The Anxious Achiever
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© Copyright 2021 Morra Aarons-Mele
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Host Morra Aarons-Mele is on a mission to reframe how we think about anxiety and mental health in the workplace. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S. We desperately need better models for leadership and a more holistic view of mental health. Our culture tells those of us who suffer from anxiety and depression that we can’t succeed, but we tell a different story — without sugarcoating the tough stuff. We feature stories from people who’ve been there and experts who can help you thrive.
Listen in your favorite podcast app: https://pod.link/1480904163
205 Episodes
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Sometimes, you have to look scary change in the eye and approach it with flexibility instead of fear. Dr. Diana Hill is a clinical psychologist and leadership coach who specializes in ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), and we speak to her this week as part of our month-long series on artificial intelligence and work.
GenAI and how it is impacting your job might be stirring up all kinds of emotions for you - including anger - and Hill explains techniques you can use to change your frame of mind and improve your relationship with all this change. We discuss the importance of values when navigating uncertainty and anxiety.
More about Diana Hill: https://drdianahill.com/about
Our episode on AI and work with Nilay Patel: https://morraam.com/blog/9ojwos1lawqrhhgmcxl87f2343km01
Host Morra Aarons-Mele recently spoke with Rufus Griscom on LinkedIn’s The Next Big Idea to talk about leadership. She speaks about how anxiety is an asset, resource and motivator - if you can learn to harness it the right way. And she offers up practical advice - with help from a pen, a banana, and science-baked research - on how exactly you can do that and take your leadership to the next level.
The Next Big Idea is a weekly series of in-depth interviews with the world’s leading thinkers. Listen to more of The Next Big Idea here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anxious-achiever-how-you-can-turn-anxiety-into-a-superpower/id1482067226?i=1000666224026
Like anxiety or depression, AI is now a constant companion for millions of people around the world. We might be benefitting from the use of AI at work, but also truly worried about what it means for our future. For the next few weeks, host Morra Aarons-Mele is exploring what AI means for our work and our mental health, from what tech giants are planning to tactics for managing uncertainty to how the best companies are mentally preparing their work force for a new age.
In this episode, she speaks with Editor-in-Chief of The Verge, Nilay Patel, who also hosts The Decoder podcast. Nilay talks about what it is like to run an organization in this time of uncertainty, how the media is or isn’t helping the narrative around AI, what’s going on behind the scenes at tech companies, and what about human creativity truly is at risk in the next few years.
There’s often a direct connection between how much you achieve at work, and how high you climb, and how much passion you have for your work. It’s a huge motivator, but it has a downside for those especially geared towards overachievement: burnout. Jon Jachimowicz is an assistant professor at Harvard Business School and he shares what he’s learned from his study of passion, work, career longevity, and more.
More on Jon’s work: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=1175257
We humans need hope! A lack of hope contributes to much to mental health struggles across the board, and that’s why it’s important to learn more about the science behind hope and how it impacts us. Hope is a skill we can all learn. In this episode, Kathryn Goetzke, founder and chairman at The Shine Hope Company, explains what she’s learned about negative thought patterns, control, depression and more. She also shares her own story of anxiety, PTSD, and addiction and how better understanding hope helps her impact workplaces today.
Check out Snyder’s Hope scale: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2023-11/hopescale_hys.pdf
We’ve come a long way in the last five years, but there’s so much still to be done when it comes to our working lives and our mental health. In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele revisits our very first episode, where she speaks with Scott Stossel. He’s a National Editor of the Atlantic magazine and author of the New York Times Best seller “My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind.” He shares his story of anxiety, and why it’s more important now than ever for leaders to recognize and work around the mental health challenges of their teams.
Read Scott’s book: https://www.amazon.com/My-Age-Anxiety-Dread-Search/dp/0307269876
What if all your assumptions about people with neurodivergent conditions… were all wrong? In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to two people living very different lives, but who have a Tourette Syndrome diagnosis in common. First, TV presenter Aidy Smith shares how he became the only person to host a show in the UK who has Tourette Syndrome, and how he overcame obstacles to get there. Then, we’ll hear from Tara Lerman, a listener who reached out to share her own journey in media and advocacy.
