Research

Ep 225. Lynda Gratton: Redesigning Work

Ep 225. Lynda Gratton: Redesigning Work

Lynda Gratton is a Professor of Management Practice at London Business School She has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by HR Magazine and named by 'Business Thinkers 50' as one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world. Stew talks with Lynda Gratton about her latest book, Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organization and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone. To capitalize on the opportunities created by the revolutionary changes occurring in the world of work...[Click for more]

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Ep 205. Katy Milkman: The Science of How to Change

Ep 205. Katy Milkman: The Science of How to Change

Katy Milkman is an award-winning behavioral scientist and the James G. Dinan Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She hosts Charles Schwab’s popular behavioral economics podcast Choiceology and is the co-founder and co-director of The Behavior Change for Good Initiative, a research center at the University of Pennsylvania with the mission of advancing the science of lasting behavior change. This work is being chronicled by Freakonomics Radio. Stew talks with Katy about her new book, How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Katy shares her very practical advice about how to craft a way to get things done that is tailored to your own particular stumbling blocks…[Click for more]

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Ep 200. Darby Saxbe: What Happens to Us When We Become Parents?

Ep 200. Darby Saxbe: What Happens to Us When We Become Parents?

Darby Saxbe is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California’s David and Dana Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Stew talks with Darby about her research on what happens to men and women when they become parents and how the pandemic has affected parents…[Click for more]

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Ep 183. Uma Naidoo, M.D.: This is Your Brain on Food

Ep 183. Uma Naidoo, M.D.: This is Your Brain on Food

Dr. Uma Naidoo, Harvard based psychiatrist, chef, and author of This is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, PTSD, ADHD, OCD and More, is regarded internationally as a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychiatry, having founded the first US hospital-based clinical service in this area. Uma describes to Stew, in very practical terms, the ways that different kinds of food affect our moods, well-being, and productivity…[Click for more]

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Ep 182. Dana Sumpter: Working Parents in Pandemic Times

Ep 182. Dana Sumpter: Working Parents in Pandemic Times

Dr. Dana Sumpter is an associate professor of organization theory and management at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business. Her research employs a cross-cultural lens in understanding social behavior at work, studying topics including energy, mindfulness, power, work/family enrichment, managerial systems, and work relationships. Stew and Dana discuss her new research, with her colleague Mona Zanhour, on mothers during the pandemic. Dana discusses best practices for working mothers, their partners in parenting, and their employers…[Click for more]

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Ep 174. Rita McGrath: Seeing Around Corners

Ep 174. Rita McGrath: Seeing Around Corners

Rita McGrath, Columbia Business School Professor, is an expert on inflection points. Her recent book Seeing Around Corners:How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen is about how effective leaders and teams see those shifts coming before they happen and can react in innovative ways to succeed. Stew and Rita talk about how to see around unpredictable, unprecedented, or blind corners in order to make the best decisions during this pandemic period…[Click for more]

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Ep 173. Stefanie Johnson: Inclusify -- The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging

Ep 173. Stefanie Johnson: Inclusify -- The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging

Stefanie Johnson is an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business and her new book is Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams. Professor Johnson studies the intersection of leadership and diversity, focusing on how unconscious bias affects the evaluation of leaders and on strategies that leaders can use to mitigate bias. Stew and Stefanie talk about how she has evolved in her thoughts and feelings about what it takes to create cultures that both celebrate individual differences and build a sense of belonging among members…[Click for more]

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Ep 165. Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler: Free Yourself From Conflict

Ep 165. Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler: Free Yourself From Conflict

Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler is a leading expert on conflict and organizational psychology. She’s also the founder and CEO of Alignment Strategies Group, and author of Optimal Outcomes: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home and in Life. Stew and Jennifer discuss conflict, how to recognize your typical response patterns, and ways to capitalize on the emotions engendered by conflicts and use them to de-escalate and find a new way forward…[Click for more]

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Ep 164. Michelle Travis: Dads for Daughters

Ep 164. Michelle Travis: Dads for Daughters

Michelle Travis is a law professor at the University of San Francisco’s School of Law, where she serves as a Director of USF’s Labor and Employment Law Program. Stew and Michelle discuss her new book, Dads For Daughters: How Fathers Can Give their Daughters a Better, Brighter, Fairer Future, and the ways by which men can help empower women…[Click for more]

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Ep 162. Special Edition: Parents Who Lead

Ep 162. Special Edition: Parents Who Lead

Stew Friedman’s new book, Parents Who Lead: The Leadership Approach You Need to Parent with Purpose, Fuel Your Career, and Create a Richer Life, co-authored with Alyssa Westring, an Amazon #1 Bestseller in Work Life and i nominee for Dan Pink, Adam Grant, Susan Cain, and Malcolm Gladwell’s Next Big Idea Club. This episode features four working parents who talk about their experience with this evidence-based guide for action to improve their family and personal lives and their performance at work…[Click for more]

