Blaire Palmer

How on earth do we lead in this ‘post-Covid’ world of work? Well, it starts by rejecting conventional wisdom about leadership…the rules of work that evolved in the 19^th and 20^th Century, and focusing instead on the power of authentic human connection, trust and the wisdom of the people you hired. To do that, leaders need to change the way they see themselves and the role they play in the business and empower their people to be great. Blaire draws on more than 20 years working as a coach and confidante to senior leaders and their teams and presents her practical yet powerful guide to becoming the leader your people need you to be. Lively, funny and thought-provoking, Blaire leaves audiences feeling confident to try something new.  

Audiences discover –

• The differences between their role as a manager and their role as a leader…and discover what a leader really does with their time
• How old truths – things like “I’m supposed to know the right thing to do”, “I wouldn’t expect anyone else to work the hours I work”, “My job is to protect my team” and much more – influence their behaviour day-to-day
• The limits they put on their willingness to trust and how to empower others (Tip: People can only be as empowered as your willingness to give away power!)
• The risks of siloed, hierarchical ways of working and how subtle changes in their words and behaviours can break down those barriers straight away
• What true diversity looks like and the practical changes they can make to create a more equitable, inclusive and outcomes-driven culture

This is an entertaining, provocative, energising keynote for leaders who want to put people at the heart of the business. Audiences leave with practical tips and confidence that they can do something different, and get different results, straight away.

Blaire Palmer is an author, keynote speaker and authority on leadership and the future of work. Authentic presence, human connection, trust and the ability to drive forward and adapt to change are core to her perspective on what the future world looks like, particularly post-Covid 19.

With major transformation in the world of work ahead, education needs to adapt. Our children need to be prepared not for the Industrial Age world of work but for an agile, less hierarchical, more creative, ‘Personalised Age’. And if it is true that 50% of the jobs currently done by humans will be done by robots in the next decade, the human workforce will need to double down on the qualities that are innately human and can’t be done better by AI.

Blaire can deliver a range of online live and self-paced, downloadable programmes for educators, parents and students to help them think about and upskill for the future of work. Practical, thought-provoking and fun, these programmes will help participants let go of beliefs and assumptions, build resilience and self-esteem, overcome obstacles and look to the future with optimism and confidence.

The rules of change are changing. It’s not about selling people on ‘The Why’ anymore. Now they need to feel THEY are leading the change. In this keynote, Blaire draws on more than two decades running leadership and culture change programmes to explain how to create passionate enthusiastic for change throughout your organisation.

Audiences discover –

• How changes in the wider world – social, political, cultural and technological – are changing the way we need to lead if we want things to change
• Why you don’t have a ‘communication problem’, you have a connection problem. (Tip: Change isn’t logical, it’s emotional and no amount of explaining ‘the why’ will be enough to convince people to go through the pain of change)
• What stops people stepping up and taking ownership even though you mean it when you say “My door is always open”
• That the relentless pursuit of the ‘right answer – when there isn’t one – is keeping the organisation stuck in the slow lane, turning bold ideas in to bland ones, and stopping people coming to you with their best ideas
• How silos, endless meetings and busy-work suffocate creativity, keeping people focused on internal competition for resources, recognition and influence rather than noticing threats and opportunities outside the business and working in radical collaboration to meet those head on.

This is an entertaining, provocative, energising keynote for leaders and their teams. Audiences leave with practical actions they can immediately take away and feeling reinvigorated about change themselves.