Productive Leaders

Ph.D., CSP, CDR, US Navy Ret.,
CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame

Bring ENERGY, EXCITEMENT, and AUDIENCE INTERACTION to your events!

MARY’S KEYNOTES

CHALLENGE AND CHANGE

P.I.V.O.T.: How to Lead Teams through Crisis, Challenge, and Change

PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs

Do your people understand the six stages of a crisis?

Do your leaders recognize the stage their people are in and do they react appropriately?

Are your leaders leading, or just hoping for the right outcomes?

  • t Understand the six stages of any change, challenge, or crisis.
  • t Implement the five ways to P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis.
  • t Use the seven leadership reminders to lead out of a crisis.

In order to successfully lead people through and out of a crisis, first, we have to understand the 6 stages of the crisis. Based on her Navy experiences during the first and second Gulf Wars and 9-11, Commander Mary Kelly articulates the reactions of people in various stages of change, challenge, or crisis.

As effective leaders, we have to be able to help our people P.I.V.O.T. through the crisis, by renewing their sense of purpose, influencing and inspiring others to take the right action, assessing the volatility levels, seeing the opportunities, providing the right tools, techniques, and technology that allow people to succeed. Then we can apply Mary’s seven leadership reminders, using the acronym C.L.A.M.P.E.R. so that we are providing the right response to the right people at the right time to achieve the right outcomes.

PLANNING MADE EASY

Who Comes Next?
Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy

PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs

We have all seen the news where the head of a very visible corporation suddenly becomes sick, or worse, dies, throwing the organization into chaos. We need to have contingency plans in place for a sudden senior-level departure, but we also need a long-term, strategic plan that includes the routine and scheduled departure of team members. Whether due to promotion, retirement, or other factors, the reality is, people leave organizations. One day you will, too.

Every organization needs to plan for leadership succession, but few leaders know how to start the process. This program, based on the award-winning book, Who Comes Next? Leadership Succession Planning Made Easy simplifies the succession planning process and gives you the framework and the tools you need to build and implement your leadership succession planning.

Whether you are part of a small family business or a Fortune 500 company, you need to start planning out for who comes next.

Specifically, this program identifies:

  • t How to start a customized succession plan ready for immediate incorporation and implementation
  • t Proven methodologies for building your leadership bench so top talent can step into increased roles and responsibilities
  • t Powerful techniques to build long, loyal, and highly-engaged leaders
  • t Secrets to aligning your succession plan to your strategic objectives
  • t Innovative strategies to get you out of the “urgent” phase, and into a culture of continuous leadership development
LEADERSHIP SUCCESS
Why Leaders Fail
and the 7 Prescriptions for Success
PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
Why Leaders Fail and the 7 Prescriptions for Success is a corporate training and conference keynote that is based on data and delivered in a way that entertains and engages audiences of all levels.

Great leadership, if you are doing it right, is hard. Being a great leader is more than just showing up, going through the motions, sitting in the big chair, and getting paid.

Great leaders are always thinking about how they can become even better for their organizations, their people, and themselves. Our goal with this research was to identify areas where great leaders can become even better.

    We surveyed over 100,000 employees in over 70 different industries. We asked a variety of questions, such as:

  • t “What gets in the way of you doing your job more effectively?”
  • t “What could leadership do at your organization that would help you be more productive?”
  • t “What tools or training do you need so that you can function more efficiently?”
    And delved into specific frustrations:

  • t “Have you ever seen a really good person be promoted to a leadership position and struggled?”
  • t “Why did they struggle?”
  • t “What does your leadership do that frustrates you?”
  • t “What are your leaders and managers doing that cause them to sabotage their own success, even though they may have the best of intentions?”

We gathered the data and then categorized it into seven critical areas which define successful leaders.

The 7 critical areas are Vision, Trust, Teamwork, Empathy, Fairness, Humility, and Decision-making.

    In this highly engaging and deeply effective book and program, leaders will gain insights to:

  • t Understand why your top talent is not performing up to their top potential
  • t Learn specific actions that lead to both short-term and long-term success
  • t Control and manage how you are perceived by your team, your peers, and your leadership
  • t Identify small actions that sabotage the loyalty and productivity of the people around you

Using the 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment, leaders are able to focus their energies on the activities that maximize their time and resources.

This program comes with a vault of materials that includes:

  • t The 7 Prescriptions for Success course handout
  • t The 7 Prescriptions for Success workbook
  • t The 7 Prescriptions for Success Assessment
  • t The 12-Month Business Success and Accountability Planner
  • t The 90-Day Business Bootcamp Project Management tool
  • t Resiliency: 7 Skills to Bounce Back During Tough Times and more!

“WLF is one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to. Please just keep up the great work!”

THE ECONOMY AND ECONOMIC FORCES DEFINED
Futurenomics:
The Economic Snapshot You Need to See Today
PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
Leaders develop stronger strategies, better decisions, and achieve faster results when they understand economic forces. Changes in interest rates, imports, investments, housing trends, trade, and tariffs…do today’s news headlines have your stomach in knots?

What do the changes in the current economy mean for your business?

What do they mean for your own career?

What do they mean for your family?

Join Dr. Mary Kelly, one of the world’s most influential economists, as she exposes the true meaning of the current economic situation and what this means for your organization’s future.

