People Soup

Season 3 Episode 4 That's quite a title and this is quite a two parter. I was lucky enough to have the chance to discuss ACT in the workplace with Dr Paul Flaxman, Jaimie Persson and Leo Hepler. We explore the delivery of training based upon Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the workplace from three different perspectives. We have Paul Flaxman – together we redesigned an ACT in the workplace training protocol, which was then adapted by our colleague and pal – Jaimie Persson – to deliver to the students at Canada’s National Ballet School. One of the students was dancer – Leo Hepler – our star guest – who came on the show to reflect upon his experiences of receiving ACT training. In part 1 we talk about the ballet school and ballet company environment and hear how Jaimie (as a former student of the school) presented a compelling case to the Director – Mavis Staines – known for her progressive approach to education – to introduce the students to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. We also hear what Leo took away from the training. Show notes and links at www.peoplesoup.co Photo @photography_byash (insta)

Season 3 Episode 3 What fun we had recording this episode! There are two firsts, our first live recording with an audience and our first mash-up with Maddy Scott - one of the co-hosts of the Freaking the F Out Podcast! After sharing our freaks of the week we go on to share the first mention of Imposter Syndrome that we found in the literature in 1978. We give some example from our lives and them move on the consider what we can do about it. There are some tips from behavioural science as well as a sense of collective compassion - most of us are in the same boat with this experience of feeling like a phoney. Show notes at www.peoplesoup.co

Season 3 Episode 2 I was so pleased to have Guy as a guest - he's such an inspiration. This episode is packed with goodies. We discuss The Sleep School's approach to working with organisations, tracking devices and Guy generously offers a bumper selection of takeaways. I also get some personal advice on my coffee consumption which might be useful to more of the P-Soupers. Other links and show notes at www.peoplesoup.co

Welcome to Season 3 Episode 1. It's the first part of my conversation with Dr Guy Meadows - co-founder and clinical director of The Sleep School. We hear about Guy's background in sleep research and insomnia and what led to the formation of The Sleep School. It's fascinating to hear the series of events that began in the sleep laboratories of Imperial College. There's a glimpse into some of their research and an insight into the behavioural science behind The Sleep School. Guy noticed that "the more people struggle to get to sleep the more awake they became". Once he discovered Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), everything began to slot together.

Bonus Episode! Consider this a bridge to Season 3 of People Soup. As there's been a natural break I've decided it's the ideal time to launch a new season. I talk about the death of my beloved Mum and preview some of the guests I've got lined up for Season 3. The first one will drop next week - an interview with Dr Guy Meadows - co-founder and clinical director of The Sleep School.

Season 2 Episode 23 Here's Part 2 of my conversation with psychologist, Sarah Bonner. We focus in on Sarah's research into the experience of black women in the creative industries, it's called "Tapping into Black Magic." Sarah's brings her research to life using words from her research participants. She articulates the issues in a really clear and accessible way and talks about individual differences. The issue for us all is can we recognise what we do when we notice a difference - how does it show up in our behaviour? More details and show notes at www.peoplesoup.co

Season 2 Episode 22 What a guest I've got for you P-Soupers! Meet Sarah Bonner, organisational psychologist. In part 1 - Sarah tells us a bit about her career history, including a major change of direction. She also talks about her current role at Three Minute Mile. To finish there is a glimpse of Sarah's extraordinary research which explored the experience of black women in the creative industries. You can hear all about the research in the next episode.

Season 2 Episode 21 This week I was in central London with my ACT pal, Paul Flaxman - delivering a 2 day train the trainer workshop for our ACT in the workplace protocol. We finished the whole event with a poem from David Whyte - Start Close In. I thought the P-Soupers would like to hear it!

Season 2 Episode 20 Here I reflect on the Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg. Greta has taken action on an issue that she cares about deeply. I draw upon the work of Stephen Covey to consider how we can take action on issues that we're facing at work. There is definitely always one thing that we can control in our circle of influence - that is - how we show up. Show notes at www.peoplesoup.co

