“When we can start to reach for and engage and develop our strengths, those things we're good at and enjoy doing, then it is going to not just energize us a bit more in the face of all those challenges but give us more confidence to try to muddle our way through and get to the other side.”
- Dr. Michelle McQuaid

Feeling stretched thin by all the change around you? In this uplifting episode of Standing Up Strong, author and researcher Dr. Michelle McQuaid joins Dr. Jillian Coppley of the VIA Institute on Character —a global leader in the science and practice of character strengths—to reveal how our character strengths can help us rise above stress and “quiet cracking.” Discover how leaning into what makes you strong, paired with a dose of self-compassion, can boost your confidence, build resilience, and help you thrive even when life feels overwhelming.

Dr. Michelle McQuaid is an award-winning researcher, LinkedIn Top Voice for Mental Health, and honorary fellow at Melbourne University's Centre for Wellbeing Science and her team runs workshops, designs tools, and delivers coaching to help care for well-being, supercharge psychosocial safety, and co-create change in workplaces, schools, and communities around the world.

Dr. Jillian Coppley is a visionary executive recognized internationally for her expertise in character strengths, wellbeing, and organizational transformation. With deep experience in positive psychology, strategy, and change, she has led large-scale collaborations, built global programs, strategic partnerships, and thriving organizational cultures that empower individuals, teams and organizations to flourish. Her leadership blends strategic vision, research-based innovation, and deep personal care for others —creating environments where people and programs thrive and where meaningful, lasting impact takes root.

Our thanks to the Mayerson Family Foundation and the VIA Institute on Character for their support of this series.
https://www.mayersonfoundation.org/
https://www.viacharacter.org/

This series is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Family Center for Storytelling at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the science of character strengths is integral to our work creating a community of upstanders.
https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/
https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity

Find the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center on social media
https://www.facebook.com/CincyHHC/
https://www.instagram.com/holocaustandhumanity/
https://www.tiktok.com/@holocaustandhumanity

Find the VIA Institute on Character on social media
https://www.instagram.com/viastrengths/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/via-institute-on-character/

Episode Resources

Take the Character Strengths survey for free and find out your top strengths
https://www.viacharacter.org/

Find out more about Dr. McQuaid and her work
https://www.michellemcquaid.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chellemcquaid/

Michelle’s “HEART of change” steps to navigating change in our lives: Honoring feelings, Engaging purposefully, Appreciating strengths, Reaching out, and Taking tiny steps.
https://www.michellemcquaid.com/research/heart-of-change-insights-report/

Follow Dr. Jillian Coppley on LinkedIn for more insights about character strengths and how they can help us thrive
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcoppley/