SPEAKER OFFERINGS
SYSTEMS
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
-
Your Future Is Where The Fun Is: Reignite Your Staff’s Why Through Play
-
How Gratitude & Play Can Connect Your Staff Back To Their Why
MINDSET
PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY/COMMUNICATION
-
Don’t Shy Away…Dealing With Narcissism & Toxicity Head On With Play
-
How Ted Lasso's Leadership Style Can Help You Build Psychological Safety
-
How To Have Difficult Conversations and Actually Enjoy The Process
-
Mischief Managed: Challenging Power and Building Psychological Safety, Hogwarts Style
SYSTEMS
​
Your Staff Is Checked Out…Here’s How To Fix It!
Why does work feel worse now than ever? 85% of workers are disengaged, 81% are job-hunting, 72% feel underpaid, and nearly 80% struggle with work-life balance. These are more than just numbers. They're the sign of a workforce barely hanging on. Businesses are losing almost $500 billion, with absenteeism, turnover, and accidents spiking.
But wait, aren’t there more leadership books, consultants, and workplace experts than ever? Yet it still feels like we’re just spinning our wheels, hitting productivity goals while employees are left out in the cold. The truth? The system rewards mediocrity and penalizes playful innovation.
​
Steven Johnson put it best: “You’ll find the future where people are having fun.” This talk is a call to action for leaders who want to embrace a play-oriented mindset and create a work environment that celebrates risk, failure, and joyful experiments. We’ll dive into dismantling the patriarchal, outdated work environments of the past and building a culture driven by empathy, compassion, and shared humanity. Let’s turn work into a place where people want to show up and do their most vibrant work.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Challenge outdated workplace norms, prioritizing productivity over employee well-being, engagement, and innovation
2. Discover transformative, play-oriented approaches to foster psychological safety, risk-taking, and genuine connection in the workplace
3. Equip leaders with the tools to replace rigid hierarchies with empathetic, human-centered practices that inspire collective growth and creativity
​
​
No More "Circling Back" - The Anti-Meeting Workshop
Our meetings are broken. Half could’ve been emails, and the rest are packed with jargon and performative updates no one remembers. Endless check-ins, vague agendas, and the dreaded “let’s circle back” are killing morale and wasting precious hours. Right now, meetings are where joy and productivity go to die.
​
This session is a workplace intervention disguised as fun. We’ll expose the real cost of bad meetings: burnout, disengagement, and unicorn extinction. Then we’ll show you how to replace them with gatherings that energize instead of drain. You’ll learn how to host meetings people don’t dread, where ideas flow, decisions get made, and no one says “synergize” without a group groan. Using play, improv, and a dash of mischief, you’ll design meetings people actually want to attend, where every voice matters, and the cycle of circling back finally ends.
Learning Objectives
1. Transform meetings from energy vampires into spaces people actually look forward to (seriously, it’s possible).
2. Ditch the jargon and fake collaboration for playful, honest conversations that lead somewhere real.
3. Use improv and mischief to turn meetings into connection labs, not corporate hostage situations with stale pastries.
​
Why Is This Person Still Working Here? Creating Succession Plans That Actually Work
How many times has your organization been unable to evolve because a person in a position of power isn’t willing to step aside? How much time and money do we spend coddling employees with seniority, only for them to prevent us from innovating? When are we done with the question, "Why can’t we do it the way we always have?"
​
We don’t grow as an organization when we fail to plan for succession or establish the values and expectations necessary for us to succeed one another. When leaders are willing to check their ego and choose to organize themselves out of their job, that is when they thrive. When we capitulate to the privileged voices who continue to produce mediocre work, organizations begin to die.
In this play-oriented talk, we will explore how to build strong succession plans that set the tone for leaders to follow, regardless of rank. It’s time for us to finally address those who no longer serve the organization's interests as we plan for a bright, evolving future.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Identify how to have that hard conversation with the people holding you back
2. Outline how to create a succession plan built on your core values that can be communicated through action
3. Learn how to follow through and get buy-in for this plan from all levels of leadership
Employee Engagement/Understanding Your Why
​
Your Future Is Where The Fun Is: Reignite Your Staff’s Why Through Play
We often measure our self-worth through achievements and external results, focusing on hitting goals rather than enjoying the journey. This same mindset spills into the workplace, where success is often defined by productivity at the expense of well-being. But what if the secret to retaining staff isn’t about pushing harder, but about rediscovering joy and connection through play?
​
Research shows that play is a powerful tool for unlocking creativity, focus, and engagement, key drivers in creating a thriving workplace where employees want to stay. When people tap into their play values, they connect with their work on a deeper level, reducing burnout and increasing loyalty.
​
By embracing play, organizations can build workplaces where employees feel valued, engaged, and inspired, leading not only to better results but also to stronger retention. Rediscovering play might just be the key to keeping your best talent.
​
Learning Objectives:
1. Help your team identify their unique play styles and discover how play fosters belonging and purpose.
2. Learn the science of flow and how play enhances focus, productivity, and satisfaction at work.
3. Practice positive psychology techniques that help employees connect their roles to their intrinsic motivation.
​
How Gratitude & Play Can Connect Your Staff Back To Their Why
In this interactive keynote, we'll explore the transformative power of gratitude and its role in reshaping workplace culture. Gratitude isn't just about saying thank you; it's about fostering a deep sense of belonging and appreciation within teams. We'll explore how recognizing and celebrating employees' successes boosts morale and strengthens team dynamics and psychological safety.
​
Simultaneously, we'll uncover the liberating power of play in our quest for fulfillment and happiness. By embracing curiosity and letting go of rigid outcomes, we open ourselves to endless possibilities. Through this interactive keynote, attendees will identify their play values, brainstorm ways to infuse play into their lives, and tap into a flow state. Together, we'll reimagine work as a space where gratitude and play intertwine to create joy, connection, and shared purpose.
​
Learning Objectives:
-
Grasp the power of gratitude, celebration, and play for stronger team cohesion and productivity.
-
Master expressing genuine appreciation and celebrating successes effectively.
-
Implement actionable gratitude exercises for real-time impact in your organization.
-
Explore the science of flow and play for enhanced productivity and creativity while aligning work with purpose.
​
Mindset
​
Have Trouble Asking For Money? Just Ask Like You’re Entitled
​
A rebellious, joyful workshop for asking bigger and bolder without shame.
​
Ever watched someone get the promotion, raise, or praise you deserved… and thought, “Really? Him?” Yeah. Us too.
If you've ever bent over backward doing emotional labor just to justify asking for what you already earned, this workshop is your permission slip to stop playing small. We’ll explore what it looks like to ask for more, on your terms, rooted in your values, not the ones imposed by systems designed for someone else’s comfort.
In this play-oriented, interactive session, we’ll shift the spotlight off the default story and center you, your brilliance, your boundaries, and your bag. With curiosity, care, and a little mischief, we’ll practice asking for more (yes, money), befriend our inner critic, and break up with the belief that we have to earn our worth by suffering first.
​
Money can bring up a lot. So let’s tackle it in community. Let’s unlearn, relearn, and raise all boats together. Let’s disrupt the game with joy and a solid counteroffer.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Tools to turn your inner critic into an unexpected hype person
2. The number you’re scared to say out loud, and the courage to ask for it
3. Community care and playful practice in a brave, judgment-free zone
​
Work Doesn’t Need More Heroes...It Needs More Humans
​
Work doesn’t need more superstars; it needs more empathetic healers. We’ve been conditioned to worship the hero at work. The high performer, the fixer, the one who goes above and beyond, or saves the day. Here’s the truth. The workplace doesn’t need more saviors. It requires more people who are listeners, healers, empaths, and those able to hold space, as well as those who know how to lead with compassion, empathy, and humanity, rather than ego.
This keynote is a call to rehumanize work by replacing burnout-fueled heroics with everyday acts of care, courage, and connection. We’ll explore how vulnerability fosters trust, how community outperforms competition, and how being human is the bravest act of leadership of all.
Whether you're a leader, HR professional, or team member trying to make work suck less, this talk will equip you with the tools and the permission to stop performing and start healing.
Because the future of work doesn’t belong to heroes. It belongs to humans.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Recognize how hero culture fuels burnout and why healing-centered leadership is essential.
2. Learn tools to lead with empathy, vulnerability, and emotional presence.
3. Explore community-oriented practices that build trust, connection, and a more human-centered workplace culture.
​
Working While the World Is In Chaos: Leading with Humanity Through Play
​
Does it feel strange to focus on work when the world feels like it's in chaos? Feeling worried while others act as if it’s "business as usual" is a valid response to global stressors such as conflict, environmental concerns, or economic instability. The current climate is directly affecting our staff’s ability to get their work done and how they show up to work.
So, how do we balance necessary productivity with compassion?
In this positive psychology play talk, we explore how to stay productive without shutting off our humanity. Through play, we will show leaders how to hold space for their teams, regardless of political affiliation. We will equip leaders with the tools necessary to build community and connection where there may be only divisiveness. Enabling staff to stay on track without forcing them into a state of cognitive dissonance. It is time to meet this moment, not shy away from it.
​
Learning Objectives:
1. Validate feelings of anxiety while balancing essential productivity with empathy and human compassion.
2. Provide leaders with the tools to support diverse teams, fostering connection without forcing compliance, cognitive dissonance, or apathy.
3. Integrate humanity into work, enabling teams to meet challenging moments rather than hiding from it.
Psychological Safety & Communication
​
How Ted Lasso's Leadership Style Can Help You Build Psychological Safety
​
85% of employees are disengaged at work. Staff leave because they don't feel seen, heard, or appreciated. Who knew the answer to this lies in a show called Ted Lasso? Ted's leadership style is vital for companies because it demonstrates the effectiveness of a more holistic and inclusive approach to leadership. It combines empathy, intuition, and collaboration, which creates a compassionate work culture. He balances it by cultivating assertiveness, decisiveness, and accountability, which lead to a more productive, results-oriented work culture. Ted Lasso also embraces play as crucial to building camaraderie and a solid foundation for AFC Richmond.
​
In this talk, we will explore how play and positive psychology are essential to building psychological safety in this surreal new reality of work. We will analyze, through the lens of Ted Lasso, what currently needs to be added to your workplace to create the culture your staff is looking for to feel comfortable playing. Finally, we will determine the initial steps you need to take to create a "stay curious" environment where staff can do their most vibrant work.
​
Learning Objectives
-
Identify the leadership traits Ted Lasso exhibits to build psychological safety.
-
Learn to incorporate aspects of Ted Lasso’s leadership currently missing from your management style.
-
Determine immediate action steps to ensure your staff feels seen, heard, and appreciated.
​
Don’t Shy Away…Dealing With Narcissism & Toxicity Head On With Play
We’ve all encountered that person at work, the one whose name is a colorful euphemism starting with “A" and whose behavior gets excused under the guise of that is “just how they are.” But let’s face it: tolerating toxic behavior isn’t just annoying; it’s a threat to morale, productivity, and your entire workplace culture.
What if the real issue isn’t just the person but the culture that allows unbridled, unchecked power to go unchallenged? What dynamics allow these behaviors to thrive? And, more importantly, how can we disrupt the cycle in a way that addresses the issue with confidence, clarity, and a bit of playful creativity?
​
This talk dives headfirst into unpacking workplace toxicity, including the harmful impact of unchecked narcissism and toxic masculinity. Through playful yet powerful strategies, you’ll learn how to confront these issues, shift the narrative, and reclaim a culture rooted in respect, equity, and shared humanity. Because when you confront the toxicity and unchecked power of the "A-hole" problem head-on, with creativity and courage, your organization can soar in ways you didn’t think were possible.
