PROVIDING THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR

Flourishing at work. Positive change. Sustainable habits. Extraordinary performance.

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Who we are.

We are a positive psychology focused consulting business based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Dedicated to sharing our knowledge and skills, our goal is to create thriving individuals and workplaces.

We specialise in improving knowledge and skills about creating thriving workplaces and how to personally thrive at work. We offer a unique set of workshops, webinars and presentations designed to optimise individual, team and organisational performance. We are renowned for our practical, evidence-based programmes that have real personal and business impact.

We believe that what we do matters. People tell us our work makes a significant difference to their lives, including their colleagues, families and communities. Leaders tell us that they get boosts to team and organisational outputs and performance when people apply the knowledge they gain from our workshops. We get huge satisfaction when we see the positive changes people make as a result of our workshops and presentations, and when they sustain these changes over time.

What we do.

We specialise in practical, evidence-based workshops and presentations to help people build the mental skills and knowledge required for thriving at work and leading thriving teams.

Our workshops are filled with simple, practical tools and techniques for participants to apply immediately. If these are practiced regularly, they make a significant difference to people’s lives.

Participants are encouraged to share their learnings with others, which provides a positive ripple effect into the communities they are part of.

We have been teaching the science of thriving and positive change for many years now. We have evolved our programmes based on feedback from thousands of participants and we focus the content on what we know has the biggest impact.

We design our content so individuals and organisations can see immediate benefits and measurable outcomes. The benefits of a thriving workforce and a positive culture are enormous. From higher engagement and retention, improved productivity, increases in health, safety and wellbeing, greater creativity and innovation to better bottom line results. The organisations we work with see the benefits of this investment every day.

Our offerings

Our workshops focus on applying evidence-based positive psychology techniques to help leaders, teams and individuals achieve sustainable wellbeing and deliver high performance.

Workshops for leaders

Positive Change Leadership

This two-part workshop is designed to help leaders develop change agility, resilience and inspire high performance in their teams. They will understand how to create a positive and safe environment for change. These skills are necessary to navigate the current environment of uncertainty and volatility and overcome any resistance to change. The workshop provides practical tools and ideas that leaders can apply immediately to create a positive and adaptive organisational culture.

PART 1: CREATING A STRONG FOUNDATION
This part focuses on two critical factors required to set a strong foundation for positive leadership:

HIGH LEVEL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
This covers what psychological safety is, why it is required to set a strong foundation and evidence-based ways to boost it
HIGH LEVEL OF SELF CARE AND SUPPORT FOR EACH OTHER
This focuses on why the leader’s own wellbeing is important for creating a secure base to lead others in an effective way. It covers the best self-care practices to reduce the likelihood of burnout

PART 2: FOUR AREAS TO FOCUS ON FOR POSITIVE CHANGE LEADERSHIP

This part uses Professor Kim Cameron’s Positive Leadership Model as a foundation. It focuses on four critical leadership behaviours for creating mental flexibility and openness to change, while inspiring high performance.

These four areas are linked to exceptional business outcomes:

CREATING A POSITIVE CLIMATE
BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
ENGAGING IN POSITIVE COMMUNICATION
CREATING POSITIVE MEANING

Leaders will explore the positive leadership principles and practices that best support the development of a change agile and resilient culture. They can expect to leave with a wide range of simple, practical ideas and tools to apply immediately in the workplace.

Creating a Healthy High Performance Culture

Creating a healthy high performance culture is essential for long-term success in any organisation. It involves nurturing both the business objectives and the wellbeing of employees in order to create a sustainable and thriving environment. Developing a healthy high performance culture requires commitment and continuous improvement. When achieved, it creates a culture that fosters productivity, innovation and overall employee satisfaction.

In this workshop, leaders will learn how to navigate the delicate balance between focusing on the delivery of high performance and supporting and investing in people’s mental health and wellbeing. They will understand how to create a culture which optimises wellbeing, growth and performance, where people can thrive by working in a sustainable way.

It covers the areas known to support building a healthy high performance culture including:

CREATING A FOUNDATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
OPEN COMMUNICATION AND TRUST
FOSTERING A SENSE OF BELONGING
CREATING A POSITIVE MINDSET
PROVIDING CLEAR DIRECTION AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
SETTING BOUNDARIES AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
PRIORITISING BALANCE AND MANAGING WORKLOADS
BEING A GREAT ROLE MODEL

This is a practical, evidence-based workshop, drawing from the latest research around healthy high performance cultures. It also covers some of the unique challenges of managing hybrid teams and how to overcome these. Participants will leave with a range of tools and techniques they can apply anytime, to help create healthy high performing teams and achieve great business outcomes.

