Last week, our Answer the Call to Conscious Leadership event was dedicated to discussing Toxic Positivity. Ever since the height of the pandemic when so many of my clients, colleagues, and friends were expected to be superhuman in unprecedented times, I have been looking forward to covering this topic. In addition, as a coach, I am immersed in many communities of practitioners who range from spiritual to pragmatic and was very bothered by some of the advice practitioners were spewing that bordered on shaming people for being afraid, uncertain, emotional, sad, angry – the full gamut.

Our guest panelist, Dr. Laura Dowling, brought with her the latest data, stressing the critical costs of toxic positivity. We also covered:

• How does toxic positivity harm individuals? Companies?
• What does toxic positivity look like? How do we recognize it?
• Can someone have good intentions and still be guilty of toxic positivity? Is it as simple as this?
• What will happen to companies that fail to provide psychological safety?
• With parents integrating work and home, how can they model healthful processing of emotion?
• How can people in the service, hospitality, and entertainment industries maintain customer experience and their mental health?
• What are some tools individuals can use to process negative emotions?
• How can leaders create a culture where negative emotions are allowed to be expressed, yet don’t become morale killers?

Join the C3 community now to access the replay and share your experiences. What has the pandemic taught you about toxic positivity?

Karen Huller is the creator of the Corporate Consciousness Ripple Blueprint and author of Laser-sharp Career Focus: Pinpoint your Purpose and Passion in 30 Days. She founded Epic Careering, a leadership and career development firm specializing in executive branding and conscious culture, in 2006. 

While the bulk of her 20 years of professional experience has been within the recruiting and employment industry, her publications, presentations, and coaching also draw from experience in personal development, performance, broadcasting, marketing, and sales. Her solutions incorporate breakthroughs in neuroscience, human performance optimization, bioenergetics, and psychology to help leaders accelerate rapport, expand influence, and elevate engagement and productivity while also looking out for the sustainability of the business and the planet.

Mrs. Huller was one of the first LinkedIn trainers and is known widely for her ability to identify and develop new trends. She is a Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Certified Career Transition Consultant, and Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist with a Bachelor of Art in Communication Studies and Theater from Ursinus College and a minor in Creative Writing. Her blog was recognized as a top 100 career blog worldwide by Feedspot. 

She was an Adjunct Professor in Cabrini University’s Communications Department and an Adjunct Professor of Career Management and Professional Development at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. As an instructor for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, she has helped two of her students win the 2018 National Competition to be named America’s Next Top Young Entrepreneurs, to win the 2019 People’s Choice Award, and to land in the top 8 during the (virtual) 2020 National Competition.

She is board secretary for the Upper Merion Community Center and just finished serving as Vice President of the Gulph Elementary PTC, for which she received recognition as a Public Education Partner and Promoter from the Upper Merion Area Education Association. She lives in King of Prussia with her husband, two daughters, and many pets, furry, feathered, and scaly.