Being Yourself at Work to Create Better Work-Life Wellness

05/28/22 • 24 min

Dr. Laura and DDS Dobson-Smith, CEO of SoulTrained and author of “You Can Be Yourself Here: Your Pocket Guide to Creating Inclusive Workplaces by Using the Psychology of Belonging”, explore work-life wellness in their second conversation. DDS breaks down how a culture of belonging directly impacts wellness at work.

Dr. Laura and DDS share personal stories from their own lives that illustrate times when they didn’t feel that vital sense of belonging in a space. They explore the impact that had on their senses of self. DDS also likens work-life wellness, or “work-life blend” as they call it, to a pie and how each slice of your life is part of the overall pie in context. They discuss that choices in terms of time you give to work, hobbies or relationships mean other pieces of the pie must necessarily shrink to accommodate. DDS reveals the book and podcast they most recommend and their hope for how people can improve workplaces in the future.

“I love that you call it work-life wellness. Because I refer to it as work-life blend. And I just don't believe in the concept of work-life balance, because that phrase in and of itself is saying there's work and there's life. And I like to remind my clients that work is one context of life. And that your life is made up of many contexts. ... And so for me, work-life blend means being able to look at all of the contexts of my life, and approaching them, and experiencing them, in ways that are fulfilling.” - DDS Dobson-Smith

About DDS Dobson-Smith:

DDS Dobson-Smith is a licensed therapist, author, executive coach, speaker on leadership and growth, and a Reiki master — all in service of helping others grow and become who they are. They are the Founder and CEO of SoulTrained, an executive coaching and leadership growth consultancy. Their new book is called “You Can Be Yourself Here: Your Pocket Guide to Creating Inclusive Workplaces by Using the Psychology of Belonging”

DDS brings multi-sector global experience, decades of training in human potential, and enduring dedication to creating leaders who are worth following to everything they do.

They have notched up over 25 years of working in small, medium, and large corporations. They grew up in the hospitality industry and they started their career as a college professor teaching hotel and business management. They’ve since held a range of senior, executive, and C-Suite level roles across a host of sectors and companies.

DDS Dobson-Smith is certified as an Executive Coach by both the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring. They are credentialed with the International Coach Federation, and are a coach-supervisor through the Coaching Supervision Academy.

Resources:

Soul Trained

DDS Dobson-Smith Instagram

DDS Dobson-Smith LinkedIn

“You Can Be Yourself Here: Your Pocket Guide to Creating Inclusive Workplaces by Using the Psychology of Belonging” by DDS Dobson-Smith

“Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson

Scene On Radio Podcast - Season 2: Seeing White

Scene On Radio Podcast - Season 3: Men

Learn more about Dr. Laura on her website: https://drlaura.live

For more resources, look into Dr. Laura’s organizations:

Work EvOHlution

Synthesis Psychology