Growth Hacking Culture

This pandemic has shifted the mindset of people from the intensity of work and indulging ourselves with instant gratification, pleasure to a time where corporates are talking about purpose at work, where individuals have started to reflect on giving meaning to their lives. These 2 years have been years of growth of life coaches, literature on self-development, podcasts trying to help people to find their own ways to fulfilment.

In today’s episode of Learn with Bessern we got a great guest Jason Merchey to give us insights about finding life purpose through the practice of wisdom. About Jason Merchey

Jason Merchey is a philosophical thinker. Jason STUDIED psychology and social behavior, he has a master’s degree in clinical psychology, and is a graduate in philosophy and ethics from Harvard University. Jason’s fourth book is entitled Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue That Cannot Be Bought. It is a unique combination of psychological research findings, philosophical principles, & personal insights.

Key take aways from the Podcast:

About work life

Jason said- It's great if a person can have like this alignment or confluence between what they're doing in their lives and what they love and there's a famous old quote, something like if you love what you do, you don't have to work a day in your life, Mark Twain said that.

About Intrinsic motivation

Jason said- It's only in the last five, six years that intrinsic motivation is something that is quite often measured at work by because they have noticed that when you go and pay and you do the typical motivator, tactic of the carrot and the stick, people are going to improve up to a certain level for a very short time intrinsic motivation depends on different factors. One of them being I decide how am I going to do the things that I when I know that direction, I decide by myself, I mastered what I do little by little and get a little bit more challenge. And the third debate that is related to what we are discussing today is about meaning that we need to find something that is beyond just providing extra money to the shareholders of the companies means to do something beyond ourselves or the society because we are doing something great in a company. And that's what really drives engagement with employees.

Wisdom depends on 2 human needs

One is about the need of becoming a better self actualization and the other one is transcendence to understand the overall my position in as a person in the world. The aspect of curiosity would be the second one. I would guess that this is something that it is quite important because if you don't are not asking yourself questions then what's the point you cannot acquire this? This wisdom?

Understanding wisdom

For a human being. It's a theory, but I think it I think it's pretty solid. I guess if I were to say, you know, seven things that I say describe wisdom, I would, I would probably connect it to things like you know, judiciousness, perceptiveness. You know, excellent reasoning, a kind of vision, keen introspection, the ability to relate well to other people, to see yourself as part of the system as part of as part of a whole, rather than being, let's say, selfish or self-concern. being ethical, kind of above all else being ethical. Let's see what else being able to manage emotion in a sense, to use your rational mind to combine with your emotional mind to get a product that is superior to just one or the other. That's the kind of what I call integration.

Wisdom is like an umbrella

that contains some emotional intelligence dimensions. It can also contain the aspect of critical thinking because you cannot be wise if you accept and absorb everything that you hear. You need to be able to select rationally.

Emotional intelligence has two aspects

in fact, one which is self-awareness, the building of self-awareness to so that you are not guided by this part of your brain that is just emotions but you activate the part of your brain that is more that is going to be judging what you're going to activate your critical thinking and about this idea of interactions because you cannot be wise if you are just in your room watching YouTube videos or reading books, you need this interaction because there needs to be a debate, because perspectives are going to build up your wisdom.

Wisdom is a is a learnable skill

The purpose why we were having this episode of learning with Bessern is to demystify the fact that wisdom is the stuff for an academical guy who is going to be reading many philosophers, but it is something that we can acquire because we have mentioned that in the area of wisdom there is a lot of emotional intelligence, art and literature in the last 10 years in emotional intel...

Despite increased efforts and awareness around diversity, inclusion, and social justice, neurodiversity continues to be an underrepresented part of most organizations’ DEIB strategy (diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging). Think about it in certain countries bipolar disorders can reach up to 4% of the population but we rarely hear about it at work.

Basically, we only have 2 conclusions about people with mental health disorders:

a) Either bipolar people are not well accepted in the workplace due to fear and misunderstanding.

b) Their mental illness is not something that prevents them from doing any job.

To tell you the truth –I don’t have the answer. That’s why I wanted to invite to Learn with Bessern someone who knows about it –not only because he acts as a counselor, but also because of his own experience with bipolar disorder. Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski is based in NY.

🔵 About our guest: Alfredo Borodowski Raised in Argentina he earned a law degree at the University of Buenos Aires then you were ordained as a rabbi and earned a doctorate in Jewish Philosophy from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he taught for over a decade.

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bipolarrabbi/

Website Bipolar Rabbi https://www.bipolarrabbi.com/

A little insight about bipolar disorder and its effects!!!

