What is a Good Life?

On the 124th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I’m delighted to welcome our guest, Glenn Behenna. Glenn is a recently retired Senior Lecturer at Carmarthen Business School and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. He held a varied range of roles throughout his career, including steelworker, police officer, consultant, and facilitator, alongside more than 20 years of experience lecturing and managing university programmes. He was also an invited speaker at the House of Lords on topics related to education. Glenn’s path has been driven by a deep interest in people and how we communicate. 

In this conversation, Glenn shares his insights on the power of making a meaningful difference in the lives of others. We delve into the value of listening, paying attention, and fostering relationships within learning environments. Our discussion highlights how curiosity can drive personal growth and deepen our understanding of both ourselves and others.

We also reflect on the need to create space for our feelings and intuition, as well as the necessity of preserving our humanity in an increasingly automated world.

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, take part in my 5-week What is a Good Life? group courses, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams, or you simply want to get in touch.

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00:00 Making a difference to people’s lives
05:00 Helping people build confidence  
09:10 Encouraging people to know they are enough
12:30 Being vulnerable and available to people
15:30 The power of listening to open up others
18:40 Attention and relationship in learning
23:00 The unpredictable unfolding path of life
26:30 Curiosity & becoming at ease with ourselves
35:15 Leaving space for intuition & feeling
40:22 Reflections on AI in education
43:00 We are dehumanising ourselves
49:13 Students wary of AI marking their work
53:53 Conversation summary
56:26 What is a good life for Glenn?

What is What is a Good Life??

Over the last three years, I've interviewed nearly 300 people around the question of "What is a good life?" I am not trying to find or prescribe universal answers to this question; instead, I aim to prompt your own inquiry into what constitutes a good life for you. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience, beyond the masks that we wear.