Feb. 17, 2026

Painting New Pathways: Creativity as Medicine for Workplace Burnout

Painting New Pathways: Creativity as Medicine for Workplace Burnout
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Burnout is on the rise, and traditional solutions fall short. Enter Dr. Tolia, a former medical doctor turned visual artist who now prescribes beauty and creativity for vitality. Her work shifts workplaces from tense and transactional to calm and inspiring. Together, we uncover how intentional art can nurture meaning, elevate well-being, and unlock leaders’ higher potential to create thriving cultures.

Working on Purpose is broadcast live Tuesdays at 6PM ET and Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Working on Purpose is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions express in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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Radio or its employees are affiliates. Any questions or comments

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should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you for

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choosing W FOURCY Radio.

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What's working on Purpose? Anyway? Each week we ponder the

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answer to this question. People ache for meaning and purpose

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at work, to contribute their talents passionately and know their

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lives really matter. They crave being part of an organization

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that inspires them and helps them grow into realizing their

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highest potential. Business can be such a force for good

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in the world, elevating humanity. In our program, we provide

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guidance and inspiration to help usher in this world we

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all want working on Purpose. Now here's your host, doctor

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Elise Cortes.

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Welcome back to Working in a Purpose program, which has

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been brought to you with passion and pride since February

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of twenty fifteenth thks tuning in this week. Great to

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have you. I'm your host, doctor Elise core Test. If

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we've not met before and you don't know me, I

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am a workforce advisor, organizational psychologist, management consultant, logo therapists,

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speaker and author, and my team and I at Gusta

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now help companies to enliven and fortify their operations by

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building a dynamic, high performance culture, inspirational leadership, and nurturing

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managers activated by meaning and purpose. Many organizations are not

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aware of just how critical it is to invest in

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developing their leaders and managers not just for their own effectiveness,

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but also to avoid burnout and to keep them fulfilled.

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And did you know that inspired employees outperform their satisfied

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peers by a factor of two point twenty five to one.

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In other words, inspiration is good for the bottom line.

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You can learn more about us and how we can

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work together at Gusto dashnow dot com or my personal

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site elescore test dot com. Getting into today's program we

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have with us today Doctor Vasutolia, who is off Hissian

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turned visual artist and international speaker who integrates her background

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in pediatric medicine with the transformative power of creativity. After

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a distinguished and fulfilling career as a tenured professor and

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pediatric gastro and rologist, she reinvented herself through art, using color,

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form and neuroscience to foster healing, resilience, and purpose. We'll

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be talking about the neuroscience behind beauty and how it

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contributes to wellbeing and how organizations can harness it for

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in their physical surroundings. She joins us today from Detroit, Michigan.

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Doctor Toliette, Welcome to working on Purpose.

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Thank you, Elise. I appreciate your warm welcome, and your

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resume is also so impressive.

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Thank you, doctor Vasu. It's so wonderful to have you

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here in the studio and to get to talk about you,

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your life, your work and what you're bringing forward. And

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for listeners or viewers who are actually joining us via

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the web and you can see her beautiful art behind her,

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it's just stunningly gorgeous. It definitely is already healing and oh.

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Look at that.

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That's beautiful.

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Thank you.

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So let's talk a little bit about how you've gone

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through a few careers in your life. I think it's

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fascinating when people navigate different careers, and of course you

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started off from academia to a private practice and eventually

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onto abstract art. Take us through the journey. First, we'll

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talk about why did you become a physician. Why did

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you want to choose medicine.

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I thank you for that question. Realise, I really didn't

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have any role model when I was young to become

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a physician. But I was in school and in ninth

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grade we had to choose between science, arts and business

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or commerce that what they called, and I was going

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to choose arts. But my best friend, her brother is

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a was in medical school, so she told me that

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let's just take science. And I took science and then

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I became a doctor.

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You make that sound so easy. I'm quite sure it

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wasn't that simple, But so what were I know it

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was a fulfilling career for you? What was fulfilling about

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that career?

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Oh?

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It was extremely fulfilling because it made me practice kindness,

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empathy and all those good values that my parents, especially

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my mother, had instilled in me. And to be able

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to practice and take care of patients and in parents.

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You know, in pediatrics you're treating parents, more than you're

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treating patients, you know, important to reassure them about what's happening.

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So and then I had the opportunity to do research also,

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So making contributions to advancement in medicine I found equally

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fulfilling as patient care. Then mentoring and teaching were also

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part of my repertoire. So to have my fellows emerge

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and become division chiefs somewhere else and advance in their

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career was very gratifying. So there were so many aspects

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of my medical career that I will always cherish and

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be proud of.

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Well, it's really wonderful as somebody as an organizational psychologist

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as too. I've chosen this particular field. I'm not a

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clinical psychologist anything like that. I care about the world

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of work because I believe in the nobility the beauty

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of work as a way to be of service in

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our lives and to help us catalyze ourselves into more

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of our higher potential. So it's wonderful to hear this

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earlier background. Now I have to imagine that along the

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way you must have been practicing art as you were

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also in the medical space. Did I can't imagine you

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just set it down or did something. Did you pick

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it up later in life.

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Yes, I picked it up in life. Before that, my

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art was limited to making medical drawings and diagrams, and

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when my children were young, one of my sons used

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to draw quite a bit, like he actually used to

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make some comic strips and periodic things, you know, like

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little sketches and all, and I used to love it.

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I always enjoyed viewing art, and so when I retired

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from my medical career, my husband kind of generally urged

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me to try something to keep me grounded, develop a

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creative outlet, because he knew that I needed engaging and

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nurturing activity, you know that will keep me sane because,

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you know, having been working like twelve hours a day,

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five days a week, and even working on weekends many

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times for research, he knew that there was a tremendous

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void in my life, you know, when I decided to retire.

