Synopsis
It was psychologist Abraham Maslow who said "A first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting." That was the starting point for my blog and this podcast. More than ever the world of work is a heady mix of people, behaviour, events and challenges. When the blend is right it can be first-rate. Behavioural science has a lot to offer in terms of recipes and ingredients - welcome to People Soup.
Episodes
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ACT and Authentic Leadership FM
09/11/2023 Duration: 11minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 32 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. It's a bit different this week. It's a solo episode, a cup-a-soup if you like. What I want to do is build on the idea I shared earlier this year about having a separate sister podcast of PeopleSoup for leaders. One where they can tune in and really hear about bite sized practical skills that they can use to develop and evolve their own authentic leadership style. So I wanted to present my emerging idea to you all and hopefully get your views.Think of this as a kind of, discussion paper if you like. I'd love to get your ideas and views on how ACT can support the development and evolution of authentic leadership. I've called the episode Act and Authentic Leadership FM. And Authentic Leadership FM is the new holding name for what will perhaps be a spin off podcast.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all
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Imposter No More with Dr Jill Stoddard
02/11/2023 Duration: 42minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 31 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers, It's the second part of my chat with Dr Jill Stoddard, psychologist, author, TEDx speaker and podcaster. Jill's latest book is called, "Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career". In this episode we start with my review and then you'll hear about how the idea for writing the book emerged after a well received conference panel discussion. We move on to the different types of imposterism and how Jill recognised the importance of the work or life situation and how she could draw upon her expertise in contextual behavioural science to offer something different and useful. Wow - there's so much more that we cover including the experience of marginalised groups, recommendations for future research, the dedication in the book to Leann Harris and Jill's brilliant takeaway.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural scienc
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Meet Dr Jill Stoddard
26/10/2023 Duration: 33minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 30 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers, I'd like you to meet Dr Jill Stoddard, psychologist, author, TEDx speaker and podcaster. Jill's latest book is called, "Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career". But before we talk about the book - let's get to know Jill a bit better.In this episode you'll hear how Jill's career in psychology evolved, how her prowess in watersports has developed, how she discoved ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and it's impact in her life. You'll also hear about the roots of the book, how she responded to a one star review and Jill's song choice - which also includes some special guest vocals.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for
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"The Overthinker's Guide to Life" with Andrew Sewell
19/10/2023 Duration: 33minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 29 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. And P soupers - that little teaser at the beginning was from the very end of my chat with Andrew Sewell. We'd finished the formal interview and he reflected on my observation of his creativeness coupled with his doubt - when I was coaching him about 8 years ago. For me, hearing him talk about the shift in his demeanour and his sense of lightness was such a beautiful moment. And there's also a top tip there for any fellow podcasters who are listening - always hit record asap and leave it running, even when you've finished the formal interview. In this second part of my chat with Andrew Sewell - we focus on his brilliant book - "The Overthinker's Guide to Life".You'll hear how the seeds were planted and also find out how many self development books Andrew has actually read. He wanted his book to be different and I do believe he's achieved his mission, it's super useful - in fact we start the episode with my r
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Overthinking with Andrew Sewell
12/10/2023 Duration: 36minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 28 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - This week's treat for your ears is my chat with Andrew Sewell - he's a coach, an author and a fellow northerner. In this episode you'll hear how Andrew became fascinated by psychology and personal development - and how his career path included teaching English as a foreign language, script writing in Hollywood and stand up comedy, as well as honing a career in copywriting. He's talks about leaving his career and how he worked with me as his coach at that pivotal time. He's since retrained as a coach, written a book and set up his company called - Overthinkers Anonymous.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each episode. There is a caveat - this transcript is largely
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Dr Richard MacKinnon - Loneliness at Work
28/09/2023 Duration: 46minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 27 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - it's another special one this week - over the Summer, me and producer Emma experimented with a couple of live recordings, and our second courageous participant was Dr Richard MacKinnon - Founder and Managing Director of Work Life Psych. and in this episode we were particularly interested in finding out more about his research into loneliness at work and the steps we can take as individuals and organisations to connect and thrive in the workplace.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each episode. There is a caveat - this transcript is largely generated by Artificial Intelligence, I have corrected many errors but I won't have captured them all! You can also find the s
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Dr Sarah Swan - Coping with Breast Cancer
14/09/2023 Duration: 42minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 26 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - it's a special one this week - over the Summer, me and producer Emma experimented with a couple of live recordings, and our first courageous participant was Dr Sarah Swan - a verified rock chick who has written an extraordinary book called, "Coping with Breast Cancer, how to navigate the emotional impact throughout your journey". It's based upon Sarah's lived experience and her expertise as a clinical psychologist, particularly in the application of ACT.So in this episode you'll hear how Sarah first got into psychology, the trials of getting onto the clinical training to the point when she was about to give up, how she discovered ACT and then the life-changing, devastating experience, when Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer. You'll hear my review of the book, Sarah talking about the writing process and how she kept going when she could barely see the screen through the tears. This truly is
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Tired of Anxiety - A Kid's Guide with Dr Sarah Cassidy
