KEYNOTE SPEAKING

This very popular keynote is appropriate for mid- to senior leaders. This includes product, functional skill, and operations leaders. Many leaders are good at some aspects of their jobs: they have strong competence but do not yet rise to a level of being widely-admired. And that deficit costs them influence and impact. This talk shows exactly how leaders can focus on results and relationships to gain the admiration that sets them apart.

With stories and cases of success and failure, this talk illuminates the leader’s unique responsibilities: initiating, influencing, and implementing. By seeing how these depend on relationships with people, leaders recognize the need for humility (genuine respect for others’ dignity) as a foundation for strong leadership and great results.

Takeaways for Action:

• Serving two masters: results and relationships

• Three powerful questions people have of all leaders (Who are you? Where are we going? Do you see me?)

• Six key behaviors of admirable leaders

• Knowledge of what comprises others’ dignity and that no one’s dignity is more important than another’s

• How to use this to drive employee engagement and performance results

• Two specific ways to protect brand reputation

This eye-opening and inspiring talk makes a real difference for women leaders. Studies of leader advancement found that men and women have different paths to success. Women need more - and different - competencies to advance. This talk helps women gain confidence and insight to achieve their full potential, benefitting now only the women themselves but organizations that benefit from optimizing women’s talent.

Through stories of success and failure and frank discussion of the challenges, this talk equips women to understand their unique responsibilities: building relationships across the divide, self-advocacy while supporting others’ dignity, and positive commitment to growth coupled with personal responsibility for success.

Takeaways for Action:

• Knowledge of four traps competent women face that derail leadership careers

• Why healthy relationships are central to career advancement

• How to master humility and not let it master you

• Three powerful questions people have of all leaders (Who are you? Where are we going? Do you see me?)

• How to assert oneself with humility – balancing self-advocacy with respect for others’ dignity

• Assessing your current level of admiration and how to self-develop for high impact

This keynote is appropriate for early to mid-career leaders. It emphasizes the hidden factors that contribute to exceptional leadership. The talk is appropriate for managers in most industries.

The material integrates inspiring case examples from CEOs of Fortune 50 firms with compelling evidence from research. The path to becoming a master leader is both clear - and surprising - for most. In driving results, others’ dignity or sense of self-worth must be prioritized as the work gets done through others. Participants learn how to create healthy relationships with all stakeholders to favorably influence sales, the bottom line, brand reputation, and employee relations.

Takeaways for Action:

• How and why relationships are central to a leader’s success

• Recognizing signs of damaged dignity in low engagement, turnover, weak performance outcomes

• How to apply this to resolving inter-group conflict

• Three powerful questions people have of all leaders (Who are you? Where are we going? Do you see me?)

• How leaders answer these questions favorably with six distinct behaviors.

• How to secure strong performance results while supporting others’ dignity