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So that was the beginning of how I started it,

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and then I found it pretty engaging, although it was

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very frustrating also initially because I had to take baby

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steps and start from scratch. So having this duality of

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being a novious, you know, in something else starting when

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you have been on the top of your profession. It

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was very challenging, but I somehow continued and during COVID

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I kind of liberated myself because initially I was doing

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representational art by copying from photographs and just trying to

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emulate whatever it was in front of me. But then

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in COVID, I just felt, you know, I had to

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find myself and I started experimenting more and more, and

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I found a voice to abstract and semi abstract artworks.

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And what surprised me was how nice and engaging it felt.

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You know, just like medicine, art is also like observation

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and then you express it, whether you do it by

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drawing or painting or music or whatever. I'm not trying

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to say that visual art is the only art to practice.

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I know that most of the phonts of art do help,

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you know, relax and distress in many ways. But my

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particular forte is visual art because that's what I found

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and I feel that I'm having a great time doing

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it because I find it healing for myself. And that's

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when I started to investigate more is to what art

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can do to you, and started delving into further into

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neuroscience and this thing, but you know it has become

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more than a pastime. Quite early in this phase of

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my career, it was a way to process, transform and

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serve in a new form besides being my own form

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of healing, not to replace medicine, but to compliment it.

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I felt that, you know, it helps your whole space,

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gives you permission to feel everything without any judgment, and

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to whisper hope and beauty when words run out of

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your repertoire, that.

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Is beautiful, really beautiful. Well, can you help us, shall

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we say, connect the dots or paint the line between

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You've said some of this already here, but you're talking

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about the transformed of the healing power that you were

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doing as a physician and now you do with a paintbrush.

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And would you help us dig a little deeper? You said,

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I love how you're talking about how we can how

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words can fail us when it comes to how art

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can speak to us. But take us another level deeper

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into how art is a healing mechanism, how you're seeing

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it as a mechanism to translate what you were doing

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before to what you're doing today.

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Yes, you know the seed must have planted in my

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mind years ago when I saw my son doing it.

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But I myself used to write a lot in a

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journal when I couldn't express what I was feeling in words,

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so I knew that healing is not always verbal. So

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when I started painting, I experienced that same sense of release, reflection,

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and resilience myself, and I realized that this was not

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just hoppy material. It was medicine too. You know, I

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had to experience it before I could give it to others.

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So it is, it's become my weight for continuing to

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serve process and eventually help others see their own inner

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strength and beauty. Painting has become my modality to regulate

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my mood, invite in reflection, and it also suits nervous

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system overload, so I call it kind of visual therapy.

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And I realized that what I was doing as an

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artist was essentially continuing my voice or my role as

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a healer, but using beauty and creativity instead of instruments

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like stethoscopes and endoscopes. It's such a profound thing that

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you experience when you're deeply immersed in it. You go

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in a face and get irritated when you're distracted or

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you know, household things and responsibilities have to be there

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to ground you again, to get out of that zone.

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But you know you'll get a few hours of it

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and you realize how different you feel, and it's a

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it's a lovely feeling. And I know that people who

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play music feel it. People feel it by knitting, sewing, sculpting, cooking.

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There are people and any kind of activity that suits

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you and makes you feel good can be your form

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of art.

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I am just so enjoying just the way you're rendering

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your story and bringing us into this beautiful space of yours.

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And so far we've been talking about how you're practicing

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art and how how it's nurturing you in the in

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the in the experience of rendering it and also creating it.

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Let's go to the other side of that and speak

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to the experience of the person observing it. And I

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want to situate it from the realm of neuroscience, because

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I think that's really fascinating. So I want to understand

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from first that from a neuroscientific perspective perspective, how does

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it help us who are actually observing it. I'm looking

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at your art behind you and immediately I do feel calmer,

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I do feel I feel a sense of connectivity to it,

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like I'm drawn to it. But help us understand the

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science behind this.

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Yeah, sure, you know, there is an active act of

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doing art, actually making art, and impassive by observing or

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listening and things like that. So this visual medicine, it

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comes the nervous system, It sparks inspiration and holds the

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space for unspoken emotions. But it's still about empathy. It's

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still about service, you know. Only the tools have changed,

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and in many ways it allows for a broader impact,

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especially in workspaces, public spaces and homes. Tell you how

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neuroscience tells her, because I have been digging into this

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to understand all this phenomena better. It tells us that

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exposure to beauty and art engages parts of the brain

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that are beyond the rational cortex, you know, sensory, emotional,

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and memory systems. So art can lower cortisol, engage the

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parasympathetic nervous system, which is the protective part of our

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autonomic nervous system, and give what I call actually your

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mind a break and from constant fight flight kind of experiences.

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It's like offering your nervous system a moment to breathe.

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There is growing evidence also that visual art and all

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other kinds of art, especially certain color shapes and forms,

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activate the prefrontal cortex, which is just behind our forehead,

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and it lowers the cortisol levels. It can even release dopamine,

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the feel good hormone, and art stimulates multiple sensory pathways.

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The more kind of senses are involved, you know, the

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better the effect is on the nervous system. So it

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offers a form of nonverbal emotional processing which can be

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very powerful when people are burnt out or stuck in

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high stress analytical modes. And like I told you earlier

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in this segment about active in the passive role, So

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there is a thing called meansum effect. So even if

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you don't make art, you go and visit some places

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you know, where art is displayed. That kind of also

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sooths and calms your mind. And you may not realize it,

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but you know, it kind of slows down your breathing

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and deepens it. It decreases your heart rate and just

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makes you feel calmer and better if you're enjoying it.

