The Growth League

Latest Episodes:

Kelly McGonigal Part 1 – The Upside of Stress – Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at It. Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

My guest this week is Kelly McGonigal. Kelly is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who specializes in understanding the mind-body connection. She is the best-selling author of The Upside of Stress – the book we discuss in part one of this show. Kelly's TED talk on the topic, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time, with over 20 million views. And I can't stress enough how much her perspective, and research, have altered my relationship with stress.

In part two of the show, we discuss Kelly's brand-new book, The Joy of Movement, which explores why physical exercise is a powerful antidote to the epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Kelly tackles some of the biggest myths about exercise and shares some very interesting research to explain exactly what movement and exercise does to us and how to harness its effects!

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
A bank that prides itself on how it treats both it's employees and it's customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
Get a better nights sleep with the Purple mattress. To get the Purple pillow I covet for FREE with the purchase of your mattress, just text the code "DIANA" to 84-888. And you can combine this offer with what they have on the site!
Get 1/2 of your daily fruits and vegetables in a convenient shot!: https://superfoodshot.co and use code DIANA at checkout for 30% off!
The Upside of Stress book we discussed: https://amzn.to/2sNVSvm
The Joy of Movement book we discussed: https://amzn.to/35sIIBs
Kelly McGonigal online: http://kellymcgonigal.com/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Tiny Habits Are The Secret to Transformative Change with BJ Fogg Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

BJ Fogg is a Social Science Research Associate at Stanford, author, and the founder and director of the Stanford Behavior Design Lab.

In February, 2018, Wired Magazine claimed Fogg's "Stanford lab created the formula to make technology addictive." The article said that Fogg’s lab "was a toll booth for entrepreneurs and product designers on their way to Facebook and Google. Students included Nir Eyal, the bestselling author of the book, Hooked, Ed Baker, who would later become the Head of Growth at both Facebook and Uber, and Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Instagram.

BJ and I discuss his brand new book Tiny Habits, The Small Changes that Change Everything.

The book is based on 20 years of research and BJ's experience personally coaching over 40,000 people.

The content in the book is practical, immediately applicable and most importantly brand new. Tiny Habits is unlike any habits book you have ever read.

BJ and I are going to discuss:

Why you shouldn't rely on willpower to create new habits
Why emotion rather than repetition is the secret to creating habits
Why tiny habits are the key to transforming your life,
And how BJ's methodology was the secret to Instagram's success on habit formation

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
A bank that prides itself on how it treats both it's employees and it's customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
Get a better nights sleep with the Purple mattress. To get the Purple pillow I covet for FREE with the purchase of your mattress, just text the code "DIANA" to 84-888. And you can combine this offer with what they have on the site!
Get 1/2 of your daily fruits and vegetables in a convenient shot!: https://superfoodshot.co and use code DIANA at checkout for 30% off!
The Tiny Habits book we discussed today: https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Habits-Changes-Change-Everything/dp/0358003326
BJ Fogg online: https://www.bjfogg.com/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dare to Lead From Brene Brown with Candy Smith Dec 16, 2019

Show notes

Today, I'm discussing Brene Brown's book Dare to Lead with my therapist Candy Smith.

You remember Candy from earlier this season when we talked about shame. (incredible episode, if you haven't heard it, you've got to make that your next listen) Candy has been a licensed therapist for several decades. She specializes in working with adults, and children with trauma. That's how I met her. And every time I talk to her, I wish I had a pen and paper handy to write down her insights.

In Dare to Lead, Brene teaches us that leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It’s about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage. The world is desperate for braver leaders. It’s time for all of us to step up. Brene has written the ultimate playbook for developing brave leaders and courageous cultures.

And today, Candy and I are going to dive deep into the work and discuss:

The connection between courage and vulnerability in the workplace
How our time management sabotages our courage and creativity
How "failure is not an option" and "culture of excellence" only increases risk inside of an organization, and
Candy defines pronking and tells us why it's the best way for a leader to introduce courage and vulnerability to their team.

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker that doesn't shame you, butactually helps you make positive changes in your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
A bank that prides itself on how it treats both it's employees and it's customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
The Brene Brown book we discussed today: https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Lead-Brave-Conversations-Hearts-ebook/dp/B07CWGFPS7
Candy online: https://www.candysmithcounseling.com/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Insight: The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think with Tasha Eurich Dec 09, 2019

Show notes

Research shows that self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—is the foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships. There’s just one problem: most people don’t see themselves quite as clearly as they could.

While 95% of us identify as self-aware, only 10% to 15% actually are.