  • t Learn to operate and make decisions from facts and data, not emotions
  • t Understand what the changes in international trade mean for your industry
  • t Gain a valuable understanding of today’s economy to improve profits and safeguard your businesses’ bottom line
  • t Prepare your team for what is to come in 2025 and beyond
    For meeting planners:

  • t No economic overwhelm here – this session is funny and informative – and is very different from any your members have seen before!
  • t Popular with organizations that highly value economic information, such as manufacturing, medical, and financial associations
  • t Economic information plus bonus productivity and profitability tips
  • t Perfect for an opening or closing keynote, providing profitable information your attendees need to take back to the office.
PROFITS, PRODUCTIVITY, AND COMMUNICATION

Master Your World: Today’s Game Plan for Maximum Profits, Peak Productivity, and Top Communication

PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
What do leaders need to do today to succeed?

How do we develop leadership at all levels of our organization?

Can we combat the negative aspects of “quiet quitting” that is driving down productivity and reducing employee engagement?

Master Your World provides strategies, tactics, and solutions for issues leaders are facing every day.

Leadership is the difference between failure and success. The strength of your leadership affects every employee, every team member, and everyone you serve. Leadership is what differentiates the ordinary from the amazing.

  • t Understand how leadership creates a productive and constructive team
  • t Learn how loyalty and relationships affect your bottom line
  • t Realize what most employees say they are not getting from their supervisors and leaders that causes them to leave
  • t Create a culture of dynamic communication
    For meeting planners:

  • t Perfect as a highly motivational leadership opening or closing keynote, with funny military and corporate examples, this program includes actionable takeaways that attendees can use as soon as they get back to the office.
  • t Based on Mary’s book, Master Your World, this is a humorous and valuable journey through leadership in today’s workplace.
  • t Audience gets access to Mary’s 5-minute Leadership Success Series plans to provide feedback that works, improve employee engagement, and triage communication to save time and produce results
RECRUIT AND RETAIN QUALITY EMPLOYEES

A.R.M.E.D.

PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
More than 45% of today’s workforce are millennials. Ten thousand boomers are retiring each day. There are three million vacant job opportunities in the US.

Companies are in a race to secure the right talent that will ensure their business survives the shifting workforce. Team leaders are navigating the new ways of the workplace…. remote work, less direct communication, employee loneliness, and dissatisfaction. It’s a brave new world and you’ve got to be A.R.M.E.D.

    In one of Mary’s most popular keynotes, you’ll learn to:

  • t Attract the right customers and people to your organization
  • t Recruit/Retain the right talent to serve customers and create experiences
  • t Mentor/Manage current and emerging leaders to full potential
  • t Evolve forward-thinking leadership as the corporate culture
  • t Develop teams and talent for future success
    For meeting planners:

  • t The session for human resource professionals and leadership audiences
  • t A challenging and enlightening opening or closing keynote option
  • t Highly interactive, this program addresses generational, gender, and geographical differences and similarities as well as tactics to win the war for talent
BUSINESS GROWTH
15 Ways to Grow Your Business in 2023 and Beyond In Every Economy
PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
The economy is constantly changing, and external shocks affect our business. Tax increases, inflation, regulatory changes, supply chain disruptions, cyber hacking and increased competition, changes how we run our businesses. Great leaders need to respond to the current economic environment, market shifts, and customers’ needs.

Audiences use the 12 Months of Business Growth Resource Manual (included) to build and grow different aspects of business in every economy.

    In this fast-paced, executive level session, audiences will:

  • t Formulate a concise and effective business plan
  • t Manage and optimize the strengths and weaknesses of your team
  • t Embrace people’s differences, perspectives, and diversity of thought
  • t Take action to better engage and motivate others
  • t Optimize your business relationships to ensure your career is viable and thriving

Audience members get access to some of Mary’s most popular 5-Minute Business and Leadership Success Plans to fix problems instead of blame, take advantage of diverse opinions and ideas, coalesce teams, align your vision and mission, and get people focused on the strategic vision. Based on the books, Better in 52 Weeks and 15 Ways to Grow Your Business in Every Economy.

ORGANIZED IN LIFE AND DEATH

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass!

A systematic and humorous program to organize important life documents.

PROGRAM DELIVERY: In-person | Virtual | Live Streaming | Keynote, Breakout, and Full-Day Programs
5 out of 5 people surveyed discovered that none of us are going to live forever.

If something catastrophic happened to you today, would your family know what to do?

Would your office staff know what actions to take?

If you had to evacuate, could you grab all of your important paperwork in less than 30 seconds?

The reality is no one wants to think about the time when they are not around. No one ever thinks anything tragic is going to happen to them.

Great leaders need to make sure they are personally prepared, that their families are protected, and that their employees have their important life documents in order.

Can we do all of this in less than an hour? Yes!
Can Mary guide us through what we need to know? Yes!
Can it be funny and entertaining? Yes!

    Learning Outcomes:

  • t Understand and assemble an organized system of life paperwork, including letters of instruction, wills, trusts, health care directives, insurance, and end-of-life planning with Mary’s In Case of Emergency, Break Glass! workbook.
  • t Assess the needs of a personal business plan that does not involve you.
  • t Design a legacy plan that encompasses your business’s specific needs and protects your family.
  • t Get the important paperwork and critical information in ONE place so your personal representative can start right away working on your behalf and protesting everything you work for.
  • t Less than 40.% of Americans have a current will, and a will is only the beginning. Don’t be left unprepared!