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Like you know, painting is not fair everybody. But when

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we go to performances like theaters, dance, music concerts, and

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all the same effects happen because that's something we enjoy

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and that's how we do stress. So it's such a

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my dayfectorial thing that helps that understanding.

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It wants me to dole it out even more and

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more so that I can, you know, help a whole

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community rather than just a few people.

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It's really really beautiful. Let's let our listeners and viewers

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reflect on what you've been sharing here and just sit

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in the beauty of the moment that you've conjured for us,

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and we'll take our first break. I'm your host, doctor

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really score Test. We've been on the air with doctor Vasutolia.

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She's a physician turned visual artist and international speaker who

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integrates her background in pediatric medicine with the transformative power

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of creativity and beauty. We've been talking a bit about

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her earlier career, how she herself has been nurtured by

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creating her art and starting to open a conversation on

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how the rest of us can benefit from it in

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terms of well being. We'll be right back.

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Doctor Elise Cortes is a management consultant specializing in meaning

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and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

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visioneer for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose inspired

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leadership and meaning infused cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance, and

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commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to invite

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a lease to speak to your organization, please visit her

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at Eliscortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

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your employees working on purpose. This is working on Purpose

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with doctor Release Cortes. To reach our program today or

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to open a conversation with Elise, send an email to

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a lease a lisee at Eliscortes dot com. Now back

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to working on Purpose. Thanks for staying with us, and

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welcome back to working on Purpose. I'm your host, doctor

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Release Cortes, as I am dedicated to helping create a

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world where organizations thrive because they're people thrive and are

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led by inspirational leaders that help them find and contribute

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their greatness and do business that betters the world.

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I keep researching and writing my own books. One of

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my latest came out is called The Great Revitalization. How

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activating meaning and purpose can radically in liven your business

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and I wrote it to help leaders understand the nature

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of today's very discerning and diverse workforce, what it is

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they want and need to perform with their best and

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stay with you, and then I provide twenty two best

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practices to quip your culture to provide that for them.

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You can find my books on Amazon or my personal

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site at Lascortes dot com if you are just now

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joining us. My guest is doctor Utlia, She's a physician

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turned visual artist. We're talking now about how we can

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start to integrate this into the work into the workplace.

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I'm very interested in helping equip leaders, as I just said,

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to create experiences environments where people really can shine. And

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there's been such a profound shift over just the last

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several years, as I think we've really awakened to so

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much more of what it is that we want in

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terms of our lives. What's your perspective aasu about how

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or maybe you have a finger on the pull as

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to what you've learned about what leaders are trying to

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do with art for their people, for their environments.

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I think it is something that is a must for

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all leaders, and I don't know if all of them

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are doing it, but I know that some of them are.

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But The leaders are the people who set the emotional

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tone of the place. You know, where you work, and

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if they show vulnerability, they show curiosity and creativity. It

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gives others in their team permission to do the same,

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to feel that kind of liberating movement. It also signals

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emotional intelligence and that well being are being valued, not

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just productivity. So empathy. Wonder how like esthetic experiences can

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help leaders move beyond the problem solving into visionary thinking

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because that emotional expansion is what allows others to build trust,

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inspire action, and lead without with meaning. So it kind

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of makes a workforce more cohesive if they feel that

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they are surrounded by something that gives them a respite

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during moments of intense concentration. If they need a break,

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all they need to do is to look at what

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they liked is on your desk or around them. So

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I think giving each team their own personal space to

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decorate or fill it with things that they like, or

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listen to music or whatever during periods of great you

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know those kinds of things. Small small acts can go

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a long way in creating a richer workspace.

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You are totally talking my love language us. You totally

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speaking my love language all the way through that, I

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had a vision as you were talking of a workplace

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and a leader stopping. I can imagine your art being

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displayed and a leader walking to his next meeting, and

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it was a division, was a male and just stopping

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because he was drawn by the beauty of your art

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work and just allowing himself to be given over to it.

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And in the process, just what you were saying, everyone

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around him was drawn to and liberated and invited to

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do the same. And that's what was coming into my

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mind as you were sharing that, isn't that beautiful? I

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would love to work in a place like that. I'd

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love to help more people work in a place like that.

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So take us back. I think if I remember from

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our earlier conversation that something happened for you and your

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art during the pandemic. I think you got to display

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some of your work someplace. Tell us about that experience.

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So during pandemic, as I was doing my own thing,

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that was a call from by Washington Post about COVID art.

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So I responded to that and submitted to artworks, and

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to my surprise and sheer delight, I was told that

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one of my artworks was considered amongst stop twenty in

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the nation, and I felt very happy and elated. And

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next year Center for Disease Control approached me and said

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they wanted to use that same artwork for the cover

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of the Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, which was dedicated

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to COVID mainly, and I was that is probably one

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of the best achievements of my life where I felt

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like like my medicine and art came together. I mean,

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I have participated in many shows and group shows and

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solo shows I do every year, but and even when

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I win the first prize or best of the Show

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or any prize, and there are shows and I don't

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win anything, but that moment of being called by CDC

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and seeing my artwork on the cover of the journal

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after it was published, I really felt very fulfilled.

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I hope you have that frame somewhere in your house,

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do you.

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It is not displayed right now, but it was displayed

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for a while. How I'm giving it a break and

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giving others a chance.

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Okay, well, that sounds like something that needs to be

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revered and giving its own shrine someplace. It seems to me. Yeah,

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that work is not for sale right right? No? No,

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for you. For you, it's a in your in your

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in your home is where I can imagine it. Yes,

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I'm interested to in how we together in this conversation

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and through certainly through your work, that we can help

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leaders think of more ways or situate more ways where

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creativity is part of the environment that they that they steward.

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Do you have perspective on how leaders can help provide

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that for their people.

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That's a very interesting question. The leaders have the opportunity

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to lead with their whole selves if they feel the

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whole self themselves. So when a leader shares about art

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or whatever relaxation activity they love, pauses to admire beauty

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just the way you were quoting earlier, or acknowledges emotional states,

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it signals to others that it's okay for us to

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be vulnerable too, you know. So they become guardians of

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emotional culture, you know, for their team or people surrounding them,

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not just us culture, you know, making beauty part of

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the culture, whether through shared art spaces, creative expressions, or

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simply asking people how they feel in their environment. So

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when the people are they see themselves reflected in their surroundings,

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they feel seen, valued and safe. And probably less. We're

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now more retention rate if they feel valued. So there

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is a lot beyond just a beauty that your nervous system,

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you know, makes you feel that you belong here. It

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gives you a sense of belonging and probably more loyalty.

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Also, Oh, you have no idea how much you are

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beautifully weaving so many of the concepts that we've been

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talking about on this program together in just this one conversation,

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and over the ten and a half years that I've

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hosted this podcast, we've really cycled through a lot of concepts.

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And if you were to look at the content of

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the last ten and a half years, what you would

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see is really the unfoldment of my consciousness, and I

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would say the elevation of my consciousness. And so today

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I'm so riveted on helping more organizations and some of

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their leaders who steward them to navigate what I considered

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to be that those higher levels of consciousness, those higher

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emotional states. So I've had conversations on this podcast around wonder,

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awe joy and really I think you're one of the

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first now to contribute to the idea of beauty and

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the neuroscience behind that and I'm really encouraged by that

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and that you're weaving together so many of the concepts

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that we've been cherishing. Just I would say, in the

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last couple of years alone, what's the next step from this?

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Where do we go from here?

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You know, these are all the ways of empowering people

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to feel empathetic, wonder, gratitude, curiosity, and these are very

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underrated feelings. You know. It opens up the space for belonging,

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for connection, and for renovation. When someone feels more curious

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about what this abstract art represents or looking at it

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and wonders rather than feel defensive, then they feel more

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gratitude rather than entitlement. You know, your culture shifts from

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fear to possibility as to what you can achieve and do.

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We would see more resilience, more loyalty, and more original thinking.

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I feel, and the burnout often stems from disconnection or

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depletion because either you overworked or you're underappreciated and just

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not feeling satisfied. So art reintroduces emotional nourishment and connection

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to things that people are start for that leads to

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better outcomes across the board. So we would probably see

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fewer people leaving fewer sick days, better morale engagement would

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go up, not just in surveys but in actual work.

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Innovation emerges when people feel safe, beautiful, energized, and not

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depleted or merely compliant. So I think there is a

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whole host of cycle that you know, your brain undergoes,

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and it comes your body and makes you feel much

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better about like you will look forward to going to

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work every day rather than oh, no, another alarm has

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set off and I have to be there again, that

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kind of a feeling. I think nurturing your team is

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very important.

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I feel very hopeful about what you've just put forth there.

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I do see that as a really beautiful next for

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so many organizations, and I would like to help steward

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them into that space because I think it is beautiful.

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And I can already feel. You know, my blood pressure

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is certainly lowered since I began speaking with you. I'm

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sure of that, and I do feel that sort of

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a connectivity to you and to your art, but also

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to the possibility of this conversation, and I can't imagine

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how that would lift innovation creativity. I think the idea

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of feeling connected to your colleagues and to the organization

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that you're part of that has stupid this sin for you.

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So I appreciate so much that you have ushered in

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the possibility for this, and I really hope that listeners

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and viewers that are with us in this conversation can

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witness that possibility for themselves as well. What I would

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like to do is let's grab our last break, and

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then after the break, I want to talk more about

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how we can help empower leaders to situate art and

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beauty and creativity in their organizations as a day to

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day practice. I'm a Lasee Cortez. We'll get on the

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air with doctor Vasutolia. We'll be right back.

466
00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:39.039
Doctor Elise Cortez is a management consultant specializing in meaning

467
00:30:39.119 --> 00:30:42.920
and purpose. An inspirational speaker and author. She helps companies

468
00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:46.319
visioneer for a greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose

469
00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:50.720
inspired leadership and meaning infuse cultures that elevate fulfillment, performance,

470
00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:53.799
and commitment within the workforce. To learn more or to

471
00:30:53.880 --> 00:30:56.759
invite a lease to speak to your organization, please visit

472
00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:59.920
her at Eliscortes dot com. Let's talk about how to

473
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:08.559
get your employees working on purpose. This is working on

474
00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:12.200
purpose with doctor Elise Cortes. To reach our program today

475
00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:15.039
or to open a conversation with Elise, send an email

476
00:31:15.119 --> 00:31:20.680
to Elise A Lisee at Eliscortes dot com. Now back

477
00:31:20.720 --> 00:31:22.000
to Working on Purpose.

478
00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:28.960
Thanks for staying with us, and welcome back to Working

479
00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:32.079
on Purpose. I'm your host, Doctor Release Cortes. I mentioned

480
00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:33.839
in the last break that my latest book came out,

481
00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:36.640
The Great Ravitalization. What I have done for you is

482
00:31:36.680 --> 00:31:39.200
I have created a three page free assessment. It's on

483
00:31:39.200 --> 00:31:41.720
my website. It will help you understand the extent to

484
00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:45.079
which your organization is meeting the needs of today's discerning workforce.

485
00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:48.480
You can find it at Gusto dshnow dot com if

486
00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:50.920
you are just joining the program today. My guest is

487
00:31:50.960 --> 00:31:55.359
doctor Vossutolia. She's a physician turned visual artist and international speaker.