Dr. Tasha Eurich, a New York Times best-selling author and organizational psychologist has spent the last five years studying self awareness. Her clients include organizations like T-Mobile, KPMG, Walmart, IBM, Royal Bank of Canada, Vail Resorts, and the Miami Heat. Thinkers50 has named her one of the top 30 emerging management thinkers in the world and a top 50 World Leader in Coaching, and she ranked #13 on the GlobalGurus list of organizational culture experts.

Tasha and I are going to talk about:

Why self awareness isn't just about uncovering all the ways you are failing, it's also about understanding our unknown strengths
How to balance the perception of others with how we see our selves and our values, and
The two questions Tasha teaches all her clients to get honest feedback

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
Insight Book: https://www.amazon.com/Insight-Surprising-Others-Ourselves-Answers/dp/0525573941/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Tasha Online: http://www.tashaeurich.com/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How To Have Conversations That Matter with Celeste Headlee Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist, professional speaker and author of We Need To Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter. In her 20-year career in public radio, she anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Celeste’s TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 19 million views.

As an NPR host and journalist, Celeste has interviewed hundreds of people from all walks of life. Through her work, she sheds a much-needed light on the lost and essential art of conversation.

Celeste and I discuss:

How people usually mess up a good conversation
Why the smarter you are, the worse you probably are at having conversations
The biggest misconceptions people have about being good at conversation, and
How to ask much better questions

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
Amazing kids activity in a box: http://kiwico.com/diana
Celeste online: https://www.celesteheadlee.com/
We Need To Talk Book: https://www.amazon.com/We-Need-Talk-Conversations-Matter/dp/006266901X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=celeste+headlee&qid=1575250916&s=books&sr=1-1
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Create a Fearless Organization with Amy Edmondson Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

The reason you need to know and understand Psychological Safety is that study after study has demonstrated that it is the highest predictor of team performance. Google conducted a 2 year study in which they analyzed over 150 different factors to understand what created successful teams and they found psychological safety to be the number one predictor of success. A Gallup study found that psychological safety can lead to 27% reduction in turnover, a 40% reduction in safety incidents, and a 12% increase in productivity.

And here's the kicker. We need psychological safety today more than ever. The Project Management Institute reported that project success is at its lowest in years. They found that fewer major projects were completed on time and within budget in 2016 than in 2012. As they interviewed teams about the reasons for this decrease they heard a common theme: projects fail because teams don’t know how to communicate, organize, and prioritize.

Look, I'll save you all the research and just share that investing in psychological safety is one of the most important things you can do to increase the performance of your team and organization. And today I get to discuss it with the woman who coined the term and is responsible for groundbreaking research on the topic.

Amy Edmondson is a Professor at Harvard Business School. She studies teaming, psychological safety, and leadership. She has been recognized by the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers. And just this month, she was recognized as the Winner of the Thinkers50 2019 Breakthrough Idea Award for her book, The Fearless Organization, which we are discussing today. And before her academic career, she was Director of Research at Pecos River Learning Centers, where she worked on transformational change in large companies.

I'm excited to share this awesome conversation on how to create a culture where it’s “safe” to express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes.

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
Get 1/2 of your daily fruits and vegetables in a convenient shot!: https://superfoodshot.co and use code DIANA at checkout for 30% off!
The Fearless Organization: https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Organization-Psychological-Workplace-Innovation/dp/1119477247
Amy online: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How to Not Get Kidnapped or Assaulted with Tim Larkin Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

Today, my guest is Tim Larkin. A former military intelligence officer and creator of the Target Focus Training, Tim has a 25 year career in which he has trained people in 52 countries in how to deal with imminent violence. A New York Times Bestselling author, Tim has trained over 10,000 clients on how to use physics and physiology to injure any human(s) trying to attack you.

Tim and I are going to talk about:

Why most programs that teach self-defense make a huge mistake in what they teach
Why you need to understand the difference between antisocial and sociopathic behavior to know when violence is your only answer
How to get into the proper mindset to protect yourself
The best way to injure someone quickly to allow yourself to get away

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker to optimize your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
The bank that won't charge you fees for banking: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
Tim Larkin:https://timlarkin.com/
The book we discussed today: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609613589/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana Kander Online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sleep is a Performance Enhancing Drug with Kristen Holmes Nov 11, 2019

Show notes

My guest today is Kristen Holmes, Vice President of Performance at WHOOP. As you know, whoop is a sponsor of the show, but that's not why Kristen is here. I wanted to talk to an expert about sleep and actually understand much more about the analytics I've been getting from my whoop band, and I was so excited to talk to Kristin.