27/07/2023 Duration: 30minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 25 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - this is it - the last part of my chat with Dr Sarah Cassidy - educational, child and adolescent psychologist. And now that we've set the scene - we dive into her book, co-written with Dr Lisa Coyne - called - Tired of Anxiety - A kids guide to befriending difficult thoughts and feelings and living your life anyway.So in this episode you'll hear about how the book came about, the collaboration with Dr Lisa Coyne, the other books in the series and how Sarah helps kids to reflect on their choices, notice the difficult stuff and move forward - building skills for their whole lives. You'll also hear about the art for the book, my review and how toxic positivity can occur in organisations and family units. We finish with a highly useful takeaway from Sarah too.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We'r
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The Roots of the Book with Sarah Cassidy
20/07/2023 Duration: 24minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 24 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers, we're continuing our chat with Dr Sarah Cassidy who is an educational, child and adolescent psychologist. She's also the co-author of an extraordinary book, Tired of Anxiety, A Kid's Guide to Befriending Difficult Thoughts and Feelings and Living Your Life Anyway.In this episode we learn about the behavioural roots of the book - you'll hear how Sarah discovered relational frame theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) - and how she's using ACT to support her staff, using a training protocol developed by me and my mate, Paul Flaxman #flaxybabes #flaxintosh. We also hear Sarah's views on labels and her song choice.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.Over the Summer we're runnin
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Meet Dr Sarah Cassidy
13/07/2023 Duration: 34minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 23 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - it's my honour to introduce you to Dr Sarah Cassidy. What an absolute joy to speak to this pioneering, exceptional human. I was so captured by this conversation that I've decided to break it down into three parts. Sarah Cassidy, Ph.D., has been working as an educational, child and adolescent psychologist in private practice in Ireland for the last 20 years. In part one - we get to know Sarah - her geographical history, her extraordinary parents, a bit about her career path and including what it was like to co-own a bar in Chicago. We also start to explore her approach to the psychological well-being of children.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.Over the Summer we're running a series of LI
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Bite Sized Habits with Dr Heather McKee
29/06/2023 Duration: 35minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 22 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - in our previous episode I introduced you toDr Heather McKee. Heather is a health behaviour change specialist. She helps companies create evidence-based health and wellness programmes that bring about long term change for their customers or employees. She also helps individuals to create health habits that last through her Bite-Sized Habits course.In this episode, we hear all about Heather's work on creating the permission for carers to extend compassion towards themselves, creating lifelong habits, how you can learn to nourish yourself, looking after ourselves at work and unravelling our unhealthy habits. It's packed with takeaways and Heather also reveals the secret sauce we can all use to support ourselves. People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with
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Meet Dr Heather McKee
22/06/2023 Duration: 41minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 21 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers - it's my honour to introduce you to Dr Heather McKee. Heather is a health behaviour change specialist. She helps companies create evidence-based health and wellness programmes that bring about long term change for their customers or employees. She also helps individuals to create health habits that last through her Bite-Sized Habits course.In this episode, we hear all about Heather's squiggly career path, the barriers to living a healthy life, the different types of motivation and much more. Heather is such an engaging speaker, it was a true joy to chat and I think you're going to love it.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each episode. There is a caveat - this tra
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The Flexible Mind with Professor Ross White
15/06/2023 Duration: 27minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 20 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. Listen on as I continue my chat with Professor Ross White. He's the Research Director of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Queen's University Belfast and an expert in Global Mental Health. He was also lead author on a book called Acceptance and Commitment Approaches for Athletes' Wellbeing and Performance, The Flexible Mind.In this episode we dive into the book, starting with my review and then continuing with an exploration of the collaborative development of the key messages in the book, his hopes for the book and what else he's got in the pipeline. We finish with Ross' takeaways which are beautifully expressed and very useful.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each
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Meet Professor Ross White
08/06/2023 Duration: 54minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 19 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. What a privilege it was to speak to Professor Ross White. Ross is the Research Director of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology programme at Queen's University Belfast. He's an expert on Global Mental Health and as active research collaborations with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He's also an author, and his books include, Acceptance and Commitment Approaches for Athletes' Wellbeing and Performance - The Flexible Mind. His consultancy is called - Strive 2 Thrive - which has a specialist interest in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of adults working in high-performance environments including elite level athletes. And incidentally - I'd highly recommend that you sign up for Ross' monthly newsletter - 5 to Thrive - you'll find the link in the shownotes.In this episode - you'll get to know Ross - and a bit about his career history -including how h
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Ross on the Sh*t Shower and Self-Care Podcast
31/03/2023 Duration: 33minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 18 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. TasterThis week, it's something a bit different. I was invited to be a guest on the Shit Shower and Self-Care Podcast by Dr Steve Jones. Now Steve is a friend of the show. He's already been on People Soup talking about his brilliant book, ACT made Yorkshire. Since then - he's got the podcast bug and launched his own, where with his guests he exploresWhat does it mean to be a man?What does mental health mean to men?How are we able to talk more about the stuff that we might otherwise keep tucked away at the back of our sock drawer?Now our chat was spread across two episodes so I thought I'd share the second one - and just to flag - I use the f word on more than one occasion in the chat. I also reflect on my experience of being a gay man in the workplace, gay role models when I was growing up and how we're all still learning in the workplace.
