grade, you — and all humans — have an innate ability to perform, pretend, and improvise. Tapping into this ability is key to learning and growing in new, exciting and profound ways.… …

(Originally published on Delivering Happiness) We often think of happiness as a state of mind, but our physical bodies have a large impact on our well-being that goes beyond our physical health. Our bodies can either help or hinder our performance and well-being, on the job or at home, in more ways than are readily obvious. Our well-being is tied to our bodies in more ways than one. Our physical fitness can affect our moods, our energy levels, and our mental performance. Consider the following: Research has shown that just 15 minutes of exercise a day can help increase energy levels. According to the American Council on Exercise, if a sedentary individual begins an exercise program it will enhance the blood flow carrying oxygen and nutrients to muscle tissue improving their ability to produce more energy [the chemical adenosine triphosphate]. Physical… …

Did you miss our webinar today? No fear – you can see it here. Quick Recap: We had a very interesting webinar with Michelle McQuaid today, where she shared results from her survey of over 1000 companies and their views on strengths in the workplace. She shared statistics such as in 2015, 5 out of 10 people are building on their strengths. She also how shared how effective managers help their employees make changes as well as the benefits these companies are reaping. Who is Michelle McQuaid? Michelle McQuaid is a best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher and playful change activator. With more than a decade of senior leadership experience in large organizations around the world, she’s passionate about translating cutting-edge research from positive psychology and neuroscience, into practical strategies for health, happiness, and business success. An honorary fellow at Melbourne University’s Graduate School of Education,… …

Rational-choice theory attempts to explain human choice by assuming we are rational choosers, have well ordered preferences, and have information on costs and benefits. It also assumes we compare options on the basis of preference, value or utility. Additionally, the theory says that rational choosers should always be able to express their preferences. A rational decision maker, therefore, will look at all the options, choose the one that brings the most utility, and understand why the choice was made. But in economic theory, there hasn’t been enough study understanding from where our preferences come. Preferences are complicated because it includes human biases as well as culture. Barry Schwarz explores this shortcoming as well as gives us evidence-based advice on how we can make wiser decisions in his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. He lays out a compelling case for becoming a Satisfier (one who makes a decision when their criteria is met) over a… …

Did you miss Successfully Setting Boundaries by Mark Sachs? No worries!  We have you covered.  Check out our recording below. Mark give some very specific and usable advice including – Why it might be difficult for you to set a boundary – What you need to tell yourself that can help you set a boundary – The essential steps to being successful in setting them Mark Sachs, an executive coach for over 15 years, works with many leaders in the DC area. Past clients include NASA, National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and dozens of others. He has presented similar boundaries workshops in many organizations, where he gives real-life examples of boundary setting.

WalletHub published findings of a study by PNAS which found money does correlate with happiness, until about $75,000.  Check out the article here. Where does your state rate?  Dark blue – you are doing good….white? Well, not so much.

Part 7 of our “Cognitive Bias and Leadership” Series – See more here. On our January 16, 2013 blog, I gave an overview of cognitive bias (our tendency to filter information through our own past experiences, likes, and dislikes) and surmised that it can lead to judgments that are faulty.  So much of positive leadership is about good decision making so we really wanted to expand on different biases. In the 7th of our series, I am going to talk about the Mere-Exposure Effect – the tendency to prefer things because we are familiar with them.  What this means is that if you have been exposed to something prior, you will tend to favor it over something to which you have never been exposed…this could be a person, a product, a place, an event – you name it.  In fact, if you have ever been to a concert, I am sure you saw this phenomenon in action.… …