The Good Think
by Dr. Denaige McDonnell | EIHQ
The Good Think looks at the problems we’ve learned to live with — from the patriarchy to food banks to participation ribbons — and asks what they reveal about how we think, lead, and connect. Hosted by Dr. Denaige McDonnell, it’s a mix of storytelling, systems insight, and straight talk about the messy realities behind modern life.
Episodes
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057 | The Food Bank Problem
Food banks have become a symbol of generosity and resilience—neighbors helping neighbors in times of need. But what if that very system of charity is also propping up systemic failure? In this episode of The Good Think, we examine the rise of food banks in Canada and the United States, from their...
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056 | The Patriarchy Problem
Everyone blames the patriarchy. But what if it isn’t a villain — it’s a system we forgot to update? In this episode, Denaige traces the word’s origins from its Greek roots to modern headlines, unpacking how a structure that once organized society has become both a scapegoat and a mirror. From...
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055 | Season End: Getting Ready for a Good Think
This is it — the closing chapter of Emotional Organization and the beginning of something entirely new. In this final episode, Denaige introduces The Good Think — a podcast for people who are tired of surface-level conversation and ready to explore the systems, emotions, and logic that shape how…
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054 | The Year I Learned to Listen to Myself
This episode marks the beginning of a new chapter. After a year of recording, reflection, and learning out loud, Denaige looks back on what Emotional Organization taught her — not about emotions, but about thinking, integrity, and what it really takes to find your own voice. She shares the story...
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053 | Love Letters: My One and Only Daughter
In this heartfelt episode, Denaige McDonnell reflects on her journey as a mother through a love letter to her daughter, Arcana. She shares personal stories, lessons learned, and the profound impact her daughter has had on her life. The conversation explores themes of gratitude, connection, and…
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052 | Interview With an Entrepreneur: Mental Health and Business Building
Episode Summary: Building a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about mindset, confidence, and personal growth. In this episode, I sit down with my sister, Lola Shanks, a certified counselor and founder of Beyond the Break, to explore the mental and emotional challenges of entrepreneurship....
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051 | Interview With an Entrepreneur: Putting Principles Before Profit
In this episode of Emotional Organization, Denaige McDonnell interviews her husband, Keith McDonnell, about his journey into entrepreneurship. They discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, the role of community and culture in business, and how Keith is navigating the...
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050 | Risk is Relative: Refining Your Approach to Threat Assessment
When you hear the word risk, do you immediately think danger, loss, or threat? In this episode, we flip the script and take a deep dive into the real meaning of risk—and how your perception of it is silently influencing your decisions, leadership, energy, and opportunities. Using a systems…
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049 | The Creation of Culture: Building Something You Love
Workplace culture isn’t just about corporate policies or glossy mission statements—it’s a reflection of the collective behaviors, values, and emotional energy of the people who make up the organization. In this episode, we dive into the dynamic interplay between internal culture (the emotions and...
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048 | Root Setting: Forming Powerful Foundations for Growth
In this episode, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the concept of 'root setting' as a vital leadership skill that involves creating stability in one's life. She shares her personal journey of moving frequently during her childhood and how it shaped her understanding of belonging and community. The...
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047 | Leadership Paradigms: Understanding How You See the World
What You’ll Learn: What is a Paradigm? Explore the three core components of paradigms: Ontology: How you perceive reality. Epistemology: How you determine what’s true. Axiology: What you value most. Learn how paradigms act as mental filters, shaping your decisions, emotions, and behaviors. How...
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046 | Love Letters: Mental Model Makers—Past, Present, and Pretend
In Episode 46 of Emotional Organization, I’m writing a love letter to the powerhouse women — real, remembered, and imagined — who have shaped the way I think, act, and live. Through nine life areas, I explore the role of mental models as a form of self-coaching: the ways we can borrow strategies,...
