Telling people what to do is easy, but it’s not the most effective tool in your leadership toolbox. The coach approach focuses on asking questions to facilitate problem-solving, rather than doing the problem solving yourself. Learn to shut the duck up by transitioning from advice-giving to asking questions, empowering others to cultivate their thoughts and plans, fostering richer conversations, and nurturing stronger relationships. In this light-hearted session, attendees will assess how much they love to quack and learn to quiet their inner duck. With brain-friendly, memorable examples, Sandra will teach leaders of all levels to support accountability, inspire action, and build confidence in those they lead by holding them capable. Learn the power of the coach approach in this session led by certified executive coach and CEO Sandra McDowell.

This session delves into the crucial topic of the neuroscience of trust. It underscores the pivotal role leaders play in either fostering a culture of trust or breeding mistrust. Understanding this role is key, as it significantly influences organizational culture, employee engagement, collaboration, and overall performance. By effectively understanding and cultivating trust, leaders can create a culture of belonging where employee well-being and performance thrive. Ultimately, this knowledge equips leaders with the tools to navigate challenges and inspire their teams toward collective success. Join Sandra to explore practical strategies for fostering trust, which serves as the essential currency that fuels team dynamics and enhances organizational culture.

Mergers and remote work have eroded workplace trust, creating a vortex of change that presents significant challenges for leaders striving to cultivate trusting and cohesive teams. In this environment, many employees feel on guard and resistant to change. It’s time to shift from crisis management and reactive problem-solving to the core responsibilities of leadership: building cultures where employees feel they belong and are empowered to learn, grow, and thrive. This session will explore the neuroscience behind current leadership challenges, providing practical steps to enhance trust and change agility, enabling groups to transition from a mindset of “us and them” to “we!”

In this session, we'll talk about pre-empting the devastating effects of stress and burnout that routinely cripple even the most successful leaders. Sandra McDowell, an expert in the application of neuroscience for leadership, will explain the physical and cognitive impacts of stress and how to recognize, avoid, and deal with the exhaustion to which ambitious leaders are most susceptible. Sandra raises the concern about the fine line between burnout and ambition, and our individual and collective responsibility to build organizations conducive to wellness.Bridging the gap between brain research, human behavior, and 21st-century leadership, Sandra sounds the alarm that we need to guard against stress to protect the human brain––our personal leadership supercomputer.

If you have a brain, you have bias. Bias is a survival mechanism developed over thousands of years. How-ever, when left unmanaged, bias can do serious damage to your workplace culture in terms of trust, be-longing, and overall well-being. Within this session, participants will learn insights from neuroscience to better understand bias, the social brain, and the importance of allyship. Sandra will share how leveraging an understanding of the brain, and psychological safety can mitigate the unintended consequences of bias, resulting in increased inclusivity and well-being.

Heart of gold or backbone of steel? Effective leaders have both. In this session, Sandra explains why leading with both heart and backbone has never been more important. In order to do their best work, people need empathic leaders who foster trust and safety while courageously facing uncertainty. Leading with heart fuels collaboration, trust, and psychological safety, while leading with backbone fosters accountability, performance, and the confidence to move forward. In this session, you’ll learn about the neuroscience of the social brain, the importance of courageous leadership, and techniques for handling difficult conversations. You’ll also receive an online assessment to determine your balance of heart and backbone, along with take-away strategies you can use to strengthen your leadership impact.

As Cheshire Cat said to Alice, “If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will take you there.” The road to personal leadership begins with getting clear on what matters most to you, how you want to ‘show up’ in the world, and the difference you want to make. Leadership is not based on position, but rather a reflection of how you show up every day at work, at home and in the community. In this session, attendees will hone their leader mindset by leveraging the three Cs of confident leadership: clarity, conviction, and courage. They’ll walk away with a clearer definition of their values, beliefs, and intended outcomes, as well as an understanding of how to rewire the brain for lasting impact.