Learn more about Aidy Smith: https://www.aidysmith.com/
Why We Need to Change the Conversation Around Tourette’s Syndrome: https://www.madeofmillions.com/articles/why-we-need-to-change-the-conversation-around-tourette-s-syndrome
The news is overwhelming, and thinking about the upcoming election makes many of us anxious. Political veterans know how to get things done in a never-ending 24 hour news cycle, and somehow stay on course when the world is spinning too fast - but it isn’t always easy.
In this episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Shaniqua McClendon, Vice President of Politics for the media company Crooked. She talks about her previous roles and experiences, toxic bosses and work environments, and how she tries to maintain some balance in a hectic election cycle.
Check out more of Crooked Media’s podcasts: https://crooked.com/podcasts/
Vote Save America: https://www.votesaveamerica.com/
In 2012, Michael DiSanto graduated from a prestigious university. But instead of following the path of his peers, he set out to achieve a lofty goal: make the 2016 Olympic rowing team. It was a tough decision and even tougher training process; at times he was bored, at times he wanted to give up. di Santo used anxiety and anger as powerful motivators to drive his performance as an Olympic rower. Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to DiSanto about his journey to the games, how he ended his career, how he manages his mental health, and what lessons he’s taken into his career in finance today.
More on mental health and Olympic athletes: https://apnews.com/article/paris-olympics-2024-mental-health-biles-osaka-891c2dc08b59a3ccb0b15ffeca239089
Dr. Ned Hallowell has ADHD himself, and is a well-respected doctor who focuses on counseling people of all ages with similar disorders. But he’s quick to point out that the phrase deficit disorder isn’t quite right. Dr. Hallowell’s life’s work is freeing people from the stigma associated with these kinds of conditions. He explains how he thinks about this kind of neurodiversity differently (a Ferrari brain with bicycle brakes), how it has helped his work and career, and why he became a TikTok influencer in his 70s.
Learn more about Dr. Hallowell’s work here: https://drhallowell.com/
Follow Dr. Hallowell on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drhallowell?lang=en
1Dan Ariely is a famed behavioral economist who looks at the irrational, upside-down ways that humans think and act. His recent interests include resilience - something he’s had to build up in his own life after a serious burn accident in his teens. Ariely is a professor at Duke University and the author of bestselling books like “The Upside of Irrationality.” Host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks to him about mental health, human behavior, and overcoming challenges.
Watch Dan’s Ted Talks: https://www.ted.com/speakers/dan_ariely
How a Terrible Accident Inspired Dan Ariely’s Career Path
How an Injury Led Me to Irrationality
If you fall into certain people-pleasing behaviors at work, we have news: it’s not just an individual problem. Kathleen Smith, therapist and author of the new book True to You, explains how relationships, family ghosts, and systems inform our behavior in all kinds of ways, both inside and outside of the workplace. She explains how family systems theory is a helpful frame in this context, and how people can break out of their people-pleasing ways.
Check out Kathleen’s book: https://www.amazon.com/True-You-Therapists-Pleasing-Yourself-ebook/dp/B0CGRYFPNL
Just as working mothers increasingly feel pressure from all sides to achieve and be the best family members possible, expectations for fathers have shifted in recent years. But professor Brad Harrington and former TV anchor Liam Martin argue that the ecosystem of support for working fathers hasn’t been formed in the same it has for women. Brad’s research shows that working fathers increasingly feel conflicted about where they should spend their time, and how to manage the expectations society puts on them while balancing their own mental health. Liam shares his own personal story of recently leaving his job to protect his mental health and family’s quality of life. Like many of us, Liam hid his struggles and avoided asking for help. Many people manage "role conflict" - the struggle between being present for family and the need to be successful professionally, which can impact mental health.
Read Liam’s story of why he walked away from his job: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2024/04/07/liam-martin-fatherhood/
Clayton Lord breaks the mold of what you might expect someone’s career to look like if they are on the autism spectrum. He’s Director of Programs at the SHRM Foundation and channels his strengths to create insight and order out of complex and messy problems. He also balances that with the fact that he isn’t always first to notice interpersonal issues at work. But he’s developed a tool kit - which includes keeping Post-it notes by his desk with reminders - that helps him achieve success as a leader, a partner, and a father. Lord shares his story of how he moves through a neurotypical world.