I used to think that sleep was something you had to endure to be able to function, but I've learned that sleep is an amazing miracle process that makes you function at your best and regenerates and restores your body each and every night… If you let it.

Kristen works with thousands of the best professional and NCAA athletes in the world. If your favorite athlete is having trouble sleeping, she’s the one they would call to help understand and interpret their data and figure out what to do about it. Kristen is also an amazing athlete and coach in her own right. She’s a former member of the U.S. National Field Hockey Team, as well as one of the most successful coaches in Ivy League history, having won 12 league titles in 13 seasons and the first national championship ever for Princeton University.

Kristen and I are going to talk about:

Why sleep is more important than nutrition, exercise, and anything else you could do to improve your life
What are the different stages of sleep and how can you maximize the ones you needWhat is sleep hygiene and how to develop your routine
The 90 second habit you need to adopt to increase how quickly you get to sleep at night
How to go back to sleep in the middle of the night

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker optimizes your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
A bank that prides itself on how it treats both it's employees and it's customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
Get a better nights sleep with the Purple mattress. To get the Purple pillow I covet for FREE with the purchase of your mattress, just text the code "DIANA" to 84-888. And you can combine this offer with what they have on the site!
The Sleep book we discussed today: https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=why+we+sleep&qid=1573439408&sr=8-3
Kristin online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-holmes-b9b44647/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What the most successful people do before breakfast with Laura Vanderkam Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

I've stayed away from productivity books and talks like they were the flu. I just didn't think I needed efficiency in my life. I didn't want to hear their email hacks or their prioritization matrix.

And then I came across the work of Laura Vanderkam and understood just how wrong I had been all this time. Productivity isn't about being a more efficient cog at work. Productivity is about managing your life in such a way to significantly increase how much fun you're having and how much growth you're achieving.

Laura is the author of several time management and productivity books, including Juliet’s School of Possibilities, Off the Clock,I Know How She Does It, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, and 168 Hours. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall StreetJournal, Fast Company, and Fortune. She lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and four kids.

Laura and I are going to discuss:

The biggest question you can ask yourself to increase the time you have available each day
How we ruin the free time we do have
How to help yourself do the things you really want out of life
The tool Laura recommends to help you find all the free time you actually need
How to change your morning routine to be a lot more fun and productive

Important Links for the Show:

The ultimate fitness tracker to help you make positive changes in your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
A bank that prides itself on how it treats both it's employees and it's customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up, including a book that we discuss on the show!
The ultimate STEAM project each month: http://kiwico.com/DIANA - my code gets your first month free
Laura's book that we discussed today: https://www.amazon.com/What-Successful-People-Before-Breakfast/dp/1591846692/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=laura+vanderkam&qid=1572821941&sr=8-4
Laura's website: https://lauravanderkam.com/
The time tracker worksheet: https://lauravanderkam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/168-hours-v2.pdf
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High-Performing Teams with Paul Zak Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

Did you know that every interaction you have with someone releases chemicals in their brain? And if you can release the right chemicals, you can increase, trust, cooperation, performance in significant ways?

Paul’s two decades of research have taken him from the Pentagon to Fortune 50 boardrooms to the rain forest of New Guinea.

His latest book, Trust Factor: The Science of Creating High Performance Companies, uses neuroscience to measure and manage organizational cultures to inspire teamwork and accelerate business outcomes. His 2012 book, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity, recounted his unlikely discovery of the neurochemical oxytocin, which we'll cover a lot in this episode, as the key driver of trust, love, and morality that distinguish our humanity.

Here are his specs: Paul is the founding Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and Professor of Economics, Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University. He has degrees in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University, a Ph.D. in economics from University of Pennsylvania, and post-doctoral training in neuroimaging from Harvard.

Paul’s research on oxytocin and relationships has earned him the nickname "Dr. Love." He’s all about adding more love to the world.

Paul and I are going to discuss:

Small things anyone can do to create more trust
What you can do if you are not the leader of your team to increase trust
How long it takes to create a culture of trust
Why over half of all change management initiatives fail
The business case for increasing trust in your company
Why the way most companies do annual performance reviews damage culture and trust

Important Links for the Show:

The fitness tracker that helps you make positive changes in your life: https://www.whoop.com/ and use code DIANA at checkout for 15% off!
The bank that creates a lot of trust with its customers: http://nbkc.com/diana - get a box of awesome Professional AF stuff for signing up!
Get 1/2 of your daily fruits and vegetables in a convenient shot!: https://superfoodshot.co and use code DIANA at checkout for 30% off.
Paul J. Zak: https://www.pauljzak.com/
Professional AF Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/943925015810362/
Diana online: www.DianaKander.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected