Dr. Becky Kennedy

Clinical Psychologist & CEO at Good Inside

Clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and CEO of Good Inside, one of the most popular parenting platforms with a book, podcast, community, and app; her framework applies equally well to workplace dynamics and leadership.

The Org Builder The Craftsperson

Dimension Profile

Strategic Vision 30%

Execution & Craft 20%

Data & Experimentation 10%

Growth & Distribution 30%

Team & Leadership 80%

User Empathy & Research 90%

Key Themes

good inside philosophy separating behavior from identity resilience over happiness skill gaps behind bad behavior boundaries at work parenting principles for managers

Episode Summary

Dr. Becky Kennedy, clinical psychologist and CEO of Good Inside, demonstrates how parenting principles map directly onto workplace leadership. She argues that bad behavior at work signals a missing skill, not a bad person, that separating behavior from identity is essential for productive management conversations, and that building resilience ('this is hard and I can do hard things') matters more than optimizing for happiness in both families and organizations.

Leadership Principles

→ All humans need the same things whether they're 1 or 45 — when you see bad behavior, the actual problem is someone lacks the skill to manage something happening internally
→ Separate behavior from identity — inferring character from behavior ('they're late so they're lazy') is the quickest way to have an unproductive conversation
→ Resilience over happiness: we want people who can say 'this is hard and I can do hard things,' not people who avoid all discomfort

Notable Quotes

"All humans need the same things, whether we're one or five or 45 or 85. When you look at bad behavior, the actual problem is someone doesn't have the skill they need to manage something happening internally."
— On the universal nature of human behavior in both parenting and workplace

"Our whole parenting philosophy is resilience over happiness. When we're thinking about a resilient work culture, we want people who can say, 'This is hard and I can do hard things.'"
— On applying the resilience framework to workplace culture

"The idea of being good inside inherently requires us to separate behavior and identity. Someone's late to work a lot? 'Oh, that person's lazy.' The quickest way to have an unproductive conversation is to lose sight of the fact that someone's good inside."
— On the most common mistake managers make with underperformers

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