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In this episode, Neha speaks to Steve Graef, a counseling psychologist with specific expertise in sport and performance psychology. Neha digs into Steve’s background, how he came to found Mindurance, and how he continues to use his guiding principle – LEGS – in his life and work. Their conversation considers both the theoretical and practical aspects of choosing to “dance” on your own terms. A thoroughly engaging, “excellently average” episode, we hope you find it insightful and enjoyable!  Steve and Neha reference Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek a couple of times during their conversation Details of that book are  Ferriss, T. (2007). The 4-hour workweek: Escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich. Crown Publishing Group.  Steve also mentions his past experience with Gestalt training, including “polarities.” If you wish to read a bit more about such polarities, I suggest the following:  Maurer, R. (2002). Managing polarities: An interview with Barry Johnson, Ph.D. Gestalt Review 6(3), 209-219.  Reach out to Dr Steve Graef via https://www.linkedin.com/in/drstevegraef/  or follow him on Instagram https://linktr.ee/mindurance As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In this spotlight episode, Tolga shines a light on talent selection with Dr. Richard Hossiep. Richard is the co-founder and managing director of Applysia, a company that supports clients across industries with their unique assessment software. As an organizational psychologist with a diverse set of experiences including academia, consulting, and being a business leader, Richard has developed his keen interest in talent selection. Listen in as Tolga and Richard discuss the importance and impact of doing talent selection well.  As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

This episode is a conversation between Neha and former dancer/current movement teacher Hannah Teutscher. Both Hannah and Neha reflect on the impact of dance and movement in their lives and how movement helps connect our minds to our bodies and unlock new ways of thinking and feeling about ourselves and the world around us. We hope this episode inspires you to think about how movement, in line with your own needs and abilities, can help you tear down your own “armours” and connect to your own authentic self. Additional Resources Al-Fawakhiri, N., Kayani, S., & McDougle, S. D. (2023). Evidence of an optimal error rate for motor skill learning. bioRxiv, 2023-07. Hennah mentioned that for motor learning tasks, failure helps people learn faster. These researchers theorized that motor skill learning is best when the error rate is about 30% and found evidence to support their theory. Buckingham, M. (2022 May-June). Designing work that people love. Harvard Business Review. Neha mentioned that when people can shape their roles themselves, they and their employer are better off. This is an accessible read that integrates, among other things, the idea that when people are able to inject their own selves into to the design of their work, you get better results. Foss, N., Klein, P. (10 November 2022). Greater autonomy and responsibility may aggravate (not cure!) quiet quitting. London School of Economics and Political Science blog post. Neha mentioned that when people have complete freedom and no parameters, the lack of structure can actually impair performance. This is a blog post from the London School of Economics and Political Science about people’s preference for some degree of structure (i.e. predictability) in their work environment. Moore, C (8 January 2019) What is flow? PositivePscyhology.com. Hannah mentions how people can achieve flow through movement. If you’ve not heard this term before, here is a one-stop source about this psychological state as first popularized by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of experimental psychology: learning, memory, and cognition, 40(4), 1142. Neha talks about movement unlocking creativity, and this is a primary research sources for this connection. The link goes to a Stanford University news summary of the research, but you can also access the full research article via the news summary. As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In this spotlight episode, Tolga shines a light on leadership development journeys with Yang Zhang, a leadership and development coach and facilitator. What are leadership development journeys? What are the different parts of leadership development journeys? What are the key ingredients that set successful leadership development journeys apart? Listen in to all this and more as Tolga and Yang share their expertise, insights, and some of their personal stories as leadership development journey facilitators. Mentioned sources: Eurich, T. (4 January 2018). What self-awareness really is (and how to cultivate it). Harvard Business Review. Eurich, T. (19 October 2018). Working with people who aren’t self-aware. Harvard Business Review. As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In this episode, Neha talks to long-time friend Prakruti Nanda, a neuroscientist with a particular interest in trauma and its impact on our brains (as well as the rest of our body). Starting from what was the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prakruti and Neha examine their personal experiences during that time and the underlying processes in our brains that encode trauma. They finish with reflections on how similar processes are used formally in therapy and informally by as all to create positivity in a neurological system seemingly wired for surviving threats more than finding joy.  As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In this episode, host Tolga catches up with Dinesh Saparamadu, founder of the hSenid Group of Companies, whom Tolga worked with during the 2008 global financial crisis. Dinesh has built multiple companies over the years, and he and Tolga discuss how despite business successes and failures, Dinesh never lost his focus on the greater purpose of helping others develop their full potential through positive societal change.  Book mentioned during the episode:  Kim, W. C.; Mauborgne, R. (2015). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant (Expanded Edition). Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.  As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

No organization evolves faster than its leaders. In today’s spotlight episode, new host Tolga Mahlke talks to two leaders, Joachim (Joe) Stempfle and Chad Luxenburg, the founders of atrain-scitrain. Their “wild ride” of meeting as teenagers, forming a life-long friendship, and building atrain-scitrain was not without challenges. They share how their deep trust and shared values has been the foundation for meeting those challenges and reflect on how they have evolved as leaders and will continue to evolve to meet the challenges of the future.  Publications mentioned in the podcast  Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom.  Brown, B. (2015). Rising Strong.  As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

We are happy to announce that we have a new member of the Dropping your armour team: Tolga Mahlke. He will be sharing the host duties with Neha from now on. If you want to know a little more about who is Tolga, we created a short introduction for you. Enjoy and welcome Tolga! As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

Welcome to a spotlight episode on wellness in the workplace. Neha and Holly Pederzolli, a licensed clinical therapist, talk about their own struggles and successes with managing distractions, disconnecting, and dealing with stress so they can work at their best. They also consider how the modern, post-pandemic workplace can both contribute to burnout and offer solutions to burnout. We hope this spotlight episode helps you self-reflect on the boundaries and flexibility you might need to keep in a “healthy space” in your own life.  For some further reading on topics mentioned in the podcast  How burnout can change your brain: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2022/03/29/how-people-fall-apart-yale-faculty-discuss-the-impact-of-burnout-on-the-brain/   Four- day week: https://www.4dayweek.com/  Flow: https://positivepsychology.com/flow-at-work   Certified Angus Beef’s wellness program: https://news.certifiedangusbeef.com/certified-angus-beef-brand-earns-healthy-worksite-award/    4.08 Burnout and its increase since the pandemic 9.48 Why are we in this crisis of wellbeing? 17.18 Workplace Design: Flexibility and Performance 28.07 4 day work week impact on efficiency 31.47 The importance of deep connection 35.51 How to create an environment where people can thrive? As always please send your feedback to [email protected]  Enjoy this episode! Neha As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In this episode, Neha talks with Patrick Andrews, a lawyer, facilitator, and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in advising businesses and not-for-profits on their corporate structures and governance. Patrick goes by the description of “barefoot” lawyer, which to him means someone who makes law accessible, meets people where they are, and is connected to the earth. You know that quote from Joseph Campbell that goes “there is perhaps nothing worse than reaching the top of the ladder and discovering that you’re on the wrong wall”? Well, that’s what Patrick discovered in the course of his career and this conversation kicks off by unpacking that story and discovering what led him to finding his purpose. In addition, Patrick shares insights about the future of corporate structures and what it takes for organizations to make the shift towards structures that are more sustainable for their people and the planet. We found this conversation absolutely riveting and we hope you enjoy it, too. Time stamps: 8.48 Patrick's complete career shift 19.59 What to do, when the road get's rough? 23.39 Patricks new role and purpose 29.00 Looking into the movement of B Corps 44.00 Was the move of Patagonia radical? 50.00 Should the Government set a frame? As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

Welcome to our special end-of-year episode, where Neha talks with past colleague and current professional peer Brian Stoll. Together they reflect on what it means to them to drop your armor – at work, at home, and with friends. As part of this conversation, they also dig into sharing on social media, “emotionally unloading” to our friends and loved ones, perfectionism, psychological safety, and how all these different things can support, block, and degrade true vulnerability.  Useful resources for this episode  Bruk, A. (1 November 2021) Other people don’t think you’re a mess. Scientific American.  Bruk, A., Scholl, S. G., & Bless, H. (2018). Beautiful mess effect: Self–other differences in evaluation of showing vulnerability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115(2), 192–205.  Bruk, A., Scholl, S. G., & Bless, H. (2022). You and I both: Self-compassion reduces self–other differences in evaluation of showing vulnerability. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 48(7), 1054-1067.  Forest, A. L., Kille, D. R., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (2014). Discount and disengage: How chronic negative expressivity undermines partner responsiveness to negative disclosures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(6), 1013–1032.   Grant, A., & Brown, B. (2021). Taken for granted: Brené Brown on what vulnerability isn’t. TED.com podcast.  Rosh, L., & Offermann, L. (October 2013). Be yourself, but carefully. Harvard Business Review. As always please send your feedback to [email protected]  Enjoy this episode! Neha As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

