hello everyone and welcome back to
passion Sunday's the best way to end the
week and start another our guest today
specializes in turning toxic and
dysfunctional work environments into
high-performing ones
LeAnn fired they brush thank you very
much for being with us today
Raisa what an interesting specialty
you've got I mean you really go into the
mess and turn it into something good
that must take a lot of passion tell me
a bit more it does take a lot of passion
and you need to conserve your energy but
having had a premature baby at 25 who
was very sleepy and boring I decided I
wanted to start with group work and the
first gig I was ever given was with the
drink drivers who had to do their
courses in order to get their licenses
back and one day I vowed I would
actually work with people who really
wanted to be there and I still do a lot
of that that's the high-performing and
elite but then through a sliding doors
moment quite a few years ago I found
myself right back at dysfunctional and
toxic and when you achieve a
breakthrough and help people go from all
of that pain the lack of safety at work
the issues around grievances and the
taking of management time and the high
maintenance employee and you are in the
room when some sort of breakthrough
takes place it releases huge energy and
productivity and potentially profit for
the organization and more importantly
helps them safeguard against
reputational risk which in a modern
world of social media we're only ever
one click away from having to do scandal
handle I see that how do you keep the
passion going in environments like this
because that sounds like a lot of train
for the energy you got to go in and deal
with things that are not working and I
know the mind finds it like a puzzle but
after a while it might rub off on you
well I think that's true and and I'm
lucky in a way that I'm an
organizational psychologist because I
really try to practice what I preach
it's what I call green psychology it's
about energy conservation and I know if
I string together a number of days of
mediation and investigation work or
teams that are really stuck and that's
going to be my working week then I have
to make sure I mentally calibrate for
the fact that I'm likely to be tired or
drained and what am I going to do to
refresh me
but what I also look for is those poles
those moments where you see the lights
go on or two people sitting in a
mediation even when you're talking about
it on the platform and you're looking at
it that see your faces in the audience
as a keynote speaker and you see someone
gulp or you see tears come to somebody's
eyes or you see someone just breathe and
relax
they've hit upon something that's going
to be potentially momentous for them and
it's such a privilege when you're in the
room and that happens I love that and if
you're talking about finding passion
when times are tough when is it that you
feel I can go on and you know this is
too much for me and what is it that
really brings that down in you I think
sometimes you wrestle with your own
frustration and the ability to suspend
judgment because you're looking at
people sometimes who are so defended and
they either think they have all the
answers or they know they haven't got
all the answers but nothing and nobody
is going to change things for them and
they really are to use that you know
clinical word to you know impress you
they're stuck they're really stuck and
it's like if I looked in the mirror and
I actually took responsibility for my
choices to be pessimistic or abrasive or
cynical at work then I wouldn't feel
very good about myself the easiest thing
for them to do is rather than make
themselves feel terrible which does feel
yucky for people and destroys their
self-esteem they may project it on to
other people and say it's my manager
that's doing that this to me it's my
competitive jealous peer who is
frightened I'm gonna get a promotion
above them it's my organization that
says it's got all these wonderful values
on the world you know on high quality
paper behind perspex in the boardroom
with the marble table but they don't
actually care about me because it's too
hard for them to look in the mirror and
say I am partly the cause of my mindset
and I haven't professionally developed
myself and I've pushed back against
every change in the organisation and
I've made myself a prisoner and I've
forgotten did I have any choices so
instead I'm just going to think everyone
else some miserable sods and why don't
they cheer me up and make my
fantastic every now and then I get
frustrated with that and I know I do I
have to tap into that and say come on
Leanne suspend judgment come out of
judgment and just say there are so many
things that have happened to that person
before they walked into the room that
you are not responsible for but they
didn't necessarily choose for themselves
either how do you help somebody like
this because I know we're faced with a
lot of people like this I faced a lot of
people that are so lacking on passion
but I see the opportunity and I'm
looking and like I really want to help
them how can you help them if they've
already given up on themselves and is
there a way to do that also without you
playing the god they're all thinking
that you can't change people that don't
want to change well I think you've
answered your own question and I know
you're the interviewer but I think there
needs to be respect for the fact that
people's defense mechanisms are there
for a reason okay and that some people
if we actually start clawing away at
that and it's too much or it's too quick
for them they could actually crumble so
some people actually continue to keep
going and I'm not just talking about
mental health issues but continue to
keep going as that unhappy camper who
looks forward to coming to work to be
miserable because if they actually took
stock and they actually had a mindset
like yours or mine you doing what you're
doing and me doing what I'm doing they
would reach for that if they could but
unless there's sort of as we say in
psychology the psychological contract to
do that work with them I think I have to
have respect and just hope that maybe at
some point in their lives the bright
message will come along at the right
time in the right way and they will hear
it because that's what we want for them
but not everyone knows how to reach for
it as early as they might and there are
times in my life where I think Leanne
you big fat hypocrite you know you're
having a really negative day today or a
negative moment today and you choose
your own attitude and you've gotten
yourself in a bit of a funk all life
gets in the way as it can do and we're
all growing and learning all the time
but some people are scared of not being
good enough they're competing and
comparing so they're actually scared to
put themselves out there
case they don't measure up with their
own lofty expectations I see and it's
tough being in this skin well I guess as
you said we all do what we can for
somebody and we paved the way for the
next person we might not be the person
who changes their life but we're
definitely not geing them a step in the
right direction yeah at the right time
there's always that potential there's
always that potentially and this has
been awesome thank you very much I
realize if she'd given thank you thanks
man passion what do you think I would
really love to hear your opinion if you
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and until next episode live passionately
you
