Dr. Samra Zafar

Speaking topics

Presentations listed below include in-person and virtual keynotes, as well as workshops, fireside chats, and other presentation formats.

• The Science of Authentic Leadership: How to Lead with Emotional Intelligence while Embracing Artificial Intelligence

  A recent study reported that 85% of employees believe AI will impact their jobs in the next few years, leaving them anxious and uncertain about their future. At the same time, many leaders are reporting higher rates of burnout and imposter syndrome, as they deal with challenges they were never trained for. This emotional rollercoaster can be a significant impediment to transformation success if not addressed correctly.

  This is a time for leaders to double down on the things that are inherently and boldly human — emotional intelligence, authenticity, vulnerability, connection, and courage. Adopting an AI-enhanced, human-centered leadership approach and prioritizing well-being initiatives that prevent burnout is a powerful combination that enables leaders and teams to thrive while embracing transformation.

  In this enlightening keynote, Dr. Samra Zafar shows leaders how to strengthen their emotional and relational intelligence skills, so they are better positioned to harness the benefits of technological capabilities while ensuring their teams feel supported and understood during periods of change.

  Key takeaways include how to:

  • Navigate through uncertainties while maintaining composure and effectively managing your own emotions as a leader.
  • Identify and support your teams through the emotional challenges they face on a daily basis.
  • Build trust-based relationships through active listening, expressing empathy, and demonstrating authentic care for your employees’ well-being.
  • Adopt proactive and inclusive wellness practices that prevent burnout, inspire confidence, and sustain motivation.
  • Strengthen effective communication, conflict resolution, and improved collaboration.

  If you’re looking to inspire trust and confidence in your teams and ensure transformation success, this presentation is for you!

• The Workplace of Belonging: Cultivating a Positive Employee Experience for Higher Performance and Better Business Outcomes

  Every business leader wants their workplace to be an environment of high performance, but a prerequisite for productivity, creativity, and innovation is a culture of belonging. Research shows that employees who feel cared for by their employer are 92% more likely to feel engaged at work, 65% more likely to be loyal and 56% more likely to be productive at work.

  In this illuminating keynote, Dr. Samra Zafar shows audiences how to foster a culture of empathy and belonging — one that welcomes and celebrates the intersecting identities of all. She’ll also explore the fascinating science behind motivation — why we’re unmotivated when we feel excluded or overlooked and why inclusive practices are key to nurturing employees’ creativity, confidence, and resilience — to equip you with the knowledge needed to unlock your team’s highest potential.

  Key takeaways include how to:

  • Harness the lessons of neuroscience so your team can elevate their performance.
  • Nurture intentional relationships by seeing yourself and others through a lens of intersectionality.
  • Create a culture of belonging and psychological safety by addressing unconscious biases.
  • Dispel the myth that our personal lives are a threat to work performance.
  • Prevent burnout in your teams by instilling a culture of proactive wellness.

  If you’re looking to develop a culture where every person is welcomed and championed for who they really are, this presentation is for you!

• The Power of Incremental Courage: How to Live and Lead with Boldness

  So many self-help books promise to help readers become “fearless” but they are selling myths. Feeling fear, especially when doing something new or different, is natural — it’s what makes us human.

  Dr. Samra Zafar has had to make many bold decisions in her life. She left an abusive arranged marriage, faced the terrors of poverty as a single mother while putting herself through university, and gave up her successful corporate career in finance to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. In each instance, she was anything but fearless.

  Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the embrace of it. By sharing her story, Zafar shows audiences how to befriend fear and see it as their protector instead of a roadblock. She also illustrates how to tap into your inner strength by understanding your “why” and shares self-care strategies to help you stay the course and thrive while on the road of courageous leadership.

  This compelling presentation will show audiences how to:

  • Access their inner courage in the face of fear.
  • Practice lived and proven strategies that lead to greater confidence and bold actions.
  • Tap into your conviction by understanding your “why”.
  • Make decisions from a place of power instead of desperation.
  • Use self-care practices to persevere when the road gets rough.

• Resilience Redefined: Become Your Biggest Ally

  With burnout rates at an all-time high, it’s time to end the crash-and-burn cycle and finally become proactive about our mental health.

  True resilience — the ability to weather life’s inevitable storms — is the fruit of proactive behaviours and habits. In this insightful presentation, Dr. Samra Zafar shares simple practices, to help you strengthen your resilience muscle day-to-day and intentionally develop a life of true wellness.

  Zafar will explore the neuroplasticity of burnout and resilience to help audiences understand why a proactive approach to mental health is the only approach. She will also break down the three essential pillars to well-being — your relationship with yourself, your relationship with others, and your sense of purpose — and how to strengthen and maintain them for optimal health.

  Key takeaways include how to:

  • Build a personalized self-care toolkit that will help you navigate adversity and challenges.
  • Stop being your harshest critic and become your biggest champion.
  • View “negative” emotions as opportunities to discover the root causes of your discomfort.
  • Cultivate intentional relationships with people who enthusiastically cheer you on.
  • Find meaning in your life by embracing the things that bring you joy.

  If you’re looking to courageously lead yourself and your team through the highs and lows of every season, this presentation is for you!

• Blaze Your Own Trail: Break Through Past Limits to Transform Your Future

  In this thought-provoking keynote, Dr. Samra Zafar shows audiences how to liberate and own their authentic self.

  Showing up as your true, authentic self is the best thing you can do — both for yourself and for the rest of the world. However, we’re surrounded by subliminal messages telling us that who we are is not enough. This session helps people unlearn “normal” to unlock their authentic power.

  Zafar will explore the three essential pillars of well-being — your relationship with yourself, your relationship with others, and your sense of purpose — and share proven practices, backed by science-based research, to strengthen and maintain them. Attendees will leave the session with the confidence needed to unleash their authentic self, become their own champion, build meaningful relationships, and ascend internal barriers to reach their true potential.

  Key takeaways include how to:

  • Identify the true origins of self-limiting patterns.
  • Befriend “negative” emotions and courageously step forward in the face of fear.
  • Develop healthy boundaries to intentionally cultivate meaningful relationships.
  • Trust their intuition and strengthen their mind-body relationship.
  • Embrace their purpose — what gives them joy — and lean into healthy, empowering interdependency.

• DEI: Go Beyond Checklists and Buzzwords

  Diversity, equity, and inclusion are words thrown around so much in the workplace today that they’ve almost lost their true meaning.

  In this practical keynote, Dr. Samra Zafar cuts through the noise. She explores what these terms actually mean, how they’re often practiced in harmful ways that work against their intent, and, most importantly, shares practical strategies to help bring these concepts to life in all levels of your organization.

  If you’re looking to harness the true power of diversity, this presentation is for you. When DEI stops being a buzzword and simply becomes the way you operate, your entire team will prosper and flourish.

  Key takeaways include:

  • Understand systems of inequality through a lens of intersectionality.
  • Recognize and use your privilege to dismantle barriers and work in solidarity with equity-deserving groups.
  • Address unconscious biases by building inclusive habits.
  • Practice self-care to prevent burnout and compassion fatigue.
  • Build a culture where diverse voices are welcomed and sought after around the table.

  This session is for leaders and HR professionals who want to expand their understanding of DEI and build cultures of inclusive belonging.