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045 | Love Letters: Sisters, Sisters, and More Sisters
What do you do with the people who helped raise you… but also broke your heart? In this deeply personal episode, I reflect on the complicated terrain of sisterhood—what it gave me, what it took, and what it continues to teach me about identity, trust, betrayal, and survival. I was born the…
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044 | Love Letters: Bosses: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Not every boss is a mentor. Some are a warning. In this episode of Emotional Organization, I’m looking back at the people who shaped my leadership—on purpose or by accident. From my very first job to high-stakes roles in oil and gas, this is a love letter to the bosses who taught me to trust...
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043 | Love Letters: A Motorcycle, a Mug of Coffee, and a Lifetime of Trust
In this heartfelt installment of the Love Letter series, Dr. Denaige McDonnell reflects on nearly four decades of chosen family, emotional mentorship, and unshakable trust with someone who shaped her life profoundly: her brother-from-another-mother, Sean. From motorcycle leathers and jalapeño...
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042 | Love Letters: Everything I Needed to Know About Leadership I Learned from My Teachers
This episode is a tribute—to the ones who saw me, shaped me, and gave me the tools to find my own voice. Growing up as the youngest of four sisters, I often felt like the extra piece in a puzzle that didn’t quite fit. But inside the walls of a classroom, I found something I hadn’t yet felt...
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041 | Love Letters: Barbies, Butterflies, Nooners, Scaffolding, and a 15 Year Marriage
Season 2 begins with a story that’s not about theory—but about truth. In this deeply personal episode, I take you inside the love story that changed everything for me. It's not a fairy tale. It's not fireworks. It’s paperwork, playlists, patient hugs, and one man who showed up again and…
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040 | False Agency in the Digital Age: Why You Feel Powerless Even When You're in Control
False Agency in a Digital Age: Why You Feel Powerless Even When You're in Charge A deep dive into powerlessness, perception, and the subtle ways our modern world trains us to give up control—even when we’re the ones in charge. Episode Summary: In this expansive, emotionally intelligent episode,...
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039 | A Place to Belong: The Leadership Skill of Root-Setting
In this episode, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the concept of 'root setting' as a vital leadership skill that involves creating stability in one's life. She shares her personal journey of moving frequently during her childhood and how it shaped her understanding of belonging and community. The...
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038 | Navigating Through the Fog of Uncertainty
Keywords: uncertainty, risk management, decision making, resilience, emotional intelligence, leadership, personal development, mental health, adaptability, scenario planning In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the pervasive theme of uncertainty in our lives....
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037 | Brand Building for the Solopreneur
Brand Building for the Solopreneur Branding isn’t just about logos. It’s about leadership, identity, and making your complexity feel cohesive. Key Takeaways Brand ≠ Logo. It’s the total experience shaping gut feelings. Five Brand-Gap Disciplines (Neumeier): Differentiate, Collaborate, Innovate,...
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036 | Strategic Friendship: Beyond Proximity and Play
What happens to our friendships when we leave the structures that used to shape them—like school, work, or parenting schedules? And what if we stopped trying to recreate those old patterns and instead built something better? In this heartfelt and thought-provoking episode, Dr. Denaige McDonnell...
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035 | Slow Leadership: The Antidote We All Need Right Now
In a world racing to optimize, automate, and accelerate—what happens to leadership, to communication, to meaning? In this soul-stirring episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell steps away from the panic around AI and instead holds up a mirror. What she reflects back isn’t just…
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034 | Burnout and the Psychological Contract Between You and Your Employer
In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores burnout through the lens of the psychological contract—the invisible but powerful set of expectations between workers and their organizations. Burnout is not just exhaustion or stress. It’s what happens when the unspoken...
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033 | Workplace Mental Health: The Silent Strain
In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the invisible emotional weight many people carry at work—especially in environments where silence is rewarded, emotional labor is misunderstood, and psychosocial risks are ignored. Drawing on over 30 years of experience…
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032 | The Rhythm of Leadership: Lessons from Myth and Science
Keywords: leadership, emotional intelligence, Persephone, Mayan calendar, artificial intelligence, timing, systems thinking, personal growth, mythology, productivity Summary: In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the concept of timing through three distinct...
