Keynotes and Workshops

This leadership program is designed to delve deeper into what it means to lead. Ideally delivered over 2 – 6 hours— in a single session or over multiple sessions, the objective is for our leaders to reflect on what they do well and what behaviors they could do better. This longer leadership session often includes a leadership assessment sent prior to our first session, and occasionally concludes with leaders developing and formalizing their leadership philosophies. Topics addressed: Leading ourselves, motivatingteams, communication, decision-making, visibility and approachability, accountability and service.

Simply stated, leadership is a position of service. A philosophy— not a leadership style—Servant Leadership is the concept that leadership is not about you but rather putting the people you lead first. In this presentation, we outline and describe the foundation of Servant Leadership to include the 3 Assumptions, the 5 Ways of Being and the 10 Attributes of what it means to be a servant leader. First lesson: The servant leader is servant first.

Who doesn’t want to be a better communicator? This presentation is dedicated to how we communicate— from our non-verbals and“communication courage” to delivering tough messages. We list and explain the 10 essential elements of good, effective communication. This presentation has application at home and the workplace.

What does it mean to be a professional? Professionalism is the foundation of our leadership success, and Ted always opens with this topic when speaking to new leaders. The 5 keys we discuss and examine: Competency, Communication, Image/Character/Conduct, Loyalty and Accountability. From the apprentice to CEO, we all must have these attributes to be successful—it starts here.

A hard look at teams! We discuss and look at what defines a high-performing team and how the teams act and behave. We look at our own teams while examining the building blocks of high performing teams (trust, conflict, commitment, accountability & results). In longer sessions with this topic, Ted, prior to our first class, distributes a team assessment that collects we what do well, and what we could do better. Good teams have the courage to self-reflect and improve team performance.

An old Navy saying is, “When the elephants dance, the grass must pay.” Too often change is something that people on the frontlines feel they must bear. What can we do as leaders to change this mindset? This is a frequently requested topic since so many organizations experience organizational change. We look at why people too often resist change and the 11 steps to effective change management to facilitate a smooth transition no matter the size of the organizational change.

We would be nowhere without our customer and yet, noteworthy customer service seems to be disappearing. This presentation is a fun, practical look at customer service and what everyone in your organization needs to know. Filled with stories and examples, we examine and discuss the 4 pillars of exceptional customer service—the Experience, Relationships, Reputation, and Problem solving/solutions. In addition, we outline 10 basic customer service behaviors—from our attitude to how we are with each other (the internal customer). Thought-provoking and frequently requested, we can put this customer service knowledge to work for us today.

A deeper look at the tactics and behaviors of “in-the-trenches” customer service taken from Ted’s real-life experience of working a floor retail job during the pandemic. What an education he received and he’s ready to share his lessons with you—from EVERYONE on your team is a trainer to use of humor in dealing with challenging customers. This is a great example of how Ted is a “working speaker for working people”—he has done the work.

As of today, we have four generations in the workplace with Millennials making up the largest working generation. In this presentation, we compare and contrast the generations and how each views work, bosses and authority, feedback, challenge, technology, and how to communicate. With this information, we can have an appreciation as to how each generation operates and thinks. And despite these generational differences, leadership is leadership. We close with all the generations’ need with respect to being lead–no matter their age.

Nearly 60% of new leaders start their roles without any formal leadership training— and then we wonder why they’re struggling. In this informative and insightful presentation, we discuss and outline the essential steps and behaviors of the new leader from “breaking up” with their co-workers to letting go of old responsibilities and duties. When you take that new leadership role, it’s is no longer about you— and that’s the biggest lesson to learn.

Ted often uses the format of this presentation for staff education and staff appreciation days annually held in so many organizations. Highly customized, Ted tailors the content of motivation, professionalism, customer service, change, communication, teams and self-care to the organization he is working with. Customers want relevant content and Ted will, whenfeasible and with approval, go visit sites and workers to see what they do and how they do it, building his presentation on what he learns. For so many, our work defines us, and this fun and interactive presentation is designed to recognize and appreciate your workforce.

(can be either a workshop or keynote presentation)

In this safety presentation, we’ll examine the critical role of communication as it applies to keeping our people safe. From speaking up if we see something “off,” to keeping people informed, and being accessible and visible, what we say and how we say it is a practiced skill of the leader of safety. Listen up! It’s all in this fun and engaging presentation.

Safety professionals are often tasked with delivering safety training on a variety of safety topics but, through no fault of their own, they lack the expertise, tactics and knowledge to provide engaging and effective safety training. In this enlightening presentation, we will discuss the tactics and skills to design and deliver effective and even enjoyable training– – for you and others.

There is no silver bullet as it applies to managing our time. Personally or professionally, we will make time for the things that are important to us.
The truth is that time management isn’t really a function of managing time but rather a function of managing ourselves! In this presentation, we will discuss the concept of leading ourselves, mastering workflow, procrastination (and why we do it) as well as our 4 pools of energy.

Often delivered to young people, this presentation is collection of Ted’s experiences and lessons learned in his life from facing adversity to one’s character to owning one’s life and what occurs in it. In this fun and engaging presentation, we climb the “ladder of our success” one rung at a time— from who we are andsaying, “Yes!” to opportunities and taking responsibility for our actions and decisions. This presentation has many deep messages delivered in a fun way and has been created and delivered to countless young people to get them to think about who they are and where they are going.

Ted taught in the classroom as a high school teacher. Good leaders are good teachers but not all teachers realize their role in the classroom as leaders. They lead everyday with their students. From our discussion of “It’s your classroom,” and your influence and expectations, to the love for your students, we examine the attributes and characteristics of excellent, effective teachers.

We don’t often think of it as we go about our day-to-day tasks but we ourselves are a product— a product that we are selling and showing others all the time. Key ingredients go into our “product”—from our competency, work ethic and attitude to our desire to strive and achieve. And from those ingredients, our product delivers value, benefit, relationships and most of all— an experience. In this thought-provoking presentation, we think about the product we are delivering, how to keep that product “fresh and viable” as well as how to prevent our product from suffering.

Motivation in our fitness can wane, but there are ways we overcome our daily obstacles. A fitness instructor and personal trainer, Ted discusses the fundamentals of staying in the game as they relate to your fitness and health. In addition, we’ll examine what holds us back, and the real and tangible ways to reach our fitness goals. Fun and practical, these are health and fitness tactics we can use today. Note: In combination with this topic, Ted has also taught a fitness class tailored to the abilities of the participants.

Designed for the incoming (or returning) college student, this presentation sets the stage for a successful academic journey. We start the year right as we get our students to think about owning their learning and challenging themselves academically. From leading oneself to joining student organizations, students need to stand out and distinguish themselves while completing— and enjoying– the “marathon” called college.

When it comes to our health, it’s important we have a balanced diet. When it comes to our leadership, it’s critical we have these 4 essential building blocks as a foundation to our leadership house. In this illuminating presentation, we start from the beginning—from our professional relationships to the 10 Ways of Being. It all starts here leaders—be balanced, be effective.