Shola Kaye

Shola Kaye's Speech Descriptions

CULTURE, D.E.I., Leadership: Elevating Empathy
– To increase inclusion, productivity and engagement (Suitable for all employees and delegates)

Creating a workplace where everyone feels that they belong is more important than ever before, but how can you build supportive, cohesive environments within your organisation?

This is a high-impact, inspiring keynote. You’ll walk away with the tools and the inspiration to become a more compassionate and effective leader, manager, or individual contributor. It can be modified for senior leaders, management, and whole-company keynotes. We’ll look at the important themes of curiosity, courage and being a catalyst and you’ll understand the vital components of empathy, how to be compassionate while avoiding burnout, and why skills like emotional intelligence are in high demand.

Learning objectives:

- Understand the different types of empathy and their impact on your well-being
- Find out how empathy can have an effect upon diversity, inclusion, engagement, retention, innovation, and happiness
- Walk away with a simple three-step framework for being empathetic in nearly every situation
- Watch a live demonstration or (optional) participate in a short breakout to discuss and practise the strategies
- Optional workbook (available for an additional fee per employee): The 30 Day Empathy Plan, contains conversation starters, empathy frameworks and ongoing strategies to help you keep the momentum up, providing reminders and prompts to take action

CULTURE, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: Embracing Psychological Safety and Inclusive Communication
– Are you wondering why there has been so much interest in the topic of psychological safety?

During this interactive keynote, we explore the vital role of psychological safety in fostering an inclusive environment that values open, authentic communication. We’ll discuss the importance of embracing vulnerability, trust, and empathy in your daily interactions, enabling your team to unlock its full potential through collaborative ways of working.

Learning objectives:

- Understand the key elements of psychological safety and their impact on team performance
- Explore the relationship between psychological safety and emotional intelligence
- Discover strategies to create a culture of inclusive communication that values and supports diverse perspectives
- Recognise the role of empathetic leadership in fostering psychological safety
- Learn practical techniques for building trust and promoting vulnerability within teams
- Understand that cultural factors also play a role in the creation of psychologically safe environments

LEADERSHIP, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION: INCLUSIVE, EMPATHETIC LEADERSHIP
– Equip your leaders with the skills and knowledge to combat bias and foster belonging

After the impact of the pandemic, we know that many workplaces will never be the same again. That’s why today’s leaders need an expanded repertoire of skills and know-how to ensure staff are engaged, happy and productive. In this highly impactful program, leaders are given the skill set to flourish in today’s complex work environments, managing ever more diverse and demanding teams.

Learning objectives:

- Explore the 6 key traits of an inclusive leader and their related behaviours
- Review key data that support the value of compassionate leadership skills in today’s work environments
- Discover what it takes to create an environment of psychological safety
- Explore inclusive communication best practices to ensure everyone feels encouraged to speak up and make a contribution
- Discuss a number of behavioural nudges that help us bypass bias and create an atmosphere of innovation and belonging
- Review important cultural factors that all managers must consider when they lead diverse, multigenerational, international or intercultural teams

CULTURE, LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION, PERFORMANCE: DELIVERING EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK WITH EMPATHY
– Develop the skills to support and co-create your colleagues’ success (Session is suitable for all employees, not just managers)

At work and in our personal lives, delivering effective feedback is a valuable skill. Delivered in the right way, feedback can be empowering, inspiring and can drive an individual, and their team, towards fantastic success.

However, delivered in the wrong way, feedback can be divisive, demotivating, and destructive. And when we avoid giving feedback to spare someone’s feelings, the eventual outcome can be just as damaging.

So what’s your intention as a manager? Is it to break or build? To crush or to co-create? Do you restrict your feedback to the obligatory once or twice a year, or do you feedback continuously, increasing the motivation and confidence of your team members?

This interactive, high energy keynote contains insightful stories, impactful data, and valuable tools you can use again and again.

Learning objectives:

- Understand the importance of providing ongoing, tailored, empathetic developmental feedback
- Explore the repercussions of poor feedback styles such as The Drive-by, The Comparison, The Public Humiliation, and The Wrecking Ball
- Discover the four elements required to create psychological safety so that your feedback is well-received
- Take away an effective strategy for delivering feedback as an individual contributor
- Learn three different feedback frameworks and the pros and cons of each

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION: BREAK THE BIAS WITH POWERFUL, EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION
– Give your people the tools to challenge bias and create a more equitable workplace

Unconscious bias training often gets a bad rap as it’s seen as divisive and ineffective. This empowering session goes beyond that, giving your people practical, accessible tools and strategies to challenge bias when they see it. It can often be hard to call out biased behaviour – especially when it’s from managers and clients.

This session will help you initiate conversations grounded in curiosity, empathy and a desire to learn, which ultimately may help you achieve more than an off-the-cuff ‘put down’ or quick rebuke. You’ll also discover ways to set up your teams for success by creating conditions that favour bias-free decision making. If you’re just getting started on your D.E.I. journey, this session, or the keynote on Empathy, is a great place to begin!

Learning objectives:

- Common examples of bias and the damage they cause
- Practical tools for breaking bias at individual and systemic levels
- Calling out vs calling in – and how to decide which is appropriate, given your situation
- Common examples of biased behaviours, with strategies for responding to aggressors
- Bystander interventions for allies and anyone who wants to help fight bias
- Recognising and understanding intersectionality: the overlapping of different biases and discriminatory behaviours

EMPATHY AND SELF-COMPASSION: FOR WELLNESS AND BURNOUT PREVENTION
– You’ll walk away with a better understanding of your colleagues and with practical strategies to support each other.

This interactive, engaging session will delve into the power of empathy, its impact on the work environment, and how practising empathy and self-care can reduce burnout. Learn to cultivate compassion through mindfulness, increase self-appreciation, and apply practical frameworks for empathetic listening and support, even under pressure.

Learning objectives:

- Understand the importance of empathy and its impact on inclusion, work-life balance, and burnout prevention.
- Differentiate between social and compassionate empathy and their effects on burnout.
- Experience Metta meditation as a tool for cultivating compassion and reducing distress.
- Apply the “Gap and Gain” exercise to enhance self-appreciation and personal growth.
- Utilize the empathy N.E.T. and the F.E.E.L. frameworks to improve listening skills and display empathy in challenging situations.
- Develop self-care practices and promote empathy and compassion under pressure in your work environment.