People with bipolar disorder have extreme mood swings that range from mania to depression. It affects an estimated 1 in 100 people worldwide, and research suggests a strong genetic component. Contrary to the myths about people with bipolar disorder, they generally don’t swing rapidly between moods from one moment to the next. Instead, they often experience weeks or months of depression, punctuated by manic episodes. During manic episodes, affected individuals might feel very up, energetic, and confident. However, during depressive periods, they may feel hopeless, angry, or suicidal. These individuals might feel incapable of keeping up with the commitments they made during a manic phase. They may also lose interest in things they usually love to do, or feel too tired to participate.

Insights from the podcast! Biggest misconceptions about Bipolar disorder!!!

We have to stop blaming people with mental illness.

There is nothing in the mental illness itself, that give that person the character of being dangerous. Clearly somebody who has a mental illness and he's not taking care and he's still taking care and he's bullied and it's abused. We have a health care system, where to get any calling was served before a mental illness became elaborate. That is impossible to manage.

People with severe mental illness such as depression can go up to harming themselves and committing suicide but it differs from person to person. They are usually of little to no harm to others.

What is the main responsibility of a person with a mental illness?

Depression is not a choice its a state of the body and the main responsibility of a person who is suffering from mental illness or mania is the responsibility towards themselves. This is in terms of watching who you are, the processes that follow and to have a plan set of action/ treatment.

Alfredo also points out towards the lack of resources that are available for people who require help or are in need to a psychiatrist.

What would Alfredo do to improve the challenges of people with Bipolar disorder?

Firstly, he would like to create a movement where by people suffering from the disorder come together and demand their rights as well as stand for their equality. He believes that the mental illness community has not yet come together to be a force for themselves. He would like to bring the wisdom of those with the illness and showcase it to the world.

*"Every person suffering from mental illness is a life coach to the world." If the wisdom is articulated in a correct manner the society will flourish regardless.

*Alfredo would also want to make his next book run interactive in nature. Every chapter will have a link then it can be checked it on acceptance with Chapter One shame the chapter on self esteem, the chapter on uncertainty accepted on goals a chapter on exhaustion, but each section of the chapter will have a link and the reader will click the link go to a website can give his or her own wisdom. We are going to create the collective wisdom of mental illness and we are going to move the discussion from being victims from being perpetrators from being escape goal to being agents of wisdom.

Does the discussion on mental illness actually take place?

The answer is NO. that the mental illness community has not yet a pixelated message by which they go to the world with a positive wisdom. Okay, but I tell you COVID should have changed the equation, because one of the thing...

Many organizations have embarked in reshaping their work culture - sadly the biggest challenge is on the way people can learn (and practice) the actual behaviors behind the new purpose and values. Indeed, this needs practice not slides!

My guest Priszcilla Várnagy is well known for her disruptive PUNK Attitude towards learning and it looks like this is the right time to rethink how people learns.

About Priszcilla Várnagy:

Priszcilla is the founder and CEO of Be-novative [Design Thinking Management Platform] and Superflow [the next-generation training platform supporting high-performing teams, coaches and creators].

Pris is recognized by Forbes 30under30, and the winner of several competitions (SingularityU's first Global Impact Competition in the CEE region, The Next Web's Innovation Challenge, TechMatch Europe Silicon Valley, Morgan Stanley CTO Summits).

• You can reach out Pris here https://www.linkedin.com/in/priszcilla/
• Want to try SuperFlow? Ivan Palomino has designed its own "Flow" - The personal growth canvas aligns (📝 All in 1 page)
  ⭐ Values
  ⭐ Passions
  ⭐ Impact
  ⭐ Purpose
  ⭐ Commitments for learning, actions and risk taking
  ⭐ What you plan to let go to achieve your Goals

Try it here https://app.superflow.team/flow/my-personal-growth

What I discussed with Priszcilla Várnagy:

• The top challenges that organizations have to scale up great work cultures
• What is a great work culture - from the psychology point of view
• Today 90% of corporates are operating with 2 options to upskill people - traditional delivery (couple of hours of face to face training) or through elearnings - what results should corporates expect?
• Organizations have become more aware of the need for human centric cultures - what options do organizations have to train their people?
• What does science tell us about how the brain learns
• The expectations on agility in business is not inline with the need of scalable upskilling at work - business says: too long, too expensive, not practical, not available when needed.... if you had a magic wand ... what would you do?
• What would you say to someone who is scared of changing the current paradigm on training?

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This episode is hosted by Ivan Palomino - He is a Learning Strategist and Behavioral Designer. He helps organizations build human-centric work cultures.

He is the co-author of the book: The Rough Guide to Awesome Leadership - A brain friendly approach to take action and be an inspiring leader. Learn more at https://www.ivanpalomino.net/books

In the dynamic arena of the workplace, where personal bonds thrive and protective measures ensure employee well-being, there exists a silent specter: the pervasive sense of fear that often remains unspoken. According to a recent survey conducted by LiveCareer in 2023, a staggering 87% of respondents admitted to grappling with work-related fears.