488
00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:00.200
So for this last segment of the conversation, here us

489
00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:03.200
So I would love to take this to a bit

490
00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:05.480
more of a practical realm for our listeners and viewers

491
00:32:05.640 --> 00:32:08.799
so they can apply what we've been learning in their world.

492
00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:11.799
And as we run break, I was thinking to myself

493
00:32:11.839 --> 00:32:14.960
one of the things that might be interesting for organizations

494
00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:18.480
to do would be to one of course, have beautiful art,

495
00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:21.440
you know, in terms of their deck or what what

496
00:32:21.480 --> 00:32:25.599
their people are surrounded by. But two, I envisioned the

497
00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:30.680
idea that if they had actual labs available for people

498
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:33.079
to be able to come and create art together, to

499
00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:35.240
be able to make that part of how they are

500
00:32:35.319 --> 00:32:38.720
expressing maybe what they're doing for their customers, or maybe

501
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:41.160
how it is they're coming to problem solve. Can you

502
00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:43.119
talk to us a bit about maybe some of the

503
00:32:43.160 --> 00:32:45.839
ways you envision or maybe what you've learned about that

504
00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:50.160
companies are doing to bring art and creativity and beauty

505
00:32:50.200 --> 00:32:51.680
into the workplace for their people.

506
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:56.559
Yes, sure, I'm so glad you asked that question. You know,

507
00:32:56.839 --> 00:33:00.519
art speaks across roles and hierarchys. It annoys people to

508
00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:04.759
share their own stories also and create a shared experience.

509
00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.240
So they could have a room in a break where

510
00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:12.559
all these some of these basic materials are available and

511
00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:17.440
people can just sketch and do things, you know, distress

512
00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:21.480
themselves in a ten to fifteen minute break and then

513
00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:23.960
just get back to their work or whatever they want

514
00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.480
to do. But it also turns the workspace when you

515
00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:31.559
do these kinds of practices from a transaction into a community.

516
00:33:32.079 --> 00:33:35.160
And that's where the meaning lives. You know that the

517
00:33:35.440 --> 00:33:40.240
meaning of work as a second home. People spend most

518
00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:43.279
of their times outside their home at their work, so

519
00:33:43.359 --> 00:33:45.960
it needs to be a congenial place where you know,

520
00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:48.640
they would be happy. Of course, they have to put

521
00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:52.000
in their two pins and you know, and their living,

522
00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:55.599
but while doing it they can just feel happy. So

523
00:33:56.359 --> 00:34:00.079
because art in White's story, it holds tension, you know,

524
00:34:00.440 --> 00:34:04.319
and it surfaces what people often carry under the surface.

525
00:34:04.960 --> 00:34:09.880
By encountering art together staff, viewing or discussing it, we

526
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:15.039
build a shared language and shared values that fosters better connection,

527
00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:19.239
belonging and meaning. But it's very important not to keep

528
00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:22.599
the art static. I mean, you have to rotate them.

529
00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:26.800
Otherwise people develop what is called museum fatigue, kind of thing.

530
00:34:26.920 --> 00:34:30.800
Looking at the same place or same piece again and again,

531
00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:34.679
they may get tired of it. So it's also very

532
00:34:34.679 --> 00:34:38.760
important to rotate it, you know, say maybe seasonally from

533
00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:41.639
time to time, three or four times a year, you

534
00:34:41.800 --> 00:34:44.880
change your pieces and bring something else in there for

535
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:48.880
people to discuss and see. So, like you know, if

536
00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:53.760
places are designed for this kind of inspiration and collaboration,

537
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.800
it would not just increase efficiency, I think those of

538
00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:05.920
will be more emotionally intelligent, and that environment will be

539
00:35:06.000 --> 00:35:10.599
fostering and nurturing them as a whole human being rather

540
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:17.639
than just as a secretary or receptionist or you know,

541
00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:21.199
just a co worker or an engineer, And it would

542
00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:25.280
be the whole person, not just the profession that they practice.

543
00:35:25.519 --> 00:35:30.000
And it's not utopian, it's very deeply practical to do

544
00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:34.559
all these things. So I think there's a whole lot

545
00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:38.280
of things that leaders need to think about. And many

546
00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:42.239
of the corporate places just have one department, you know,

547
00:35:42.920 --> 00:35:46.119
that decides, you know, what kind of art goes in

548
00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:49.719
that workspace, and they are not allowed to keep anything

549
00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:53.320
personal in some of the offices. Only whatever is approved

550
00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:59.400
by their office can be displayed. And these decisions are

551
00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:04.679
many times is made by in consultation with an art

552
00:36:04.760 --> 00:36:08.320
consultant or some artists you know, is found their way

553
00:36:08.679 --> 00:36:11.840
and they don't change. So I think if they have

554
00:36:11.920 --> 00:36:16.840
a team decide making these kinds of decisions, and they

555
00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:20.760
work with somebody who understands the emotional impact rather than

556
00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:27.639
just the beauty. Because when you are using art in

557
00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:32.360
whatever way, you're not just beautifying a space. You're coming inspiring.

558
00:36:33.599 --> 00:36:36.880
Whatever piece you choose depends you know what the effect

559
00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:41.559
it will have, So all these considerations need to be taken,

560
00:36:41.920 --> 00:36:44.840
you know, when choosing what will be the thing, like

561
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.360
not just dark, black and white things. But I think

562
00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:52.199
we have quite ways before you make in roads into

563
00:36:52.239 --> 00:36:54.079
how these decisions are made.

