Max Brown

Leaders have a profound impact on the way people work. If they understand how to use positive emotions, demonstrate genuine concern for the employee’s wellbeing, and appreciate them as human beings, they can dramatically improve the work environment and business results.

Why does this matter?

The majority of workers today say that they want to leave their current employer provided the opportunity. The challenge is that those in leadership positions often alienate people instead of inspiring them. While it often isn’t intentional, too many in leadership positions don’t understand how to bring out the best in others.

In fact, many don’t even know that they don’t know how to bring out the best in others. The truth is that, at times, we will all falsely believe that we are doing a great job when we’re actually going off course.

This is Leadership Vertigo.

So, how do we counter it and how do we get back on track?

This keynote presentation gets people quickly thinking how they can make things better at work. While it is easy to blame others for the problems and challenges, this conversation is about asking ourselves: “What is it like to work with me?”

Why is this so important? As leaders, we’ve been trying to improve employee engagement for decades. This isn’t a new challenge. In 1928, Bill Marriott Sr. said that if they took care of employees, the employees would take care of customers. In the 1950’s, W. Edwards Deming declared that we should get rid of fear in the workplace. In the 1980’s, Harvard created a leadership model supporting employee morale for better results. Despite nearly 100 years of
research and conversation, we still deal with challenges that prevent us from creating a better work environment where people can thrive. Why?

This presentation is a conversation about keeping it real and making things better. Using the latest research (oftentimes sharing statistics, stories, client experiences and quotes that are less than two months old), we will address how to help leaders get their organizations back on track.

Objectives:
1. Understand how Leadership Vertigo impacts all of us — regardless of position.
2. Learn the FOUR principles to getting back on track.
3. Discover the ways we can rewire our brain for better performance and outcomes.
4. Leave inspired with concrete action steps for making things better back at work.
NOTE: This presentation is customized to the audience and conference theme to make sure we are on target with the needs in the room.

In 1982, W Edwards Deming wrote: “Establish constancy of purpose. People ask me, “How?” Well, I don’t know. That’s up to the company…[But] if it isn’t done, the company will be under handicap and that handicap may have severe consequences.” Deming’s candor and honesty were clearly appreciated by those who came to see him.

While the business case for knowing your why has been around for decades (and more recent studies by Simon Sinek and others continue to reinforce the same message), the challenges regarding how to identify purpose and staying true that purpose remain. Why? Because knowing your why impacts everything, and to follow Deming’s admonition, if it isn’t done, “it may have severe consequences.”

This discussion isn’t about the right answers, but about asking the right questions to gain clarity, align purpose, and enable a culture of continuous

In Lewis Carroll’s now famous scene in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” Alice doesn’t know which road she should take and so she asks the Cheshire Cat who is sitting at the fork in the road:
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go” said the Cat.
“—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

While the business case for knowing your why has been around for decades (and more recent studies by Simon Sinek and others continue to reinforce the same message), the challenge to identify your “why” and the direct impact it has on your “how” can still be confusing. Today, the Cat’s wry reply to Alice should remain a sober reminder that going through life without a clear direction undoubtedly impacts our daily routine.

In this inspiring keynote from Max Brown, learn how asking the right questions can help you gain clarity, align purpose, and understand the impact on our daily routines. What is your why and how does it impact your how?