Flourishing Leaders Podcast

What does it truly mean to live a flourishing life? In this thought-provoking episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with internationally renowned philosopher Professor Massimo Pigliucci to explore timeless questions about wisdom, character, leadership, and the pursuit of a life well lived. Drawing from Stoicism, Aristotelian virtue ethics, and mode...

What if leadership isn't primarily about influence, but about becoming the kind of person who helps others flourish? In this thought-provoking episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar welcome Professor Garrett W. Potts for a rich conversation exploring virtue ethics, meaningful work, moral injury, and what it truly means to flourish. Drawing on the philos...

What does it mean to become a better person? And what responsibility do colleges and universities have in helping students develop not only knowledge and skills, but character? In this episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar welcome Dr. Jennifer Rothschild, Executive Director of the Educating Character Initiative (ECI), philosopher, virtue ethicist, and leadi...

What does it mean to lead a flourishing life rooted in character, purpose, and service? In this powerful conversation, Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Professor Marvin Berkowitz , one of the world's foremost scholars in character education and moral development. Drawing on more than forty years of research and leadership, Marvin shares insights from his groundbreaking work on...

What does it mean to flourish as a leader in professions where lives hang in the balance? In this powerful episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, U.S. Army (Ret.) to explore leadership, character, reflection, healthcare, resilience, and the enduring responsibility to develop others. A retired three-star general...

What does it really mean to "be yourself" at work? In this thought-provoking episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast, Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with leadership strategist, author, and organizational alignment expert Elaine Chung to explore a surprising question: What if authenticity isn't simply about being yourself? Drawing from positive psychology, organization...

What does it mean to become a flourishing leader? In this uplifting and deeply inspiring episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Angela Lewis — former professional basketball player, leadership coach, speaker, author, and Founder of Lewis Consulting Group. Angela shares her remarkable journey from growing up in St. Louis to competing at the NCAA...

What does it mean to cultivate moral courage in a world increasingly shaped by polarization, fear, and distraction? In this powerful episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons sits down with Dr. Arthur Schwartz — Former President of Character.org and one of the key architects behind the modern character development and positive psychology movements. Arthur shares remarkable sto...

Welcome to Season 2 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast !  In this powerful season premiere, Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar are joined by Professor Christian Miller… one of the world’s leading scholars on moral character, virtue ethics, and honesty. Christian is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and the former director of both The Character Project and The Honesty...

What if the greatest challenge facing leaders today isn’t strategy, performance, or even innovation, but the loss of our humanity? In this powerful Season One finale of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Professor Elena Antonacopoulou, a globally recognized expert in organizational learning, leadership development, and systemic transformation. Elena i...

What does it mean to flourish when life is difficult, uncertain, or heartbreaking? In this deeply moving episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar welcome Dr. Maria Sirois, a positive psychologist, international consultant, speaker, and author whose work bridges resilience, flourishing, mind-body medicine, leadership, grief, beauty, and hope. Maria is the autho...

What does it mean to be a flourishing leader in a time of moral complexity, institutional pressure, and rapid technological change? In this milestone 50th episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons welcomes Professor Tom Harrison for a rich and deeply personal conversation on character education, leadership, practical wisdom, and human flourishing. Tom Harrison is Professor of...

What if leadership isn’t about control, but about cultivating the conditions for human flourishing? In Episode #49 of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Professor Matthew T. Lee, Director of the Flourishing Network at Harvard University’s Human Flourishing Program, Director of Empirical Research at Harvard, Professor of the Social Sciences and Humanit...

In this special episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar honor the life and legacy of Bob Chapman, longtime Barry-Wehmiller CEO and Chairman, whose vision of caring leadership transformed countless lives. Rather than a traditional interview, this episode is a reflection on Bob Chapman as a human being, a leader, and a global voice for a more deeply human way o...

What if flourishing begins when we stop dividing life into compartments—and start seeing people as whole human beings? In this heartfelt episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar are joined by Francine Apy —founder of FrancineApy.com and SoulFilling, adoption advocate, HR leader, speaker, coach, and MAPP candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Francine bri...

What if flourishing isn’t about feeling better—but about living better ? In Episode #46 of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Dr. Tayyab Rashid—clinical psychologist, co-developer of Positive Psychotherapy, and President-Elect of the International Positive Psychology Association—for a profound conversation on the true meaning of flourishing. Drawing o...

What if one of the most powerful leadership tools available to us isn’t a strategy, a metric, or a management framework — but the stories we tell ourselves and others? In this energizing and deeply human episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Capella Fahoome — culture engineer, award-winning film producer, executive coach, educator, and PhD stu...

What if one of the greatest leadership challenges of our time is not strategy, scale, or speed—but the loss of relationship? In this powerful episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Mike Erwin —Army officer, social entrepreneur, positive psychology practitioner, co-author of Lead Yourself First and Leadership Is a Relationship , and founder or c...

What does it mean to become stronger through what nearly broke you? In Episode #43 of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with David Berez — retired police officer, Master Resiliency Trainer, and positive psychology practitioner — for a moving conversation on trauma, healing, antifragility , and the power of story.  David shares experiences from decades in...

What if the future of healthcare depends less on doing more — and more on becoming wiser? In this powerful episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Margaret “Peggy” Plews-Ogan, MD MS — physician, educator, and wisdom researcher at the University of Virginia School of Medicine — to explore what it means to lead with practical wisdom (phronesis) in...

What if leadership isn’t about control, status, or “winning”—but about protecting dignity and promoting well-being ? In this episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Professor Michael Pirson , a global voice in humanistic management and humanistic leadership . Michael is the James F. Stoner Endowed Chair in Global Sustainability at Fordham Univer...

What if human flourishing isn’t a “nice-to-have,” but a strategic asset—one leaders must intentionally build, measure, and reinvest in? In this episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Dr. Jelena Nikolic —labor economist, researcher, and educator—to explore the deep connection between economic performance and human flourishing . Jelena argues tha...

 What if flourishing leadership isn’t found in doing more—but in aligning your values, wellbeing, and relationships during times of change?  Change can shake us—or shape us. In this episode of the Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Ilene Schaffer , CEO of Silicon Valley Change , executive leadership coach, speaker, and host of the What’s Possible podcast....

What does it mean to be a flourishing leader when the world feels chaotic—and leadership often defaults to fear, scarcity, and burnout? In this episode of The Flourishing Leaders Podcast , Dr. Scott Parsons and Jason Viyar sit down with Niels Gott , executive coach, positive psychology practitioner, and founder of Awesomer Coaching & Consulting —where his official title is Chief Awesome Office...

What does it mean to be a flourishing leader in a world marked by stress, division, and moral complexity? In this powerful episode, Dr. Scott Parsons sits down with Professor Nancy Sherman —Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University and acclaimed author of Stoic Wisdom: Ancient Lessons for Modern Resilience , Stoic Warriors , The Untold War , and Afterwar .  Nancy of...