564
00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:59.840
Well, I'm encouraged by a lot of things, and we

565
00:37:00.079 --> 00:37:03.519
are moving so quickly, it seems today and just over

566
00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:07.119
I would say the last five to eight years. And

567
00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:10.440
I've had many people on this on this podcast, futurist

568
00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:15.559
future of work professionals and experts talking about where we're going,

569
00:37:15.599 --> 00:37:16.920
where it's all head. And then of course we've got

570
00:37:16.920 --> 00:37:20.719
this AI revolution going on, and so I and I

571
00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:22.960
really feel and this is something that we it's our

572
00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:25.480
tagline here at Gusta now is that we're about doubling

573
00:37:25.519 --> 00:37:28.440
down on humanity in the age of technology. And so

574
00:37:28.519 --> 00:37:31.400
I'm really you're speaking again my language when you talk

575
00:37:31.440 --> 00:37:34.800
about how can we create environments where we get to

576
00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:38.480
serve and be the whole person that we are, the

577
00:37:38.519 --> 00:37:43.519
whole human that we are. So I can envision very much,

578
00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:46.280
and I'm thinking about this for some of the leaders

579
00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:50.800
that I'm working with today. I can envision that employee

580
00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:53.639
and an organization one would be drawn to the organization

581
00:37:53.719 --> 00:37:57.519
as an employer of choice, a destination workplace because of

582
00:37:57.760 --> 00:38:02.519
the way that they embed view and creativity and art

583
00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:04.800
into their culture, into the way that they work. I

584
00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:08.239
can envision that, So then it becomes a beacon, and

585
00:38:08.280 --> 00:38:11.480
then I can envision that in that environment. I'd like

586
00:38:11.599 --> 00:38:14.280
very much the idea of the rotating different art to

587
00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:18.239
stimulate and to call forth different aspects or experiences in

588
00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:21.559
that person. But again, I can envision having like a

589
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:24.159
it's like a maybe this is like a station or

590
00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:27.280
an area inside the organization where people go for their breaks,

591
00:38:27.360 --> 00:38:29.679
or they're like, let's go and have a jam session.

592
00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:32.679
And you know, in the art studio, we're stuck on

593
00:38:32.679 --> 00:38:35.280
this problem and we can't figure out how to engineer

594
00:38:35.320 --> 00:38:38.920
this solution, or I can't quite get my head around

595
00:38:38.960 --> 00:38:42.639
how do we satisfy this customer complaint. I can envision that.

596
00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:44.440
Can you speak to what that might look like.

597
00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:51.280
Sure, it can be a plain area with tables and

598
00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:55.320
chairs around it, so people can work in a group,

599
00:38:56.599 --> 00:39:01.000
like create a vision board, you know, create separate pieces

600
00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:04.880
and then piece them together. These were the kind of

601
00:39:04.920 --> 00:39:07.360
workshops I was going to do and thrive in twenty

602
00:39:07.400 --> 00:39:11.639
five but didn't have a chance to do. They could

603
00:39:11.880 --> 00:39:15.239
have tables like one table we'll just have drawing materials

604
00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:19.280
like papers and pencils and pens. Another one can have

605
00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:25.400
colors like crayons. I mean, I probably won't mess much

606
00:39:25.440 --> 00:39:31.199
with more of the liquid paints and those kinds of things.

607
00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:34.599
Board breaks, they can have a table where they can

608
00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:39.800
just doodle. You know, this research has shown that during

609
00:39:40.559 --> 00:39:45.559
board meetings, when people who are doodling on the side

610
00:39:46.119 --> 00:39:50.559
seemingly like they are distracted or not listening, they have

611
00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:54.639
twenty nine percent more retention rate about what the speaker

612
00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:59.119
was talking about then people who were deeply supposedly deeply

613
00:39:59.199 --> 00:40:03.239
engaged in doing it. So, you know, while doing some

614
00:40:03.280 --> 00:40:07.199
of these activities, you are focusing better rather than not

615
00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:11.760
focusing more. So, you know zentangled kind of activities where

616
00:40:11.760 --> 00:40:15.599
you only piece, like make four inches squares and fill

617
00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:19.079
it with different patterns with ink and things. So there

618
00:40:19.079 --> 00:40:21.840
are so many different ideas you know, that can be

619
00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:26.559
implemented without investing too much, you know, not just allowing

620
00:40:26.599 --> 00:40:30.239
them time to breathe and just make shapes. And you know,

621
00:40:30.360 --> 00:40:34.480
I create many downloadable handouts in which I give these

622
00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:38.760
kinds of small instructions for different purposes. I'm going to

623
00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:40.719
be giving one to your audience.

624
00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:43.079
To wonderful listen to that you've got You've got a

625
00:40:43.079 --> 00:40:46.880
gift coming listeners and viewers. Well, again, as you were speaking,

626
00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:49.119
I can't help, but you've stepped I've stepped into your

627
00:40:49.159 --> 00:40:51.000
space with you now, so now I get to be

628
00:40:51.079 --> 00:40:55.840
more creative. But I also understand you are a visual artist.

629
00:40:56.440 --> 00:41:00.639
I can also envision that lab of when you're walking

630
00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:05.679
into beauty and curiosity and creativity. It's got textile or tactiles,

631
00:41:06.119 --> 00:41:10.199
maybe there's a sand pit or something. Of course, one

632
00:41:10.239 --> 00:41:14.239
of my favorite senses is hearing sound. I'm sure that's

633
00:41:14.280 --> 00:41:16.719
part of the reason that I'm a speaker of a podcast, etc.

634
00:41:17.320 --> 00:41:21.000
But I also sing. So I can envision that there

635
00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:23.679
would be so many ways that we can literally invite

636
00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:28.000
people into the space where we could just stimulate their

637
00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:30.719
senses in the ways that called to them.

