KEYNOTE SPEAKING

Empower your staff, leaders or conference attendees through thought-provoking, action-inspiring keynotes.

Add a jolt of energy to your event with a cut-to-the-chase keynote that tackles current leadership challenges from burnout to managing change to employee engagement. Colleen custom prepares each talk to align with your event’s goals while deeply connecting with your audience.

Her speaking approach helps people get out of their own way, embrace who they are, and make strategic choices that propel themselves forward. Colleen's keynotes are honest, engaging, and packed with stories that inspire participants to take immediate action.

Regardless of the topic, you can expect an informative and engaging keynote that leaves attendees activated to make an immediate change.

— Great Leaders Eat Lunch

Too many leaders wear burnout like a badge of honor. They skip meals, power through exhaustion, and set a relentless pace for themselves and their teams.

But what if the key to better performance, retention, and culture isn’t doing more - but doing differently?

In this engaging and thought-provoking keynote, Colleen challenges the hustle-at-all-costs mindset and explores how intentional leadership can be the antidote to team burnout.

With a mix of humor, research, and real-life stories, she makes the case that great leadership starts with lunch—literally.

Takeaways

Insight into the hidden ways leaders influence burnout culture
Tangible strategies to model healthier, more sustainable work habits
Practical strategies to model boundaries, balance, and sustainability
A renewed understanding of leadership as a tool for engagement, not exhaustion

– Embracing the Squiggles: Thriving Through Change

Let’s be real - life rarely unfolds in a straight line. From the very start, Colleen’s journey has been a squiggle - beginning in foster care, navigating unexpected career pivots, and even launching a business just six months before a global pandemic. But instead of resisting the twists, she’s learned to embrace them. And she’ll show you how to do the same.

In this high-energy keynote, Colleen shares why life’s detours aren’t detours at all - they’re the path to growth. Forget rigid plans; this talk is about staying adaptable, spotting opportunities in uncertainty, and using the unknown as your secret weapon. Through engaging stories, practical insights, and a healthy dose of humor, you’ll walk away not just ready to handle change, but excited to make it work in your favor.

Get ready to embrace the squiggle—and turn every twist into an advantage!

Takeaways

The most unexpected paths often lead to the biggest breakthroughs
Learn to adapt and pivot with confidence
Seize new opportunities you might have otherwise missed
Develop a “squiggle mindset” to turn setbacks into stepping stones

– Amplify Your Strengths: Unlocking What Makes You Shine

What if the key to success isn’t fixing your weaknesses but doubling down on what you already do best?

Learn how to identify and channel your unique strengths toward what matters. This talk is filled with practical strategies for recognizing your superpowers, leveraging them in your career or personal life, and amplifying your impact.

You'll leave inspired to stop playing small and start aiming your strengths at the opportunities that can elevate you to the next level!

Takeaways

Develop a system to make every day your best day
Understand why being well-rounded is overrated
Recognize your unique set of strengths
Learn simple steps to seize your strengths at work

Embracing the squiggles

Our careers rarely land where we thought. Like life, they tend to take a more squiggly path.

Great leadership

Communication, consistency, credibility, inspires emotional intelligence. These are just the beginning.

"Fabulous!"

“Your presentation was fabulous! We received so much positive feedback from participants. I so appreciate how you tailored your strengths knowledge to great hybrid strategies. Many thanks!”
— Cornelia Beckett, Chair of Women of EIS, EBSCO Information Services, US
"Inspiring."

“ I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for your exceptional contribution as a speaker at this year’s conference. Your insightful presentation on burnout was a highlight of the event and provided immense value to our attendees.”
— Adara J. Sloane, Associate Director of Events & Operations, Home Care Association of Florida
"Insightful."

Thank you so much for your time tonight. You’ve covered a lot of what I have been thinking about over the last few years but could never put into such elegant words. I couldn’t believe how insightful this was.
— Dennis, Engineer, Project Manager
"Impressive."

“I was impressed by your wonderful presentation today. You did a great job presenting information while incorporating exercises for the audience to give us thought as to how we will reach out to strangers going forward.”
— DeAun
"Organized."

“That was the best presentation KLM has sponsored since I joined in the fall. Very well organized, great slides, full of useful content. I loved everything about it. Can't wait to follow up on some of your suggestions.”
— Carol, Participant
"Rave reviews!"

"Colleen was a guest on our podcast, and I knew right away that we needed to have her come and speak at our conference! Her session was one of the most popular, and we got nothing but rave reviews on our post-event surveys."
— Paul W. Critchley, President, New England Lean Consulting
"Knowledgable."

“I just wanted to say what a great session this was. Thank you for putting it together. The speaker was very knowledgeable and informative, and helped to “debunk” some of the misconceptions I had about serving on boards.”

—Nicole, attendee on Nonprofit Boards 101 webinar