Sarah McVanel

Speaking topics

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

• The Exponential Power of Recognition

  Superglue your culture through meaningful connection and abundant appreciation.

  If you had the easiest, fastest, simplest, and no-cost strategy to engage, unite, and retain everyone in your organization, would you want to know about it?

  Many passionate, brilliant, hard-working people want to do their best yet feel unappreciated and overworked. Similarly, there are well-intentioned leaders who wish to show appreciation to their people, but they’re busy and unsure if their efforts will make a difference. Add to that a stale and misaligned corporate recognition program, and what you have is the perfect recipe for disengagement and turnover!

  How do we bridge the gap between what employees need and what organizations are prepared to do? Recognition is the answer. And it’s easy! All you need to know are the three universal strategies that work instantaneously. As a result, you’re going to raise trust, boost satisfaction, deepen a sense of belonging, and go down in history as the best boss and colleague ever!

  This work is magical. And it creates a ripple effect. It gets leaders, employees, and everyone in between excited again. It gives people hope that they can LOVE work again. This session will introduce you to a proven process for self, team, and organizational recognition called F.R.O.G. — Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness. You will walk away ready to take action and shift your culture right away.

• Flip Side of Failing: How Unconditional Recognition Ignites Resilience, Relationships, and Retention

  Failure is a tough nut. Either we treat it like the other “f-word,” or we’re espousing its virtues for learning. Let’s face it. We don’t have much resilience when failure comes crashing into our lives and careers. Most often, we play it safe. We avoid it or feel shame or blame when failure inevitably happens. We’ve had plenty of experiences that tell us to avoid failing at all costs.

  Before you think this is your “unmotivational” speech, trust me when I say that this is empowerment personified. We will be challenging the very definitions of success and failure that we’ve blindly accepted, and explore how it’s sabotaging our well-being, performance, and satisfaction. What does failure mean to you? Does it define you? Can you give yourself permission to fail?

  In this session, you will truly experience and absorb the F.L.I.P. framework: Fail, Learn, Ignite, Praise. Each dimension of FLIP allows you to harness the power that comes from failure and let go of ego or judgment. Learning from your failures creates your path to greatness. These lessons will forever change you and help you become more decisive, confident, and action oriented.

  The question is… where’s your FLIP? How can you become more failure resilient? If you’re ready to explore how unconditional recognition of yourself and others can ignite passion and performance, this session is for you. After all, no one ever left a job because they were too appreciated.

• ROCKSTAR for Women: Magnify Your Greatness in Times of Change

  Change is inevitable, but thriving through it is a choice.

  As women, we’re often the steady ROCK in the storm — balancing work, home, and the endless expectations that come our way. We care deeply, strive tirelessly, and yet too often forget to pause and savour our own greatness. The truth is, you can’t fully uplift others until you first recognize the delicious value you bring to the table.

  This keynote isn’t just about surviving change — it’s about using recognition to magnify your greatness, amplify your impact, and create a ripple effect of success. Whether you’re managing a team, navigating disruption, or seeking to reignite your spark, this session will guide you to find your foundation, fortify your strength, and inspire greatness in those around you.

  Through inspiring stories and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to:

  • Recognize yourself and others to cultivate motivation and scrumptious satisfaction.
  • Organize your priorities to create calm amidst life’s chaos.
  • Communicate authentically to build trust and strengthen relationships.
  • Infuse Kindness into every interaction to foster belonging and inspire contagious positivity.

  By grounding yourself in your greatness, you unlock STAR results (satisfaction, teamwork, achievement, and retention) — not just for those you lead but for yourself as well. This session is your way back to your strongest, truest self — the ROCK your team, family, and community can count on.

  Join Sarah McVanel, Canada’s recognition expert, to rediscover the joy of recognizing your greatness and leading with boldness, brilliance, and a sprinkle of scrumptiousness. Let’s make your greatness contagious!

• Unleash Your Inner Superhero: Five Secrets to Ignite Greatness

  What if you were a superhero and you never knew it? You may think you’re just doing your job and it’s “normal.” Whereas, to others, the work that you’re doing is extraordinary. Let’s uncover and explore your unique gifts, strengths, and talents. Here’s the opportunity to refill your greatness gas tank, recharge your resiliency batteries, and activate your superpowers.

  Now, imagine doing this together! Imagine the influence, a shared sense of purpose, and cohesive collaboration that comes from activating your collective superpowers. BOOM! This session is not a “rah-rah,” Instagram-filtered, #MotivationalMonday, artificial platitudes, lollipops, and unicorns type session. This session is designed to reveal the truth, facts, hard evidence, and reality about your undeniable greatness.

  You know you want to unleash your Inner superhero if:

  • You are a team that is committed to remaining resilient despite struggles.
  • You’re a leader who wants staff to be energized and work to their fullest capabilities every day.
  • You’re an organization that knows that happy and engaged staff are those who stay.
  • You need a delicious and engaging experience at your next recognition event.

  Stop minimizing your greatness. Start getting inspired and into action so you can make the biggest impact.

• Recognition in a Hybrid World

  Rebuild connection and deepen engagement across the digital divide.

  Contrary to popular belief, hybrid workplaces are NOT disconnecting your people. The problem is not employees logging in from different locations, watercooler conversations being moved to keyboards, or the tumbleweeds rolling down your office floor like the wild west. The problem is that before the rise of hybrid workplaces, we did not have authentic recognition practices hardwired into the cultural fabric. What we know today is the need for clarity and conviction to make recognition practices strong, authentic, sustainable, and owned by all.

  The good news is that recognition is one of the most practical, accessible, and cost-effective ways to fuel healthy working relationships, trust, and retention. It allows your people to connect across the digital divide to participate, voice their opinions, brainstorm, and collaborate.

  And guess what? You can do it from anywhere!

  Consider recognition to be your cultural glue — whether you’re in-person or online. Let Canada’s recognition expert, Sarah McVanel, walk you through her three key remote recognition ingredients: nutritious, delicious, and luscious. Never has recognition been more important and as digestible.

• Solution-Focused Greatness: How to Amplify Collaboration, Resilience, and Positivity in Others

  Sick of people fixating on problems, focusing on issues beyond their control, pointing fingers, and casting blame? Do you feel like you’re constantly firefighting a revolving door that churns negativity?

  Isn’t it more productive to identify solutions and, in turn, fuel connection, awaken creativity, and elevate appreciation? And what if you weren’t the only one doing it? Here’s the secret — everyone has greatness. They just don’t all believe it.

  People want to do well and have a desire to contribute. What if we see their greatness even when they’re not operating at their very best? How might you lead differently? How might you show up with greater curiosity? How might you do less telling and do more asking to co-create possibilities? When you embrace the belief that people are already great, it acts as a wedge in that negativity revolving door. You don’t lose hope, your best people, and your most innovative ideas.

  This session will empower you to leverage the five most resourceful questions (that you’re not currently asking) to access the solution to any problem.