638
00:41:31.239 --> 00:41:37.280
Yes, you could have a quiet room for people to

639
00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:40.280
just sit and meditate, or just a room where you

640
00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:43.599
can play whatever music you want, let it streamed through

641
00:41:43.719 --> 00:41:46.800
for that short time, or have a room where they

642
00:41:46.880 --> 00:41:51.039
could just move around and dance it ound. If that's

643
00:41:51.079 --> 00:41:55.239
one thing Yeah, you can have different areas in a

644
00:41:55.400 --> 00:41:58.320
you know section, you know, where you could do whatever

645
00:41:58.840 --> 00:42:04.320
relaxes you and rejuvenates, you know, rekindles your spark.

646
00:42:06.119 --> 00:42:08.239
One of the things that I have been present to,

647
00:42:08.599 --> 00:42:11.760
especially here we are in twenty twenty five when many

648
00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:15.639
large companies are mandating a forced one hundred percent return

649
00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:18.400
to office, which I'm just going to go on record

650
00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:22.920
of saying I think that is wholly irrational for the

651
00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:24.719
world we live in today. I'm just going to say

652
00:42:24.719 --> 00:42:28.000
that straight out loud. However, if you are going to

653
00:42:28.039 --> 00:42:30.440
want your people to come back for some period of time,

654
00:42:31.039 --> 00:42:33.159
whether it's one hundred percent or whether it's seventy five

655
00:42:33.159 --> 00:42:36.159
percent or fifty, whatever it is, make it enticing. And

656
00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:38.519
this is certainly a way to make it enticing, to

657
00:42:38.599 --> 00:42:41.480
make people feel like this is worth the commute. And

658
00:42:41.519 --> 00:42:44.039
you know, there's a there's a phrase out there now

659
00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:45.800
that says, you know, you've got to be You've got

660
00:42:45.800 --> 00:42:48.760
to earn the commute. And it's true, It's really true.

661
00:42:48.800 --> 00:42:51.880
It's true of any events, anything that makes calls people

662
00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:54.400
out of the comfort of their home or the rest

663
00:42:54.400 --> 00:42:56.559
of their life has to be earned for it. For

664
00:42:56.639 --> 00:42:59.719
people to come to it and I have long since

665
00:42:59.760 --> 00:43:05.480
thought that these kinds of opportunities, these kinds of arrangements

666
00:43:05.519 --> 00:43:08.320
where you're giving people something that they wouldn't get on

667
00:43:08.360 --> 00:43:10.639
their own, would be the kind of thing that we

668
00:43:10.719 --> 00:43:12.760
would want to be able to entice people to come

669
00:43:12.800 --> 00:43:16.039
back together and then create co create that shared space

670
00:43:16.519 --> 00:43:21.440
of belonging, connection, creativity, innovation. And I think that what

671
00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:23.880
you're what you're putting forth here of us two is

672
00:43:23.880 --> 00:43:28.960
is really an opening, an opportunity into that new higher

673
00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:30.239
realm and way of being.

674
00:43:30.920 --> 00:43:38.599
Yes, absolutely, it's something that way they also feel that

675
00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:42.320
they are not alone, and one doesn't have to be

676
00:43:42.400 --> 00:43:46.880
an artist to find healing and creativity. Like you can

677
00:43:46.920 --> 00:43:49.920
even have silly party if you were talking about like

678
00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:52.920
texture and all that. There can be that kind of

679
00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:57.360
materials too. Because different people have different needs that excites

680
00:43:57.400 --> 00:44:02.079
them or suits them. So beauty or creating beauty or

681
00:44:02.159 --> 00:44:06.440
experiencing beauty should not be a luxury. It's a basic need,

682
00:44:06.880 --> 00:44:11.320
you know that people should have an opportunity to fulfill.

683
00:44:12.079 --> 00:44:16.360
So if you're not feeling depleted, you know, you start small,

684
00:44:16.639 --> 00:44:21.280
You notice a light sketch your thoughts, surround yourself with color,

685
00:44:21.440 --> 00:44:25.079
do just little simple acts that you feel like, and

686
00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:29.079
it may take some experimenting before settling on what is

687
00:44:29.119 --> 00:44:31.639
it that works for you.

688
00:44:30.039 --> 00:44:34.119
You said something in just that last bit there that

689
00:44:34.239 --> 00:44:36.079
I do want to call out, and that's the idea

690
00:44:36.280 --> 00:44:38.679
of I forget exactly what you said, but what I

691
00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:41.800
pulled out of it was the idea of eradicating a loneliness.

692
00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:46.159
We are in a lonely loneliness epidemic now and more

693
00:44:46.199 --> 00:44:49.800
and more people suffer from the feeling of loneliness than

694
00:44:49.880 --> 00:44:53.039
ever before. And so I really like the idea of

695
00:44:53.920 --> 00:44:57.280
the siren call, if you will, of creating an environment

696
00:44:57.280 --> 00:45:00.239
where people are compelled to pump, to be, to other,

697
00:45:00.840 --> 00:45:04.119
to do something and experience something together and in so

698
00:45:04.320 --> 00:45:09.639
doing create co create something that is beautiful. And what

699
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:12.480
do I want to say, enrolling and uniting.

700
00:45:13.159 --> 00:45:16.800
Yes, you know, because even these small acts are healing.

