Activate Success with John M. O'Brien, Ph.D.

“The more complex the organization, and the more demanding a role is, the more difficult it is to focus on self-care and stress management and the more likely people are going into unhealthy behaviors as a way to find balance,” explains John M. O’Brien, Ph.D. John is a consulting psychologist who has been helping people enhance their stress management skills since 1996. He now works as an executive wellness coach and uses his background in psychology to help his clients rebalance their lives. Today, John talks about how to activate success by working on authenticity, devoting time to self-care, and reducing stress.

John learned first hand the dangers of stress in a business environment when he watched his executive level father struggle with stress management and ultimately die an early death. He decided to pursue psychology to help people manage their stress and rebalance their lives. John provides his clients with authentic coaching which creates a safe environment built on a foundation of trust. This allows for a more honest relationship and the ability for the coach to share difficult feedback with their clients that they may not be open to hearing from anyone else. He focuses on a positive psychology approach, helping clients to reframe their perspectives on the challenges they are facing.

People tend to have less time for self-care as their jobs become more complex and demanding. And as a result, they are more likely to turn to unhealthy behaviors as methods of stress management. However, chronic stress is dangerous for the body and can lead to physical and mental health challenges. In order to activate success it is important to devote time to stress management and create an environment where you can live authentically.

• “Supporting people sometimes also means providing difficult feedback for them in a way they can hear it.” (7:47-7:53 | John)
• “The more complex the organization, and the more demanding a role is, the more difficult it is to focus on self care and stress management. And the more likely people are going into unhealthy behaviors as a way to find balance.” (15:22-15:38 | John)
• “It's really important for leaders to be looking at what organizations can do to create environments that allow people to be more authentic.” (19:13-19:22 | John)
• “When someone comes in and tells me that they failed at a position, I always try to help them to reframe that into a more non-judgmental way.” (35:28-35:36 | John)
• “Authenticity works best when it happens on the foundation of emotional intelligence.” (41:29-41:36 | John)