Today’s Guest:

This week, I am joined by Linda Robson.  Linda is a scholar practitioner, blending work in executive education with consulting and coaching around the elevation of organizations and the individuals who work within them.  Linda received her Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.  She studied with David Cooperrider and Ron Frey.  She is an advisor at the Fowler Center for Sustainable Value. Linda also helped write The Flourishing Enterprise: The New Spirit of Business. 

In this conversation, you will hear Linda share her fascinating research on the language used by high performing teams and why the words we speak impact the results we are able to achieve particularly in organizational change programs.  Linda also shares while simply being more positive is not enough, why we need to acknowledge the sense of loss that any change in our workplaces can bring and the practical things leaders can do to use language to improve people’s wellbeing at work.

Connect with Linda Robson:

Email – Linda.Robson@Case.edu

GET YOUR FREE MAKING IT WORK CHEATSHEET

 You’ll Learn:

• [02:20] – Linda explains why Professor David Cooperrider believes her research will be so influential in helping organizations navigate change.
• [04:23] – Linda defines and describes mirror flourishing.
• [06:55] – Linda shares why language plays such a large role in our interactions with each other and our willingness to embrace and act upon change.
• [07:48] – Linda talks about what positive and negative language sounds like, in the workplace.
• [09:07] – Linda explains that the use of positive language is a missed opportunity.
• [12:18] – Linda shares what we can do to help leaders be more strategic in their language.
• [14:40] – Linda talks about the idea of some forms of negative language being helpful with change in workplaces.
• [20:20] – Linda explains what a flourishing enterprise looks like.
• [22:56] – The Lightning Round with Linda Robson.

Your Resources:

• Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership – George Kohlrieser
• Taming Your Gremlin: A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way – Rick Carson
• The Positive Organization: Breaking Free from Conventional Cultures, Constraints, and Beliefs – Robert E. Quinn

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for joining me again this week.  If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of this post.

Please leave an honest review for the Making Positive Psychology Work Podcast on iTunes. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated. They do matter in the rankings of the show, and I read each and every one of them.  And don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes to get automatic updates. It’s free!

You can also listen to all the episodes of Making Positive Psychology Work streamed directly to your smartphone or iPad through stitcher. No need for downloading or syncing.

Until next time, take care!  Thank you Linda!