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031 | Getting to the Heart of Risk: A Systems Approach to Upgrading Your Decision-Making Confidence
When you hear the word risk, do you immediately think danger, loss, or threat? In this episode, we flip the script and take a deep dive into the real meaning of risk—and how your perception of it is silently influencing your decisions, leadership, energy, and opportunities. Using a systems…
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030 | The Myth of Freedom — Why Systems Are the Secret to Feeling Free
In this deeply practical and perspective-shifting episode, we explore a powerful truth: freedom doesn’t come from avoiding structure — it comes from understanding and designing your systems. From decision fatigue to emotional burnout, so many of our struggles stem not from personal flaws, but…
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029 | Project Life: How to Manage Yourself Like a Million-Dollar Project
Welcome to The Emotional Organization, where strategy meets soul—and today, we’re blending project management with personal transformation. In this episode, host Dr. Denaige McDonnell reframes the five traditional phases of project management (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring &...
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028 | Finding Your Audience Starts with Finding Yourself
If your marketing feels flat, your message feels forced, or your ideal clients keep ghosting you—it might not be your funnel. It might be your frequency. In this episode, we dismantle the myth that market research and client avatars are the starting point for great marketing. Instead, we dive…
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027 | Leading Through Toxic Culture: How To Find Calm, Clarity, and Confidence
In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Dr. Denaige McDonnell confronts one of the most painful realities in modern work life—what it means to lead inside a toxic workplace. From politics and power dynamics to the silencing of dissent and the betrayal of values, she shares not only her…
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026 | Mastering the Entrepreneurial Mindset: 5 Challenges Every Business Builder Must Overcome
In the final installment of our 4-part entrepreneurial mindset series, Dr. Denaige McDonnell dives into the five most common (and most disruptive) mindset challenges that business builders face—not in theory, but in the emotional trenches of real-life transition. This is the episode where we pull...
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025 | Reinventing Yourself—Overcoming Fear & Uncertainty with Special Guest: Stacey Kelley, Royal Lepage Benchmark Realtor
(Part 3 of 4 in the Mindset of Entrepreneurship Series) Episode Summary: Leaving behind a 28-year corporate career in oil and gas isn’t easy, but for Stacey Kelley (find here here), it was the right move. After decades in a structured corporate environment, she made the leap from chemical...
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024 | The Entrepreneurial Mindset with Lola Shanks of Beyond the Break
Episode Summary: Building a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about mindset, confidence, and personal growth. In this episode, I sit down with my sister, Lola Shanks, a certified counselor and founder of Beyond the Break, to explore the mental and emotional challenges of entrepreneurship....
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023 | The Leap—Understanding the Mental Journey of Leaving Corporate Life
Leaving corporate life isn’t just a career move—it’s a complete mental and emotional transformation. The decision to step into entrepreneurship brings a wave of self-doubt, fear, excitement, and uncertainty. In this episode, we’re breaking down the psychological shifts that happen before, during,...
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022 | The Business Builder's Dilemma: Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur
In this episode of Emotional Organization, host Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores one of the most crucial decisions business owners face: Should you remain a solopreneur or scale into entrepreneurship? Over the past few episodes, we’ve explored different perspectives on this topic. We heard from...
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021 | Building a Business That Works for You: Lessons in Leadership and Growth with Rebecca Innes of Rebecca Innes Consulting
In this episode of Emotional Organization, I’m joined by Rebecca Innes, founder of Rebecca Innes Consulting, an expert in emergency response consulting, resilience planning, and strategic leadership. Rebecca’s journey from a solo consultant to a firm owner provides a fascinating look at what it...
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020 | Principles Before Profits: Business Building with Keith McDonnell, The Honey-Do Crew
In this episode of Emotional Organization, Denaige McDonnell interviews her husband, Keith McDonnell, about his journey into entrepreneurship. They discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership, the role of community and culture in business, and how Keith is navigating the...