Season 2 Episode 19 This week, I welcomed our first guest of 2019 - a fellow organisational psychologist & talented researcher, Lauren May. Lauren presents her research on the lived experience of people at work who are also caring for loved ones with dementia. It's a great piece of research and a fascinating insight into the issues. The fact that many people who work also have caring responsibilities needs so much more exposure to enable us all to appreciate different situations and develop appropriate responses. Show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 18 I reflect on my week in relation to a metaphor about fish swimming in water and relate it to us humans swimming in our thoughts. Show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 17 Drawing on the popular hit parade I present two top tips for working with values. I use these frequently so I thought you might find them useful too. Shownotes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 16 Here I share a story from my life - about how I've worked with values. It's become quite popular in group training so I thought it was the right time to share it with the P-Soupers. I talk about how I translated a value into action and share the associated unhelpful content that came up for me. I give some tips on how to shift the relationship with the thoughts that can be unhelpful and make values a more prominent guide to our action. You can have a go using the list of values on the shownotes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk You can also win your own set of values cards by sharing this episode on linkedin, twitter, facebook and instagram before 17 January.

Season 2 Episode 15 This is Part 2 of my conversation with Joshua French and Jonny Line, who pioneer the use of positive psychology in organisations at Bailey and French. We begin by mulling over the ways we make the evidence base accessible and relevant through our training. The chaps then take us through the PERMA model and how they bring it to life in organisations. To finish off the episode (and the year), Joshua and Jonny each share excellent takeaways that we can all have a go at. Links and show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 14 For our Christmas Special let's dive into positive psychology with a two part-er featuring our friends, Jonny and Joshua from Bailey and French. Bailey and French are pioneers, they bring evidence based positive psychology to organisations to facilitate great performance and wellbeing. I was lucky enough to spend some time with the co-founder and lead consultant, Joshua French and business consultant (and friend of the show) Jonny Line. After our traditional introductions we hear a bit about Joshua's background and the conversations that led to the formation of Bailey and French. We also hear more about their approach to bringing positive psychology to organisations and their individual research interests - peak experience moments and psychological capital. We finish with a reflection on some memorable training moments. Links and show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 13 This episode is inspired by Teresa Jennings and Kristin Neff. I reflect upon various conversations I've had about self-compassion and talk through an exercise called "How would you treat a friend?" from Kristin Neff and share my own responses https://self-compassion.org/exercise-1-treat-friend/ Why not have a go? Links and show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 12 The conversation with Rafael Dubois continues. A common theme that he encounters with players is confidence - which is often misunderstood. We also talk about how they have established a coaching culture at the Blue Jays and created an environment where it is safe for players to talk to a coach without feeling vulnerable. We finish with a brilliant takeaway as Rafael introduces non-negotiables! Show notes and links at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 11 I loved this conversation with Rafael. We chat about his career path and his purpose - which he discovered at an early age, he loves listening to people. We talk about the context he brings to his role and his stance in his role as a coach. You'll also hear about the complex structure of the Blue Jays - there are 9 teams and there are coaches for pitching, catching and hitting! Hope you enjoy it! Show notes You can find Rafael on twitter @rafaeldubois and on LinkedIn Links and shownotes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

This is the second part of my conversation with Paul and Joe. We chat about the versatility of the ACT model & some hot topics including Relational Frame Theory and data from our research. Me and Paul talk about our workshop in March - it's a train the trainer two day event for our ACT in the workplace protocol. There's a discount code for 10% the workshop over at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk The chaps finish off with a couple of cracking takeaways.

Season 2 Episode 9 Here's the first part of my chat with Dr Paul Flaxman and Dr Joe Oliver a couple of weeks ago. We talk about their journey into ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and what attracted them about the approach. They go on to speak about the impact of ACT on their own lives and how they use it in their work. We finish Part 1 with some reflections on the ACT Matrix. Show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk

Season 2 Episode 8 What an absolute delight to spend some time chatting with Nicky Hemmings - lead psychologist at Soma Analytics. We discussed evidence based psychology in the workplace and the very new Evidence Based HR Forum set up by Nicky, MaddyScott, Craig Tindall and Professor Rob Briner. Nicky talks us through the evolution of the Soma App - called Kelaa - how people interact with it - the data it can produce for organisations and the wider support they provide. What I particularly love is the story of how Soma came about through an experience with a friend of the co-founders Christopher Lorenz and Johann Huber. We reflect on contributing to improvements to mental health at work and Nicky introduces the frog - which is used across the team at Soma - to help them get stuff done. Nicky also gives a glimpse of the research that Soma will be publishing soon - showing improvements across stress, sleep and well-being through use of the Kelaa app. Other links and show notes at www.rossmcintosh.co.uk