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Healthy Workplaces with Dr Kevin Teoh
20/03/2023 Duration: 37minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 17 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. Kevin is a Senior Lecturer and the Programme Director for the MSc in Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. If you haven't listened to Part One you can catch it here He's also the Executive Officer, European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology. In part two of our chat we focus on Kevin's research and his thoughts on how workplaces are designed, organised and managed, what's known as the psychosocial context or the psychosocial working conditions - and what we're really trying to develop is a healthy workplace.. Such is Kevin's generosity in sharing his thoughts that this whole episode is like a takeaway banquet. To hear Kevin speak is really thought provoking and you'll hear him talk about his consulting approach, the workplace themes he's noticing, how organisations can sometimes see well-being as a tick box exercise and his simple recommendations for a step by step approach t
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Meet Dr Kevin Teoh
09/03/2023 Duration: 42minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 16 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. What a privilege it was to speak to Dr Kevin Teoh. He's a senior Senior Lecturer and the Programme Director for the MSc in Organizational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. He's also the Executive Officer, European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology. In part one we chat about Kevin's career and his early decision that he didn't want to work in organizational psychology, that is, until a game changing experience in a law firm. Kevin is truly dedicated to supporting people at work and his research publications reflect that, particularly his work supporting those in health care. He's such a kind, thoughtful, reflective and humble man - I'm a big fan of Kevin, his work and his stance of exploring the systems and organisations in which people operate. I know you're going to enjoy this conversation.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a wa
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NEWS DESK - a new leadership podcast
23/02/2023 Duration: 08minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 15 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. This week it's a short cup-a-soup. People are sometimes curious about my current projects - so I thought I'd share some updates and also the insights I'm gathering from my work with leaders. You'll also hear my intention to launch a bite sized, evidence based, skills development workshop - aimed at leaders. With the working title of "Let's Get Quizzical - the People Soup Leadership Workout." Listen on to hear the details!People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each episode. There is a caveat - this transcript is largely generated by Artificial Intelligence, I have corrected many errors but I won't have captured them all! You can also find the shownotes by clicking on notes then ke
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ENCORE: Lou Gardner - Our ACT Auntie
16/02/2023 Duration: 43minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 14 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P-Soupers, this episode is an encore, revisiting a favourite from the People Soup Archives, and it's a classic with lots of personal meaning for me and many others. There's much for us all to learn from Lou, through her personal values and what she role modelled for us. Lou's impact in supporting others through her art continues, even though she's no longer with us. Her light shines brightly.Lou, I miss you. I think of you every time I see a blackbird in our garden, which is pretty darned often.People Soup is an award winning podcast where we share evidence based behavioural science, in a way that’s practical, accessible and fun. We're all about Unlocking Workplace Potential with expert perspectives from Contextual Behavioural Science.There is a transcript for each episode. There is a caveat - this transcript is largely generated by Artificial Intelligence, I have corrected many errors but I won't have capt
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All That We Are
09/02/2023 Duration: 31minHi there and a very warm welcome to Season 5 Episode 13 of People Soup – it’s Ross McIntosh here. P Soupers - I'm recording this introduction in a hotel room in Dublin, as I'm working near here tomorrow - as usual I'm under the covers to give you the best audio experience. It's actually a new bank holiday today in Ireland - honouring St Brigid. It was originally a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc, marking the beginning of spring. It signalled an end to the darkness of winter and ushered in a new season of hope and growth. St Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland and a pretty inspirational woman by all accounts.Which all takes me to another inspirational woman - whose book offers hope and growth for us all. In this episode - called All That We Are - I chat more to Gabriella Braun about the writing process - how the book evolved and how she kept going when there was nothing left in the tank. You'll hear my review and also some snippets of reviews from the Financial Times and Marie Claire