Learn more about SHRM: https://www.shrm.org/front-door
Shirley Leung is a columnist at the Boston Globe and host of the podcast Say More, and in 2020, she hit “rock bottom.”Being stretched on all sides for years finally took its toll and she realized her work life balance needed a change. Four years later, Shirley went on a quest to better understand how to deal with and prevent burnout at work. In this episode, she talks with host Morra Aarons-Mele about how working from home no longer works for many people, the mental health challenges we still feel post pandemic, and being realistic about our priorities.
Listen to Shirley’s burnout series on Say More: https://link.chtbl.com/saymore?sid=anxiousachiever
The No Club Book: https://www.amazon.com/No-Club-Putting-Womens-Dead-End/dp/1982152338
Craig Robinson, brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, is a basketball legend, former NBA executive, coach, and Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. But he wasn’t always on that path: after playing basketball at Princeton, he ended up spending much of his career in finance before following his true passion. Robinson shares lessons he learned from his family, his insights on getting high performers to stay at their best, and how to keep going in the face of negativity and criticism.
Listen to Craig’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ways-to-win/id1733309040
Starting June 5th, the Anxious Achiever is back to celebrate its tenth season. We’ll be diving into the topics and challenges you’ve asked about most:
How to manage anxiety around AI and your job
What is is like crafting a career while living with Tourette’s syndrome
How to identify if you are a people pleaser (and how to change)
Why your boss is or isn’t toxic
Manage emotions through difficult situations
And much, much more. The new season launches next week - be sure to let us know what you think!
Leaders of organizations have a large responsibility when it comes to their own mental health, and of those in their organization. When they speak up about mental health, others can too. But vulnerability comes with risks. How can leaders model openness around mental health without bumping up against stereotypes and judgment?
In this roundtable conversation, host Morra Aarons-Mele speaks with Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmonson – the pioneer of the concept of psychological safety at work; entrepreneur and best-selling author Peter Sims; and Megan Reitz of Oxford University and Hult International Business School about the leader’s role in speaking up and fighting mental health stigma.
Learn more about Amy: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451
Learn more about Peter: https://petersims.com/
Learn more about Megan: https://www.meganreitz.com/
Learn more about Thinkers50: https://thinkers50.com/
Burnout doesn’t come on because of weakness, and it doesn’t come about overnight. Many of us are walking around with some degree of burnout! On the flip side, it takes more than a vacation or loving your job to solve the problem. In this special Thinkers50 episode, host Morra Aarons-Mele explores some of the ways companies and individuals can more effectively avoid burnout and put in place more mentally healthy systems. She speaks with Alyson Meister, a professor at IMD Business School, Jon Jachimowicz, assistant professor at Harvard Business School, and Basima Tewfik, assistant professor at MIT Sloan School of Management.
Learn more about Alyson: https://www.imd.org/faculty/professors/alyson-meister/
Learn more about Jon: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=1175257
Learn more about Basima: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/faculty/directory/basima-tewfik
Learn more about Thinkers50: https://thinkers50.com/
As part of a month long series with Thinkers50 and The Silicon Guild, in this episode host Morra Aarons-Mele explores constructive ways we can improve our relationship with ourselves, instead of always being our harshest critic. She’s joined by Duke Professor Sanyin Siang, Lenny Mendoca, Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey, and Palo Alto City Council Member Julie Lythcott-Haims to talk about ways to change your self talk and your work.
Learn more about Sanyin: https://centers.fuqua.duke.edu/cole/team_profiles/sanyin-siang/
Hear our past episode with Lenny: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-the-stigma-of-mental-health-for-men-in-business/id1480904163?i=1000601243370
Hear our past episode with Julie: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/how-to-stop-the-cycle-of-overachieving/id1480904163?i=1000479076732
Learn more about Thinkers50: https://thinkers50.com/
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Great podcast. Feels honest and relatable. Helps me be thoughtful about my process and path.
Hello! I love this podcast so much. Truly. It struck a nerve the instant I heard it and I have recommended it to many since. When will the 2nd season start?
New to podcast, already hooked!
Great episode, thanks for your work!
Great podcast, we are going to be following your progress! 🎙
Too bad that there is this annoying music in the background, not stopping and making it very difficult to listen to what you are saying 🙄😔 Could you please look into this?