Speaking

My keynotes are topical messages delivered to engage, entertain, inform, and (maybe even) shake up the high-performance status quo.

My topics come from from decades spent behind the scenes helping elite athletes, coaches, and teams as well as from my work in defence, medicine, and the corporate sector.

In this space, I learned so much about high performance…as well as many cautionary tales about how things can go wrong, times when performance was not sustainable, and leadership/coaching practices that, while well-intentioned, missed the mark or worse, actually undermined performance.

My keynotes combine stories and ideas from those experiences with insights gleaned from contemporary neuroscience and Buddhist and evolutionary psychology to suggest new ways of thinking for our times. Audiences are entertained, informed…and stretched.

It has never been more true that what used to get us to good won’t take us to great. Let’s start thinking differently about high performance, and my “call to action” keynotes can be a great way to jump-start that journey.

My popular keynote topics

Building Your High-Performance Mindset

This keynote unpacks the notion that how we relate to ourselves (with compassion or contempt) is the counter-intuitive key to high-performance resilience. It’s counter-intuitive due to our cultural conditioning that tells us that we should put others first, or that if we are nice to ourselves, we will get soft and lose our edge.

Participants learn about the power of relationship (context), the science of compassion and self-compassion (content), and practical applications (practice) to enhance their own relationship with themselves to better thrive (and lead others more compassionately) through uncertainty and adversity.
When Grit is Not Enough

This interactive keynote unpacks the more-complicated-than-expected relationship between our grit (the hard efforts we generate in the spirit of getting things done) and our resilience (that agile mindset that helps us keep cruising despite setbacks or failure).

Prior to the keynote, participants will have the opportunity to take my grit-resilience diagnostic to see where they each “fit” on the continuum…and learn about some mental strategies to better manage themselves in times of stress and change. Participants self-score and use their results to gain insights and tools they can use based on their scores to rebalance their grit and resilience for more sustainable performance.

To see me in action, take a look at this speaker reel.

My other keynote topics

  • High Performance From the Inside Out: Using a combination of story and science to confront and overturn the traditional “the end justifies the means” performance dogma. Tips and strategies for individuals and organizations to start the journey from performance grind to thriving performer. An eye-opener for anyone who wonders why they can’t sustain themselves when the going is tough. Great for individuals and teams in chronic high-stress or high-change environments.

  • Becoming the CEO of Your “Inner Board Room.” If there is a cast of characters in your head – and let’s face it, we all have them – do you even have a seat at the boardroom table? Learn about how we unintentionally give away our power to the inner critic, doubt, anxiety, or anger and how we can reclaim our rightful seat at the table. Great for anyone who finds themselves at the mercy of their own inner world.

  • Unmasking the Imposter: This presentation shines a light straight into the eyes of the shameful secret so many of us share when we doubt our right to be where we are or fear being “found out” as a fraud. Why do we do this…and what we can do about it. Great for new-to-role and emerging leaders.

Reach out here to learn more about how to book me for your next speaking engagement.

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©2024 by Dr Kirsten Peterson.