Among the most prevalent anxieties were concerns about committing errors (77%), the daunting prospect of public speaking (72%), the specter of termination (67%), the fear of being unpopular among peers or superiors (64%), and the weighty responsibility of decision-making (63%). Discover more about navigating the intricacies of workplace dynamics and addressing the unspoken fears that hinder professional growth.

About Alei Hassanein [author of La Tyrannie de l'Hibiscus]

Alei stands us a recognized pundit in the realm of transformational thought leadership. With a wealth of experience spearheading over 100 multi-million Euro strategic transformation initiatives spanning 4 continents and 20 countries, his expertise transcends industries, encompassing life sciences, industrial, financial, and humanitarian sectors.

As the visionary co-founder of Obicio, Alei's insights have reshaped organizational mindsets, offering compelling alternatives to navigate the pervasive impact of fear in today's workplace landscape.

Alei Hassanein is the author of the novel "The Tyranny of the Hibiscus" is available now in French. This book explores fear in the professional world - Fear, the formidable force that can paralyze our actions and distort our decisions. → https://amzn.eu/d/jgkwenf

Reach out Alei in LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/aleihassanein/

or in his consulting practice Obicio's Website https://www.obicio.com/

What We Discussed in this Episode:

Unveiling Workplace Fears: Identifying Common Types in Modern Organizations
- The Acceleration of Fear: Examining its Rapid Spread Compared to a Decade Ago
- Assessing Organizational Fear: Tools for Companies and Individuals to Gauge Cultural Anxiety
- Fear's Roots: Investigating Origins in Society, Family, and Work Environments
- Fostering Psychological Safety: Practical Approaches for Fear Reduction in Businesses
- Kindness in Business: A Paradigm Shift Towards Productivity and Growth
- Integrating Fear Management for Holistic Organizational Development

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Sign up for the Simply Human Newsletter (monthly email newsletter): https://simplyhuman.substack.com

Follow the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast: https://www.peoplekult.com/podcast-work-culture

Follow Ivan Palomino on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanpalomino_

Follow Ivan Palomino on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipalomino/

About the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast

The Growth Hacking Culture Podcast is a series of insightful interviews with prominent experts on mindsets, skills and mental resources to grow individually, lead motivated teams and create human-centric work cultures. These episodes are about thought provoking ideas to scale up and growth hack human-centric and performing work cultures. Hosted by Ivan Palomino.

This episode is sponsored by:

PeopleKult [behavioral science, tech and analytics to scale up the next generation work culture]

The Cornerstone Advisory [innovation, performance and growth for future-focused organizations]

Today's episode tackles a challenge that's become increasingly relevant in our ever-evolving work landscape: building belonging in a virtual world.

Did you know that over 70% of remote workers feel isolated or lonely? While the flexibility and convenience of remote work are undeniable, the lack of physical connection can take a toll.

This episode is your roadmap to fostering a sense of belonging in your virtual team. We'll be diving deep into the science behind connection, exploring practical strategies for building camaraderie, and uncovering the unexpected benefits of strong virtual relationships.

About Kevin Finke

Founder of Experience Willow, he is a highly acclaimed experience consultant renowned for advising business leaders on the crucial role of creating inclusive and belonging-focused workplaces.

Learn more about Kevin Finke on:

www.kevinfinke.com

https://www.experiencewillow.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfinke/

What We Discussed in this Episode about Belonging in a Virtual World:

Identifying Major Roadblocks in Remote Work Environments
- Impact of Loneliness on Remote Workers
- Leveraging Neurochemicals for Building Belonging
- Fostering Team Spirit in Remote Work
- Encouraging Informal Interactions in Remote Teams
- Integrating New Team Members in Remote Settings
- Designing Inclusive Remote Work Environments

Bonus reading on Belonging at Work:

The Need of Belonging at Work: How it Affects Employees and Organizational Success https://www.peoplekult.com/post/the-need-of-belonging-at-work-how-it-affects-employees-and-organizational-success

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Sign up for the Simply Human Newsletter (monthly email newsletter): https://simplyhuman.substack.com

Follow the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast: https://www.peoplekult.com/podcast-work-culture

Follow Ivan Palomino on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivanpalomino_

Follow Ivan Palomino on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipalomino/

About the Growth Hacking Culture Podcast

The Growth Hacking Culture Podcast is a series of insightful interviews with prominent experts on mindsets, skills and mental resources to grow individually, lead motivated teams and create human-centric work cultures. These episodes are about thought provoking ideas to scale up and growth hack human-centric and performing work cultures. Hosted by Ivan Palomino.