23. On Well-Being & Taking Back Control of your Day with Liz Koehler & Clare Davenport

Overview

In this episode, I’m joined by Liz Koehler and Clare Davenport, both who are experts in positive psychology and well-being. They conducted research around addressing well-being amid constant choice and change rooted in positive psychology. This topic is so important right now in the age of the pandemic and post-pandemic. According to a 2020 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends study, well-being was the top-ranked trend that year even before the pandemic fully hit us, and in a more recent study individual workers rank “improving worker well-being” in the top 3 of initiatives for work transformation efforts over the next 1-3 years. 

What’s great about what Liz and Clare share is how we can take small actions to take back control of our days and improve our well-being. They also share how doing this for oneself can have ripple effects to those around you, both through how you are able to then operate better but also through one’s own modeling of behaviors that prioritize and improve well-being. 

Thank you so much for sharing your learning and counsel, Liz and Clare! There are insights here for all of us to get into action with small changes that can make a big impact for our individual and collective well-being. 

If you want to get in touch, find Liz on LinkedIn (Elizabeth Koehler) and Clare at her company, Designing4Better: designing4better.com.

More about Our Guests

Liz Koehler is Managing Director and Head of USWA Advisor Insights at BlackRock, where she’s been for over 18 years. Liz and her team partner with US financial advisors to help them grow their businesses and serve their clients. They develop and deliver programs and consulting for advisors and investors, focused on practice management, portfolio construction, and capital markets insights. Liz graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. She also has a Master’s Degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Clare Davenport is a positive psychology expert, life design coach, CEO and published author­. Beginning her career at Goldman Sachs followed by over 20 years in management consulting managing large projects for Fortune 500 companies, she has parlayed her business acumen, as a creative leader, to become a consultant and change agent for well-being. Clare is currently the CEO of Designing4Better, which works with individuals, teams and organizations to strengthen well-being and enhance both performance and engagement. Clients include Microsoft, Wharton Women’s Circles, BlackRock, IBM and more.

Together, Liz and Clare did research around addressing well-being amid constant choice and change rooted in positive psychology.

Topics Covered

  • We start by hearing what brought Liz and Clare to this work around well-being and positive psychology. How did each of them at mid-career choose to follow this passion area to go back to school and get a masters in positive psychology? What tips do they have for each of us to continue to learn and follow our curiosities? Clare encourages us to take small steps to move forward along the path and create action and momentum. I love how Liz shares that by immersing herself in this area of interest it created more energy for her rather than feeling like a burden, say, or draining her.

  • We dive into their research and Clare brings us back to the concept of starting simply and where to start is to take back control of your days. She goes on to offer a great, high-level summary of the learning to take back control of our days: be intentional and present, unapologetically set boundaries, limit your choices, design your environment, plan and prioritize, create rituals and celebrations, and prioritize friendships.

  • How to start to take back control of your days and set boundaries? It does take some confidence and gives us some agency. Ask yourself what you are tolerating. Relook at your agreements. And, know that you may need to set boundaries with yourself, along with setting boundaries with others.

  • We dig deeper on limiting your choices. Clare shares great insight on the idea around being a “satisfier” vs. a “maximizer.” I think this is a gamechanger! We will all be better off if we can limit our choices and accept “good enough,” as opposed to thinking we have to maximize everything. It’s important to be discerning—when does it make sense to maximize my choices? Liz also shares later in the conversation that it can be helpful to pay attention to when you are in each mode, providing information on where you might be able to bring more simplicity to your life.

  • Liz and Clare share how managing your energy is just as important as managing your time and how this was a non-negotiable for most of the executives they spoke to for their research. I believe in the concept of following your energy. Liz talks about the idea of mapping your energy for a day to become more aware of your energy patterns, the importance of taking mini-breaks to recharge, and the power of time blocking and cutting out multi-tasking.

  • We talk about the importance of needing to create awareness of how we are living in order to take back control of our days, and yet Clare and Liz both encourage us not to “should” ourselves and not to make this bigger than it needs to be. Look for small ways to make improvements.

  • Well-being is rightly getting attention as we come out of the pandemic. We’ve all been impacted, so it’s important to bring empathy into our corporate cultures. Clare advocates companies lead with a people-centered culture and support creating connection through this time of disconnection. She also emphasizes getting in touch with our values, taking back control of our days, starting to craft what our new normal should look like, and building connection. How can we advocate what we need for ourselves?

  • We close by hearing one change that Liz and Clare implemented in their own lives to enhance their well-being. Liz talked about being values led, optimizing her time and energy, and being present in moments that matter like when she is with her children. Clare shared how she focuses on purposeful connections with others and being present in those moments—so important, as she said, in this time of disconnection.

  • Their final pieces of advice for all of us—1) take one small step and celebrate your wins! and 2) create rituals in your day to boost your well-being. Love these!

Resources Mentioned

Thanks for Listening!

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23. On Well-Being & Taking Back Control of your Day with Liz Koehler & Clare Davenport

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