I enjoyed talking with Max Zheng on his Human Prosperity Podcast. We discussed empathy and how it differs from compassion (both are necessary for capable leadership). And then we segued to one of my favorite subjects, sensation seeking. This is a more or less inborn personality trait defined by psychologist Marvin Zuckerman that helps each of us identify where we stand in terms of our tolerance for sameness versus novelty, our need for stimulation and variety, our interest in or distaste for thrill seeking. You will be much happier at work if you match your job and career to your need to seek or avoid stimulation and novelty. You can read more about this personality variable in my Forbes.com post here.

Max has conversations about leadership from the perspective of maximizing happiness and prosperity. I’ve wondered a lot about the place happiness has in human goals and priorities so I’m looking forward to our conversation.

I’m looking forward to rejoining the Human Prosperity podcast on September 17 to talk more about the psychology of leadership.