Avoiding Burnout – Sustainable Wellbeing for Leaders

Avoiding burnout is crucial for leaders as they often carry significant responsibilities, heavy workloads and have high expectations, of themselves and others. Burnout can negatively impact decision making, team morale and overall performance.

The pressure leaders feel at work is usually ‘positive’ pressure, which leads to enhanced performance. However, there are times when they may feel overextended, overwhelmed, exhausted, and potentially heading towards burnout.

In this workshop, leaders will learn about what burnout is, the levels of burnout and the symptoms associated with each level. This awareness is helpful in determining their personal risks of burnout while also alerting them to burnout risks in others. They will also learn about the most effective evidence-based tools and techniques for burnout prevention at each level.

This workshop will focus on:

WHAT BURNOUT MEANS

RECOGNISING THE WARNING SIGNS

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF BURNOUT

HIGHEST IMPACT SELF-CARE STRATEGIES

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON CONTROLLABLES

THE IMPORTANCE OF KINDNESS, COMPASSION AND SUPPORTING OTHERS

Managing Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Neurodiversity is used to describe natural variations in the human brain. Most people are neurotypical meaning that their brain functions in the way that society expects. 1 in 7 people are neurodivergent, meaning their brains function differently in one or more ways than is considered standard or typical.

Neurodivergent people bring many strengths to the workplace including different perspectives and high levels of creativity. Some people may disclose that they are neurodiverse and others may not or be unaware of how they are presenting. Some people may forge ahead in the workplace and others will require support and adjustments in the work environment to help them overcome associated workplace challenges in order to succeed and thrive. Many adjustments can be made to create a supportive work environment tailored to the needs of neurodiverse people.

This session covers:

TYPES AND PREVALENCE OF NEURODIVERSITY

THE POSITIVE IMPACT NEURODIVERSITY HAS IN THE WORKPLACE

AUTISM AND ADHD – COMMON BEHAVIOURS

PRACTICAL ADVICE ON REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS THAT HELP CREATE A PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE AND ACCOMMODATING NEUROTYPICAL ENVIRONMENT THAT ENABLES NEURODIVERSE PEOPLE TO SUCCEED

HOW TO PREVENT AUTISM BURNOUT

Workshops for individuals

These workshops help people develop the core skills needed to thrive in organisations where uncertainty and change is the norm. They focus on developing the skills of resilience, flexible thinking, managing distraction and deepening connections and trust.

Thriving Through Uncertainty and Change

Learning how to thrive in a constantly changing environment is a critical skill for delivering great performance. This workshop provides participants with a toolkit of practical, well researched techniques that help them increase their tolerance for stress, build resilience and increase mental flexibility.

The workshop focuses on:

BALANCING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
- Broad context regarding mental wellbeing
- The impact of living with uncertainty
- Understanding the role of the nervous system and how to keep it in balance
- How to practice rapid recovery (calm your nervous system quickly)

HUNTING THE GOOD STUFF
- Understanding the impact of the negativity bias
- The importance of positive emotions and their impact on mental wellbeing
- The most important positive emotions to boost and techniques that work

By learning how to balance the nervous system and cultivating positive emotions, participants will be better equipped tp handle challenges and perform at their best in both their personal and professional lives.

Healthy Thinking Skills in Times of Uncertainty and Change

Coping well in uncertain times involves training the mind to manage emotions and thoughts in healthy and adaptable ways. Unhealthy thinking can have a significant impact on people’s tolerance for ambiguity and constant change. It also impacts the ability to be resilient, to bounce back and even grow from challenging experiences. This workshop helps participants diagnose their own unhealthy thinking habits and understand the impact they may be having on their wellbeing. They will learn many simple and practical tools and techniques for overcoming these habits. They will also learn how to strengthen their tolerance for strong emotions and factors that are outside their control.

The workshop focuses on:

THE IMPACT OF LIVING WITH OPEN-ENDED UNCERTAINTY

TECHNIQUES FOR DEALING WITH WORRY AND OVER THINKING

HOW TO KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE

HOW TO COPE WITH STRONG EMOTIONS

HOW TO PRACTICE ACCEPTANCE

Focusing Attention and Managing Distractions

This workshop addresses the challenges of working (in the office or at home) where distraction, interruptions and feelings of overwhelm can make it difficult to stay productive. It provides participants with the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality work, even in an environment where there is constant competition for their attention. Participants will learn how to diagnose their own helpful and unhelpful work habits and learn about high impact, evidence-based techniques for producing the highest quality work in the shortest amount of time. If practiced regularly, these tools enhance productivity and creativity, while reducing stress levels.

