In this episode, I had the pleasure of diving into the world of Positive Psychology with our guest, Chris Daicos, an experienced educator and consultant with over 40 years of experience in the field of education. 

Chris's expertise lies in leveraging Positive Psychology interventions to foster personal and organisational flourishing. As she eloquently explains, Positive Psychology isn't merely about putting on a happy face or ignoring challenges; it's a paradigm shift from problem-focused to solution-focused thinking. 

Unlike traditional psychology, which often fixates on dissecting problems and finding ways to mitigate them, Positive Psychology seeks to identify moments of success, strength, and resilience. Through this lens, Chris shares insights on how schools can adopt Positive Psychology approaches to enhance wellbeing for students, staff, and the wider community. 

Join us as we explore the transformative potential of Positive Psychology in education and its practical applications for creating thriving school environments.

In this episode, we cover:

• What Positive Psychology is and how it differs from traditional psychology
• Why schools should adopt positive psychology approaches when looking to enhance wellbeing at their schools
• The PERMA(H) model and its components
• How a strengths exploration initiative can improve wellbeing across most areas of the PERMA(H) model
• The importance of communication and unifying the team with a clear vision and expectations

About the Guest

Chris Daicos is a dedicated advocate for personal and organisational flourishing, leveraging her extensive background as a trained teacher, social worker, and facilitator. As a foundation graduate of Australia’s first Master Applied Positive Psychology program, Chris seamlessly combines her expertise in pedagogy with evidence-based practices to deliver tailored professional learning to leaders, teachers and parents on a range of topics including Positive Psychology, leadership, people management, parental education and more.

With over 40 years of experience in Education, 20 of which were spent consulting with schools, Chris specilises in implementing Positive Psychology interventions to enhance wellbeing in diverse contexts. With a focus on practical application and real-life scenarios, Chris's workshops are valued for their effectiveness in promoting confidence, engagement, and satisfaction among participants.

Her professional portfolio includes teaching Master's courses on wellbeing and positive psychology at Melbourne University, Victoria University, Australian Catholic University, and Deakin University. She has also spent three years working at Headspace, training professionals to identify and respond to young people at risk.

Links and Resources:

Blog Article: The PERMAH Model for Workplace Wellbeing

adriennehornby.com.au/the-permah-model-for-workplace-wellbeing/

Waitlist for the Well-Led Schools Partnership: adriennehornby.com.au/school-partnerships/ 

Identify your strengths with the VIA Character Strengths Survey: www.viacharacter.org/

Research Mentioned in The Episode:

Friedrich and Jane Dutton - High-quality connections/positive relationships:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_to_create_high_quality_connections_at_work

https://positiveorgs.bus.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/HighQualityConnections.pdf

Barbara Fredrickson - Positive emotions:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122271/

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Concept of flow:

https://positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/#:~:text=In%20Csikszentmihalyi's%20words%2C%20flow%20is,doing%20it%E2%80%9D%20(1990).

https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/ 

Bruce Tuckman’s model of team development:

https://hr.mit.edu/learning-topics/teams/articles/stages-development

https://www.wcupa.edu/coral/tuckmanStagesGroupDelvelopment.aspx#:~:text=These%20stages%20are%20commonly%20known,more%20collaborative%20or%20shared%20leadership. 

https://www.mindtools.com/abyj5fi/forming-storming-norming-and-performing 

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1965-12187-001 

Viviane Robinson - Open to learning conversations:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Viviane-Robinson/publication/267411000_Open-to-learning_Conversations_Background_Paper_Introduction_to_Open-to-learning_Conversations/links/54d7cb6c0cf2970e4e755956/Open-to-learning-Conversations-Background-Paper-Introduction-to-Open-to-learning-Conversations.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Viviane-Robinson/publication/242493851_School_Leadership_and_Student_Outcomes_Identifying_What_Works_and_Why_Best_Evidence_Synthesis_Iteration_BES/links/0046352c76ef753faa000000/School-Leadership-and-Student-Outcomes-Identifying-What-Works-and-Why-Best-Evidence-Synthesis-Iteration-BES.pdf 

Michelle McQuaid - Care Framework:

https://www.michellemcquaid.com/can-you-create-a-culture-of-care/

Renee Acton - Re-envisaging psychosocial safety in school workforces through intentional job design

https://www.acel.org.au/ACEL/ACELWEB/Active/Item_Detail.aspx?iProductCode=AELV46I1P&Category=AEL

Kim Cameron - Virtuous Organisations:

https://www.eudaimonicbydesign.com/resilience/the-virtuous-organization-kim-cameron 

Book: Practicing Positive Leadership: Tools and Techniques That Create Extraordinary Results

Thank you so much for listening. I’m so honoured that you’re here and would be so grateful if you could leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or on your preferred podcast app, that way we can inspire and educate even more people together.

Connect with Chris via:

Her website: www.chrisdaicos.com.au 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/chris-daicos-mapp-dip-tch-primary-ba-bsw-facel-86b6bb5/ 

Facebook Page: Helping Organisations and Families Flourish www.facebook.com/groups/697282924279023/?paipv=0&eav=AfYnmbA-6nvkc93m7Rg9wdSQBiA5KGHwP0PGXJJVYBY5tr6hGD68gUBx2dDyDr3sFGo&_rdr 

Connect with me via:

My website adriennehornby.com.au

Linkedin www.linkedin.com/in/adrienne-hornby-a4126a205/

Email hello@adriennehornby.com.au