In connection to the episode on creating a compassionate world (link), where we briefly touched on the philosophy of Buddhism, this spotlight episode explores this topic further. Today our guest host Joachim Stempfle is talking with Maurice Jonquet, a practicing Mahayana Buddhist. Together they discuss how we can apply the spiritual teachings in connection with neuropsychological aspects in our modern world and how it can help us on our journey to a more compassionate leadership. As always please send your feedback to [email protected]  Enjoy this episode! Neha As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

Guest host Joachim Stempfle speaks with Compassion Focused Therapy founder Paul Gilbert. Paul shares how his early training and experiences helped him appreciate the importance of compassion and explains how Compassion Focused Therapy is linked to both scientific realities and spiritual philosophies. Joachim and Paul also discuss how compassion is not just a therapeutic tool, but something that is essential to thriving schools and workplaces. Paul’s warmth is infectious, and we hope it provides you with some positive, uplifting “emotional textures” to take away.  To learn more about Paul’s work and Compassion Focused Therapy, visit the Compassionate Mind Foundation (https://www.compassionatemind.co.uk/). We also suggest the following books:  Gilbert, P. (2009). The compassionate mind. Robinson.  Gilbert, P., & Simos, G. (Eds.). (2022). Compassion focused therapy: Clinical practice and applications. Routledge.  As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

This is a Spotlight episode, where the goal is to shine a light on certain topics together with an expert and explore it through different lenses. In this episode, we discuss emotional agility: What it is, why it’s important, and how to develop it as a skill. We speak with Andreia Lungulescu, who is a hands-on people and organizational development consultant and coach with a passion for nurturing and championing human potential. She has a background in clinical psychology and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, with specializations in schema therapy, co-active coaching, and compassion-focused therapy. Her knowledge about human emotions and behavior, combined with her years of practical experience in organizations and her spot-on pop culture references, make this an insightful and fun conversation. Further readings and resources mentioned in this episode:  Brown, B. (2021). Atlas of the heart: Mapping meaningful connection and the language of human experience. Vermilion.  Interview of Brené Brown by Oprah Winfrey on this book and related topics: https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a38569758/brene-brown-o-talks/   David, S. (2016). Emotional agility: Get unstuck, embrace change, and thrive in work and life. Avery.  Brené Brown podcast (part 1) with Susan David: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-dr-susan-david-on-the-dangers-of-toxic-positivity-part-1-of-2/  Brené Brown podcast (part 2) with Susan David: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-dr-susan-david-on-the-dangers-of-toxic-positivity-part-2-of-2/   TED How To Be A Better Human podcast with Susan David: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-nurture-your-emotional-agility-with-susan-david/id1544098624?i=1000544114715   TED Talk by Susan David: https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_david_the_gift_and_power_of_emotional_courage  Frankl, V. E., (1959). Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press.   [Original German publication: Frankl, V. E. (1946). Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager. Verlag für Jugend und Volk]   Frankl, V. E. (1979). The unheard cry for meaning. Touchstone.  Nagoski, E. & Nagoski, A. (2019). Burnout: The secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine.  Brené Brown podcast on this book: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-with-emily-and-amelia-nagoski-on-burnout-and-how-to-complete-the-stress-cycle/  Sapolsky, R. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin.  Willcox, G. (1982). The Feeling Wheel: A tool for expanding awareness of emotions and increasing spontaneity and intimacy. Transactional Analysis Journal, 12(4), 274–276.  Films and television shows mentioned in this episode  Doctor, P. (2015). Inside Out [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Pictures. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2096673)  Nolan, C. (Director). (2010). Inception [Film]. Warner Bros.,;a Legendary E As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!

Neha has a moving conversation with Maysoun Ramadan, who has forged a long career in the healthcare industry. In this conversation, Maysoun describes how her values have informed and motivated her life and her work and helped her address her own personal experiences with illness and grief.  Additional resources and reading related to this episode:  There are many charitable organizations worldwide which provide bereavement support. In Europe, your can find a list of potential organizations in your country here.  Boccalandro, B. (21 January 2021). Why your values belong at work. Harvard Business Review.  Clear, J, (2018). Atomic habits: An easy and provien way to build good habits and bread bad ones. New York: Avery.  Rabow, M. W., Huang, C. S., White-Hammond, G. E., & Tucker, R. O. (2021). Witnesses and Victims Both: Healthcare Workers and Grief in the Time of COVID-19. Journal of pain and symptom management, 62(3), 647–656. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.01.139  As always please send your feedback to [email protected]  Enjoy this episode! Neha As always please send your feedback to [email protected] Enjoy this episode!