Content includes:

THE IMPACT OF DISTRACTION AND INTERRUPTION ON PERFORMANCE

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISTRACTION AND TRACTION

THE MOST USEFUL TOOL TO GET TRACTION ON THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK

DEEP WORK VS SHALLOW WORK (WHY DEEP WORK IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO GET IT DONE)

HOW TO SINGLE TASK (VS MULTI-TASK) AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO DO SO

HOW TO WORK WITH THE BODY’S NATURAL RHYTHMS

HOW TO WORK IN INTERVALS

HOW TO MANAGE INTERRUPTIONS

WHY COMPLETE MIND REST IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO PRACTICE IT

Positive Relationships

This workshop offers a comprehensive toolkit for building trust, shaping positive relationships and maintaining social connections, even in remote work settings. Participants will be introduced to the scientific research studies that highlight the positive impact of social connections on mental and emotional wellbeing. They will also learn how feeling isolated, rejected and disconnected can be very detrimental to long-term health and wellbeing. Participants will gain insight into how maintaining strong relationships can enhance resilience and coping abilities in times of uncertainty and change.

The workshop covers:

THE IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC ON OUR NETWORKS

THE IMPACT OF LOSING CONNECTIONS

BENEFITS OF POSITIVE CONNECTIONS

THE POWER OF OXYTOCIN

HOW TO BUILD TRUST THROUGH DEEP LISTENING AND MICRO-MOMENTS OF CONNECTION

HOW MANY FRIENDS DO WE NEED?

THE MOST IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION HABIT THAT STRENGTHENS A RELATIONSHIP

By the end of the workshop, participants should feel empowered with the knowledge and tools needed to proactively maintain positive relationships, combat feelings of isolation and thrive, even in remote work setting.

Guest Speaking

Have Jane Speak at your event

Jane’s practical and down to earth approach make her a popular guest speaker at conferences and events. She is a highly experienced presenter and tailors her message to the audience, shares engaging stories and encourages participation when appropriate. Her positive and enthusiastic approach leaves people feeling excited and motivated about applying their learnings and sharing ideas with others.

Meet our team

We asked some of our clients to describe us. They said we are passionate, knowledgeable, practical, down to earth and real. We make things simple and easy to apply in every-day life. We are positive, energising and supportive. We love what we do and this shows in our work.

Jane Davis

DIRECTOR

Jane is the Director of The Flourishing Institute and her professional training is in Organisational Psychology. She has been working in this field for over 30 years after starting her career as a Psychologist in the RNZAF. She has broad experience working with people across all levels, in NZ and overseas and in the private and public sectors. She has spent many years supporting people and teams in educational institutions as they have been impacted by significant change processes.

For the last 10 years, Jane has been a Positive Psychology Practitioner after being exposed to this field at the first conference of Positive Psychology in New Zealand in 2011. This experience lead Jane to develop her own programmes and workshops which draw on positive psychology research and practices. Jane enjoys research and reading and is constantly sourcing new material to add to her toolkit. Over the years she has developed an extensive toolkit of exercises, practices and techniques, all of which are available to her clients.

Jane is passionate about supporting people’s growth and development and most of her professional career has been focused on bringing out the best in people and teams. She is known for her calm, warm and empathetic manner which helps her easily connect to audiences, large and small. She is also down to earth and practical, enabling her to easily make the connection for people between what the research says and how to apply it in daily life. She is strongly focused on sustainable behavioural change and teaches participants how to embed any learning taken from her workshops.

Sara Philip

BUSINESS MANAGER

Sara is Business Manager for The Flourishing Institute and has a 25 year background in retail and food manufacturing. She is a Director of Baker Boys Ltd, a NZ-owned manufacturing bakery. Sara is passionate about being a mum to three children and being a supportive leader. She loves being fit and healthy, maintaining close connections with family and friends, cooking, gardening and running her dog – when she has time!

It has always been my dream to set up a business which has a goal of helping people to thrive, no matter what their circumstances. I love that we are able to make a positive difference to people’s lives. A great manager once said to me “Make sure you work somewhere where you run to work each day” and that’s me now.

– Jane Davis, Founder