Leadership: Moving Forward

Not since the Industrial Revolution has there been such a disruption in how we work, and how we relate to our work, as these pandemic-altered years. Leaders must understand that “what got you here won’t get you there” – in other words, it’s clearly not leadership as usual. Based on extensive research with C-suite and mid-level executives at over 300 organizations (of all sizes), this talk illuminates the mindset and skills now required for leaders to lead effectively in a pandemic-morphed workplace.

The 5 most critical mindset elements/skills to build moving forward (dubbed “The High-Five”) are:

• Fostering a caring culture
• Enabling psychological safety (and empathy)
• Creating comfort with the unknown
• Fostering resilience/the will to persevere
• Creating commitment to change

The 60-75 minute keynote delves into each of the “High-Five” and provides pragmatic tools the audience can use to create new habits based on what they learned. The riveting session combines storytelling, data, powerful oratory, adult learning principles, and more to create a riveting experience the audience will find memorable and new-habit molding. It draws from the award-winning book: Leading from the Middle.

Target audience: Any organization seeking to keep its leaders learning and skilled at the most relevant skills required for leadership moving forward (given the profound change in work dynamics today).

The audience walks away with:

• an understanding of the most important leadership skills to build moving forward in a pandemic-changed workplace
• a deep sense of inspiration and energy
• a set of practical tools and a strong desire to use them immediately

The Feel of World Class Teams

The key driver of the most collaborative, tightest-knit, top-achieving teams might surprise you. Cutting-edge research (informed by increasingly greater proportions of millennials and Gen Z’ers) shows that it’s not about who is on the team, what the team has accomplished in the past, or what its processes and procedures are, but how the team makes you feel. It’s all about the team norms, the psychological and behavioral vibe present; i.e. how membership on that team makes each team member feel.

The audience discovers this insight, then learns how they can foster their own super-harmonious team, one both rewarding to be on and that gets bigtime results. It requires understanding and acting on the 6 most common and powerful sentiments that world-class teams feel – the 6 sentiments that statistically correlate most with a tight-knit, top-achieving team. Specifically, world-class teams feel:

• No fear of failure
• Psychological safety/no fear of criticism
• Comfort with the unknown
• The will to persevere
• Caring and camaraderie
• Interdependence The audience becomes aware of these sentiments and well-equipped to foster each one on their own team.

This energizing keynote draws from the multi-award-winning, bestselling books, Find the Fire and Make It Matter. Powerful stories, insightful examples, fascinating research, humor, and compelling oratory are all woven together into a highly memorable talk. Length: 60-75 minutes Target audience: Anyone wanting to forge a highly collaborative, tight-knit team that consistently overdelivers.

The audience walks away with:

• awareness of the 6 sentiments that world-class teams foster and
• understanding of how to replicate those feelings on their own team
• a deep sense of inspiration and energy from what they’ve just heard
• a set of practical tools and a desire to use them immediately

How to Leave a Legacy at Work (and in Life)

Fuel the Fire (Maximize Your Momentum)

Flourishing in the Face of Change

The Secret to High-Performing Organizations