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019 | Embracing Self-Awareness in Entrepreneurship: Christina Seitz, Ignite Copy
In this conversation, Denaige McDonnell and Christina Seitz explore the importance of self-awareness in entrepreneurship, the journey of building Ignite Copy, and the unique challenges faced by spiritual entrepreneurs. They discuss the significance of alignment in business, setting boundaries for...
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018 | Sea Captains, Ballast, and Mind-Body Connection: Getting Right After Being Wrong
In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell explores the concept of ballast—the stabilizing force that keeps us steady in turbulent times. Using historical stories of Nova Scotia’s privateers, she draws powerful parallels between life’s storms and the strategies we use to...
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017 | Quick Wins for Mental Clarity: Taking Inspiration from Carl Linnaeus
In this episode of Emotional Organization, we’re diving into the fascinating world of thinking about your thinking. Inspired by Carl Linnaeus—the 18th-century naturalist who organized the natural world—we’ll explore how creating your own mental taxonomy can bring clarity and focus to your life....
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016 | Navigating Change, Discovering You
In this episode of Emotional Organization, we explore why adaptability is essential for self-discovery and personal growth. From real-life lessons drawn from the inspiring story of Michael Wrayton to practical tips on cultivating adaptability in your own life, we dive deep into what it takes to...
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015 | Harnessing the Power of Change
Episode Summary: In this episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell introduces the Team of One model—a transformative approach to personal growth and change management. Drawing from her expertise in leadership and emotional intelligence, Dr. McDonnell explains how you can align your...
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014 | Fresh Starts: Harnessing the Power of New Beginnings
In this episode of Emotional Organization, host Dr. Denaige McDonnell dives into the concept of fresh starts and why they hold such transformative power. Whether it’s the New Year, a new week, or a major life transition, fresh starts are more than just a cultural tradition—they’re a psychological...
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013 | Beyond the Echo Chamber: Rethinking Paradigms
In this thought-provoking episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell unpacks the concept of paradigms—your unique mental framework for seeing and interpreting the world—and explores how it impacts your leadership style, relationships, and decision-making. From understanding your own...
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012 | Leadership in Toxic Workplaces
In this powerful episode of Emotional Organization, Dr. Denaige McDonnell confronts the realities of leading in toxic workplaces. Whether it’s navigating systemic dysfunction, overcoming personal fears, or advocating for change, Dr. McDonnell dives deep into the challenges and strategies for...
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011 | Culture Under Construction: How We Build Everyday
Workplace culture isn’t just about corporate policies or glossy mission statements—it’s a reflection of the collective behaviors, values, and emotional energy of the people who make up the organization. In this episode, we dive into the dynamic interplay between internal culture (the emotions and...
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010 | Workplace Harassment: The Cost of Staying Silent
Show Notes for Podcast Episode Title: Breaking the Silence: Harassment and Silence at Work Podcast: Emotional Organization Host: Dr. Denaige McDonnell Episode Overview In this episode, Dr. Denaige McDonnell shares two powerful personal stories of workplace harassment, spanning 25 years, and...
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009 | Mapping Emotional Pathways
Emotions are powerful guides, influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and decisions every day. But they don’t have to control us. By learning to map your emotional pathways, you can identify the patterns behind how emotions rise, peak, and fade—empowering you to respond with greater intention and...
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008 | Trust: How We Build, Break, and Build Again
Trust is the foundation of every meaningful relationship—whether with others or yourself. But trust is also fragile. It takes time to build, seconds to break, and significant effort to rebuild. In this episode, we explore the dynamics of trust: how it grows, why it sometimes fails, and what it...
About this show
The Good Think looks at the problems we’ve learned to live with — from the patriarchy to food banks to participation ribbons — and asks what they reveal about how we think, lead, and connect. Hosted by Dr. Denaige McDonnell, it’s a mix of storytelling, systems insight, and straight talk about the messy realities behind modern life.
Hosted by
Dr. Denaige McDonnell | EIHQ
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