The Becoming Podcast | Season 5; Episode 2 | Jennifer Garvey Berger on the science of adult development + how to allow transformative times to grow you

Welcome to the second episode of the 2023 season of the Becoming Podcast! On today’s episode, I welcome Jennifer Garvey Berger, someone whose work I've been following for many years, and who I consider to be a valuable teacher of mine.  I was so excited to nerd out with her about all things adult development psychology, neuroscience and complexity theory.     Before we dive in, let me tell you a bit about Jennifer: The co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, Jennifer blends deep theoretical knowledge with a driving quest for practical ways to make leaders’ lives better. She coaches executives and executive teams, designs and teaches leadership programs. Jennifer has written three highly acclaimed books on leadership and complexity and how to grow the capacities we need for the world in which we live. She hopes her newly-released fourth book, Unleash Your Complexity Genius, will change your life. When she’s not working with clients and colleagues, you can find her in the French countryside, where she has bought a house with eleven friends who live in community and try to keep the dog from terrifying the cats.     Here’s some of what Jennifer and I talked about in this episode: > Jennifer's move to the south of France to a big house with eleven friends, and how re-defining and reclaiming community has grown her and challenged her. > A model of adult development psychology that I use to guide my work with clients and that Jennifer teaches so eloquently.  It's all about this amazing shift from allowing the opinions of others to define our lives to taking up the pen and authoring our own rules of engagement. > Jennifer's new book, Unleashing your Complexity Genius, all about how we can grow the capacity of our nervous systems to be more resourceful and resilient in the face of change and complexity. > The surprisingly simple ways to increase your short term, medium term and long term capacity during transformational times – and how these things are actually sources of tremendous pleasure and joy.   I hope you enjoy listening to this episode!