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Ep 157. David Fajgenbaum: Turning Hope Into Action

Ep 157. David Fajgenbaum: Turning Hope Into Action

David Fajgenbaum is Assistant Professor of Medicine, Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of a memoir called Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action. Diagnosed with Castleman’s disease while in medical school, David has dedicated his life to discovering new treatments and cures for deadly disorders like Castleman disease. Stew and David explore what it takes to successfully confront the trials we each face in life with hope, perseverance, and the critical importance of social support…[Click for more]

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Ep 152. Richard Boyatzis: Helping People Change

Ep 152. Richard Boyatzis: Helping People Change

Richard Boyatzis is Distinguished University Professor at Case Western Reserve University and is one of the world’s experts on emotional intelligence. His great new book is Helping People Change: Coaching with Compassion for Lifelong Learning and Growth. Stew and Richard talk about how anyone can be effective as a coach -- helping others learn and create sustainable change…[Click for more].

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Ep 151. Louis Gagnon: An App to Map Your Brain

Ep 151. Louis Gagnon: An App to Map Your Brain

Louis Gagnon is the CEO of Total Brain, which is a mental health and fitness platform powered by neuroscience. Stew and Louis talk about the development of the Total Brain company and its mission to help solve the mental health crisis at work…[Click for more]

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Ep 135. Emily Oster: An Economist's Parenting Wisdom

Ep 135. Emily Oster: An Economist's Parenting Wisdom

Emily Oster is Professor of Economics at Brown University and a mom of two. She has written two parent's guides to the chaos and frequent misinformation that often occurs in the early years of parenthood -- Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool and Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know. Stew and Emily discuss how a one-size-fits-all recommendations may not be accurate or useful for individual children, parents, and families….[Click for more]

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Ep 133. Josh Davis: Two Awesome Hours

Ep 133. Josh Davis: Two Awesome Hours

Josh Davis is the director of research for the NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI), a global institute dedicated to synthesizing scientific research and guiding its use in the business and leadership fields. Josh produced a wonderful book in which he shares this wisdom: Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work Done.  

Josh talks with Stew about strategies for creating the best conditions for two hours of extraordinary productivity each and every day in order to avoid feeling overwhelmed and, instead, to be more efficient, effective, and productive, with more of your attention available for the non-work sides of life... [Click for more]

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Ep 129. Jamie Ladge and Danna Greenberg: Maternal Optimism

Ep 129. Jamie Ladge and Danna Greenberg: Maternal Optimism

Jamie Ladge and Danna Greenberg are co-authors of Maternal Optimism: Forging Positive Paths through Work and Motherhood. Ladge is a Professor of Management and Organizational Development at Northeastern University. Greenberg is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Babson College. She studies work/life transitions. Stew talks with them about their findings, including the ways in which the transition to motherhood (and fatherhood) can, despite popular notions, have a salutary effect on your work life…[Click for more]

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Ep 120. Gretchen Spreitzer: Thriving at Work

Ep 120. Gretchen Spreitzer: Thriving at Work

Gretchen Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on employee empowerment and leadership development, particularly within a context of organizational change and decline. Her recent research examines how organizations can enable thriving. Gretchen co-authored How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact with Jane Dutton. Stew and Gretchen discuss the ways in which we have more control and discretion than we believe we have in order to make small, meaningful changes in our work, no matter what work we do and no matter where we fall in an organizational hierarchy…[Click for more]

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Ep 115. Michele Gelfand: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers

Ep 115. Michele Gelfand: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers

Michele Gelfand is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and author of Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. As a cross-cultural psychologist, Michele uses field, experimental, computational, and neuroscience methods to understand the evolution of culture and its consequences. Michele wants to help us understand the mindsets of those around us at work, at home, and in our communities to help increase self-awareness as well as an understanding of others’ perspectives…[Click for more]

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Ep 105. Daniel Goleman: Meditation Changes the World

Ep 105. Daniel Goleman: Meditation Changes the World

Daniel Goleman is an internationally known psychologist, author of the worldwide bestseller Emotional Intelligence, and more recently he is co-author of Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and Body. Daniel and Stew talk about the many ways in which meditation reaps benefits in all aspects of our lives and the ripple effects beyond ourselves for the greater good…[Click for more]

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Ep 91. Francesca Gino: Rebel Talent

Ep 91. Francesca Gino: Rebel Talent

Francesca Gino is a behavioral scientist and the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. She’s the author of Sidetracked and the new Rebel Talent. Francesca and Stew discuss the importance of being a rebel, the five key talents of rebels, common misconceptions about rebels, how to cultivate rebelliousness…[Click for more]

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