701
00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:21.599
Beauty doesn't fix everything, but it changes the way we

702
00:45:21.800 --> 00:45:26.360
feel in the everyday start where you are. Your creativity

703
00:45:26.440 --> 00:45:29.920
is your sensitivity, your art, all of them. They are

704
00:45:29.960 --> 00:45:33.800
all gifts, not burdens. You know you have a right

705
00:45:33.840 --> 00:45:37.559
to experience it. You deserve environments that support your soul,

706
00:45:38.159 --> 00:45:42.480
not just your schedule. And it's okay to ask for that,

707
00:45:42.800 --> 00:45:45.760
you know, so if the leadership doesn't think of it,

708
00:45:46.280 --> 00:45:49.079
you really have to seek it out. If they have

709
00:45:49.159 --> 00:45:52.360
not thought about it, like at least can you imagine

710
00:45:52.440 --> 00:45:56.159
a workplace where a burnout isn't something we manage, but

711
00:45:56.320 --> 00:45:59.960
something we prevent, you know, where the walls breed. View

712
00:46:00.400 --> 00:46:04.159
and creativity is not a perk but a practice, and

713
00:46:04.360 --> 00:46:08.119
art has the power to shift how we lead, how

714
00:46:08.159 --> 00:46:11.920
we live, and how we feel. And I invite leaders

715
00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:16.639
listening today to rethink their environments, not just the physical,

716
00:46:16.719 --> 00:46:21.159
but the environmental. The cultural space is let's paint new

717
00:46:21.199 --> 00:46:25.440
pathways together and create a space that is fulfilling for

718
00:46:25.559 --> 00:46:26.920
your workers and yourself.

719
00:46:27.880 --> 00:46:30.679
I think that is a beautiful way to finish the conversation.

720
00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:33.320
I was going to invite you to close, but I

721
00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:37.480
think that is an incredible powerful finish and invitation. I

722
00:46:37.559 --> 00:46:41.440
do want to allow let you situate where we're going

723
00:46:41.480 --> 00:46:43.599
to give our listeners and viewers that gift that you

724
00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.480
were talking about. Where will they find that gift?

725
00:46:46.800 --> 00:46:48.880
It is a link and you can put it on

726
00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:54.039
your show notes if possible, that they go to Wwwasutolia

727
00:46:54.119 --> 00:46:59.840
dot art slash visibility and it will you know, then

728
00:47:00.119 --> 00:47:02.320
they will have an opportunity to download it.

729
00:47:02.559 --> 00:47:04.840
Okay, so I will also say that again at the

730
00:47:04.880 --> 00:47:08.920
close here, wonderful doctor Vasu, you are a gift to

731
00:47:08.960 --> 00:47:11.920
the world. I'm so grateful our paths have crossed thanks

732
00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:14.199
to the wonderful women who brought together the Thrive and

733
00:47:14.239 --> 00:47:17.760
twenty five Women's conference that I was able to attend

734
00:47:17.760 --> 00:47:21.119
this year in June and had the wonderful opportunity to MC.

735
00:47:21.280 --> 00:47:23.760
It was an incredible opportunity and I'm so sorry to

736
00:47:23.760 --> 00:47:26.400
have missed you. However, I'm grateful that it brought it

737
00:47:26.440 --> 00:47:28.960
brought me to you and that web I've been able

738
00:47:29.239 --> 00:47:31.239
now to share it with our listeners and viewers around

739
00:47:31.280 --> 00:47:33.440
the world. Thank you so much for coming on working

740
00:47:33.519 --> 00:47:34.000
on purpose.

741
00:47:34.679 --> 00:47:36.960
Thank you, Elis. It was my privilege and honor to

742
00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:39.360
be on your show. Thank you for the opportunity.

743
00:47:39.840 --> 00:47:43.320
Most welcome. Listeners and viewers. You will want to check

744
00:47:43.360 --> 00:47:46.679
more into the work that doctor Vasutolia is doing as

745
00:47:46.719 --> 00:47:49.760
an artist and as a speaker. One thing to do

746
00:47:49.800 --> 00:47:52.159
is start by visiting her personal site, which she just

747
00:47:52.199 --> 00:47:55.360
mentioned to you. It's Visutolia. Let me spell that for you.

748
00:47:55.920 --> 00:48:01.360
Vs U t asu is su excuse me v A

749
00:48:01.760 --> 00:48:05.320
s U t o l I a dot art is

750
00:48:05.320 --> 00:48:08.119
her is her is her website. And then to get

751
00:48:08.119 --> 00:48:11.079
the gift, you just simply put the forward slash what's

752
00:48:11.159 --> 00:48:13.079
what's afterwards visibility.

753
00:48:12.719 --> 00:48:14.719
The visibility prescription.

754
00:48:14.360 --> 00:48:17.400
The visibilities prescription. Oh that is wonderful, just wonderful. What

755
00:48:17.480 --> 00:48:20.199
a gift, Doctor Vasu, thank you so much for being

756
00:48:20.280 --> 00:48:23.559
on the show. Listeners and viewers. We will see you

757
00:48:23.559 --> 00:48:26.280
next week for another nourishing and inspiring episode on Working

758
00:48:26.320 --> 00:48:28.159
on Purpose. And remember, work is one of the best

759
00:48:28.199 --> 00:48:30.639
adventures and means of realizing our potential and making the

760
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:33.079
impact we crave and give us a chance to do

761
00:48:33.199 --> 00:48:35.280
business in a way that betters the world. So let's

762
00:48:35.320 --> 00:48:36.079
work on Purpose.

763
00:48:39.480 --> 00:48:42.119
We hope you've enjoyed this week's program. Be sure to

764
00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:45.800
tune into Working on Purpose featuring your host, doctor Elise Cortes,

765
00:48:45.960 --> 00:48:49.280
each week on W four CY. Together we'll create a

766
00:48:49.280 --> 00:48:53.920
world where business operates conscientiously, Leadership inspires and passion performance,

767
00:48:54.000 --> 00:48:56.760
and employees are fulfilled in work that provides the meaning

768
00:48:56.800 --> 00:49:00.599
and purpose they crave. See you there, Let's work on Purpose.