​
Learning Objectives:
1. Develop playful, effective strategies to confront narcissism, toxic masculinity, and unchecked power.
2. Identify and challenge the environmental and cultural dynamics that enable toxic behaviors to persist.
3. Reclaim and strengthen your organization’s core values and culture to create a thriving, inclusive workplace.​
​​
How To Have Difficult Conversations and Actually Enjoy The Process
What is the most difficult conversation you need to have at work that you have been putting off? Imagine the weight lifted from your shoulders once it's finally over. Studies show that organizations prioritizing these tough discussions consistently thrive, fostering higher levels of trust and psychological safety.
​
In this interactive, play-based talk, we will help you master high-stakes communication that you can apply as soon as you return to the office. We will dismantle the power dynamics you must address, the strategic preparation required, the Emotional Intelligence (EQ) you need to cultivate, and the follow-up necessary to ensure a successful outcome. Through play-based simulations, you will practice these hard conversations to somatically understand what it feels like to stay centered. This somatic play practice builds the "muscle memory" you need to remain calm and effective when it matters most. This hands-on, mind-on experience will push you outside your comfort zone, so the real-world discussion will feel easy in comparison.
​
Learning Objectives:
1. Navigate power dynamics to speak confidently across all levels
2. Apply tactical EQ to stay centered under high pressure
3. Build muscle memory for calm and effective difficult conversations
​
Mischief Managed: Challenging Power and Building Psychological Safety, Hogwarts Style
Imagine your workplace as Hogwarts, except instead of battling Dark Wizards, you’re taking on toxic power dynamics and creating spaces where your team can thrive. This isn’t just about fun; it’s about using a little Weasley Brothers’ inspired mischief to challenge harmful systems, protect your most vulnerable staff, and build the kind of trust with your team that feels magical.
By rediscovering our good mischief through play and curiosity, we can disarm egos, create connection, and foster psychological safety. Like summoning a Patronus, confronting fear and injustice takes courage. Still, with the right tools (and maybe a little butterbeer), we can make our workplaces not just functional but truly enchanting. Mischief isn’t chaos; it’s how we rebuild a better, more whimsical workplace.
Learning Objectives:
1. Use playful mischief to disrupt toxic workplace norms and hierarchies.
2. Build psychological safety by creating trust through humor and curiosity.
3. Protect vulnerable staff with empathy-driven, Weasley-like leadership strategies.
​
A New Hope for L&D: Using Play to Build Your Rebel Alliance
The corporate Empire wasn’t built to prioritize Learning and development. It thrives on hierarchy, bureaucracy, and keeping training teams in the shadows. But every rebellion starts with a spark. In this high-energy, play-powered session, you’ll learn how to challenge the status quo, make leadership finally recognize your value, and build a coalition of allies who advocate for L&D. Through improvisation, strategic role-play, and rebellion-worthy persuasion techniques, you’ll transform your training sessions into recruitment grounds for your cause. No longer just trainers, you’ll be architects of a new learning movement where advocacy, engagement, and influence thrive. It’s time to stop waiting for permission and start rewriting the rules. Join the Rebellion and ignite change, one playful disruption at a time.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Harness the Force of Influence to advocate for yourself, your team, and the future of L&D.
2. Deploy a play-based strategy to increase leadership buy-in and learner engagement.
3. Build your own Rebel Alliance by training learners to champion and amplify your impact
​
​
AI Will Take Your Job…Play Will Save It!
​
A common sentiment is that "AI will not take your job, but a person who knows AI will." However, I beg to differ: AI will take your job, and we need to be honest about it. AI will eliminate many roles, just as the internet did. The real question is: who is choosing which jobs AI will take, and who is shaping AI to complement specific roles?
For too long, we have been on the receiving end of AI's capabilities at work, rather than designing it to meet our needs. In this session, we will explore the unique value we bring to our organizations that AI cannot replace. We will break down how to identify tasks you can delegate to AI without making yourself obsolete. We will outline how to roll out AI at your organization in a humane way. Finally, we will figure out how to work alongside AI, so it becomes an ally, not a tool we fear.
​
Learning Objectives
1. Identify unique human values that AI cannot replicate or replace within your organization.
2. Determine which tasks to delegate to AI without making your role obsolete.
3. Develop collaboration strategies to transform AI into a trusted workplace ally.​​