Lisa Walden

Creating a Workplace That Doesn’t Suck

Work sucks has been the common refrain for far too long, with many companies moving forward on improving their culture at a snail’s pace. This is in contrast to the future-focused and cutting edge tools that have revolutionized how people communicate and collaborate. The result: organizational strategies in dire need of rethinking and revision, and it’s no wonder that so many employees report feeling those dread Sunday scaries.

This presentation asks tough questions around the concept of “work ethic,” the importance of building trust, clarifying communication methods, and investing in connections.

The idea is to challenge preconceived notions about how to foster a healthy company culture, no matter the level or role.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• Mindset-shifting insights on the future of work and how to stay competitive in a continuously shifting landscape
• Best-practices from organizations with proven awesome workplaces, and how to adapt their strategies for your workplace
• A fresh perspective on work culture that challenges the way things “should be done”

Connecting Across Generations

There’s no question that each generation brings a unique perspective into the workplace. Whether it’s embracing emojis in communication, asking for efficiency in meetings, establishing clarity through hierarchy, or demanding more flexible schedules… every generation has left its mark. Unfortunately, lack of generational awareness can make it easy for workplace dynamics to sour. Rather than seeking to understand, we start to point fingers. Communication and collaboration suffer, engagement dips, and leaders find themselves asking “what can I do to keep everyone happy?”

This presentation takes a closer look at each generation to create a deeper understanding of why we all behave the way we do. Through this lens, it offers implementable strategies to improve connection across generational divides.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• Decrypting every generation’s formative years, and how those years inform distinct generational identities
• Identifying the potential areas for disconnect across generations
• Spotlight on how the newest generation, Gen Z, will shake up the workplace 

Leadership Reimagined

The tides have changed, and so have perceptions about what makes for a good job, a good organization, and a good leadership methodology. So why is it that so many leaders continue to operate with a workplace ethos that just isn’t resonating in the current work world?

Those that aren’t adapting to the new rules of engagement are facing an environment rife with frustrated employees, high attrition rates, and broken lines of communication… not to mention a pipeline of talent that will quickly dry up without much-needed change.

This keynote makes the case for why a new leadership mindset is critical, and explores how the best in the biz are embracing transformation.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• How to lead in a way that values trust and transparency over strict rules and regulation
• Listening to understand over listening to respond
• Learn how to increase employee retention and decrease burnout

Communicating So People Can Hear You

In today’s workplace culture, the loudest voice in the room is the one that gets heard. In meetings, the employee that can articulate their thoughts fastest is labeled a rock star.

In digital communication, one person groans at the sight of a text message while another cringes when listening to voicemail. Just like that, your message can be misinterpreted, and then you’re falling behind, getting passed over for promotions, and worst of all, becoming frustrated with your fellow colleagues, managers, or leaders.

We break down how company culture and the hybrid workplace affects communication strategies, and how people at all levels can work together so that everyone’s voice is heard and nothing gets lost in translation.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• How to use empathetic communication and active listening techniques that will fundamentally change the way you communicate
• Awareness of the most prevalent communication mishaps in the workplace, and how to overcome them
• Concrete strategies that will allow you to deliver messages clearly, and in a way that resonates

Bury the Hustle: Finding Calm in a Burnout Work World

Welcome to hustle culture: the mindset that being on all the time is not only necessary, but boast-worthy. Can we let you in on a poorly kept secret? This MO of working is completely unsustainable.

Burnout rates have never been higher, employees are exhausted and disengaged, and leaders are wringing their hands and asking, “What can we do?”

This presentation outlines the root causes of professional burnout, and gives attendees the tools to bring some calm and chill to the world of workplace hustle for themselves and their teams.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• Learn how to reclaim your time and use it effectively
• Counter-intuitive strategies for teams on defining and envisioning what work ethic and “working hard” should look like
• How to set boundaries that increase productivity, inspiration, and creativity

Gen Z Who? Engaging and Motivating the Youngest Generation at Work

For many leaders, Gen Z feels like a riddle wrapped in a mystery folded inside an enigma. “Who even are they? And what do they want from work?”

This presentation answers these questions, and sheds light on the latest generation to take their place in the American workplace. While Gen Z is often lumped in with Millennials, they’re a distinct cohort with their own set of values, communication preferences, and expectations around what they want work to look/feel like. Leaning on a decade of work on generational research, Lisa decodes the best ways to engage and motivate Gen Z.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• Understanding cultural trends to help you better recruit Gen Z employees and retain the youngest generation at work
• Learn how Gen Z and Millennials should be managed differently
• A look at the “why” behind the “what” of Gen Z behavior and motivation

The Future is Human: Creating People-First Work Cultures

We are entering a new era of work, one where businesses win when leaders are compassionate, communication is empathetic, and people are prioritized. But that transformation, much like any kind of change, requires a great degree of intention and care.

By embracing the workplace lessons learned during the pandemic years there’s an opportunity to design the kind of organization we all want to work in, and a culture we can all be a part of.

In this presentation, you’ll learn how to create a healthier, happier, and ultimately more successful company culture by putting people first. Steeped in years of research and listening (really listening) to employees at all levels, Lisa will paint the picture of what the future of work can and should look like, and how you can get started with that redesign right away.

ATTENDEE TAKEAWAYS:

• An exploration of the three cornerstones of compassionate leadership
• Strategies to take organizational communication from autopilot to intentional and empathetic
• Tactical tools to start transforming your work culture