Stephen Shedletzky

Speaking topics

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

• Speak-Up Culture: When Leaders Truly Listen, People Step Up

  As the Andy Stanley quote goes, “Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.” And, that silence is dangerous.

  Poor leadership behaviours result in toxic cultures and lacklustre performance. Cultures of silence lead to missed opportunities, failure, and sometimes even disaster. Part of the problem is that the more senior a leader becomes, the more removed they can get from the truth — the experiences of team members and customers alike. These are the very people who make their organization a success. A leader’s whisper is heard as a shout, and the silence and nodding heads that often follow are falsely considered consensus.

  Here, speaker, coach, advisor, and author Stephen Shedletzky demonstrates that in a speak-up culture, not only do leaders have the skills and attributes to hear ideas, concerns, voices of dissent, and even mistakes, they also encourage, acknowledge, reward, and act upon them. This fundamental ability to create a culture where it’s safe and worth it to speak up — and to view the organization and the people in it as a living, breathing organism they are meant to support (rather than as cogs in a machine to operate) — is vital to the long-term success of any organization.

  Speak-Up Culture shows audiences how creating such an environment is the responsibility and the advantage of every leader who wants to be great at leading, and who wants to create a better version of humanity while they do.

  Session Objectives

  • Understand the definition and importance of psychological safety and why speak-up cultures are good for people and good for business.
  • Discover the two components of a speak-up culture: encourage and reward.
  • Learn tactical and proven methods to listen to your people and cultivate a feedback-rich, speak-up culture.
  • Explore the destructive impact of toxic positivity and gaslighting on people, teams, and cultures.
  • Unpack leaders’ responsibility and advantage in building a speak-up culture.

• From Buzz Words to Action: Defining Leadership, Culture, and Trust

  How can we excel at something if we don’t know or agree upon what it is? In this not-so-conventional, yet highly engaging, practical, and impactful talk, Shedletzky transforms common organizational buzz words to definitions, mindsets, and actions we can each bring to life.

  Session Objectives

  • Explore a simple, powerful, and modern definition of leadership.
  • Unpack a concept and leadership assessment tool, the Wheel of Leadership, which outlines the behavioural attributes of leadership.
  • Share a definition and equation for culture — Culture = (Values × Behaviour)^Influence.
  • Take an imperative yet, fuzzy concept like trust and give it definitions, structure, and actions we can take immediately to build, maintain, and repair it.

• How Best to Lead through Change

  If there’s ever one certainty, it is change and uncertainty itself. In our modern era, the rate, pace, and volume of change have simply intensified. Shedletzky shares insights from his research, years of client and work experience, and partnership with great leaders like Rich Diviney (Ret. Navy SEAL commander and author of Masters of Uncertainty) to help us use these moments of change and uncertainty as our finest moments.

  Session Objectives

  • Explore the three connected gears of change: mindset, actions, and systems.
  • Identify your readiness and capacity for change within your team and organization.
  • Utilize the Law of Diffusion of Innovation and the Partners, Tourists, Prisoners concept to increase your likelihood of implementing successful change.
  • Learn lessons from masters of uncertainty, the Navy SEALs, on how they process and use uncertainty, change, stress, and fear to propel them forward and perform optimally.

• Workshop — Speak-Up Culture: What it is, Why it Matters, and How to Build it

  Most of us have things to say. The real question is, are we in an environment where it feels psychologically safe and worth it to speak up?

  Workshop Objectives

  • Define what we mean by a speak-up culture and why it matters to cultivate one.
  • Explore the two main questions of a speak-up culture — Is it safe? Is it worth it?
  • Unpack important nuances of what a speak-up culture is and isn’t, and how best and when to speak up.
  • Understand and utilize the virtuous cycle of Encourage & Reward to build and grow a speak-up culture.

  This workshop is dynamic, interactive, and engaging.

• Workshop — Trust is the Key to High-Performing Teams

  Sustainable high performance isn’t driven; it’s cultivated. Trust acts as the lubrication for that engine. With greater trust, we make better decisions, we move faster, we make fewer mistakes, and we learn from the ones we do make. So, if trust is so vital, how do we better understand it, build, maintain, and repair it?

  Workshop Objectives

  • Unpack a definition and business case for trust.
  • Explore the elements of trust with the Four C’s: Competence, Consistency, Character, and Compassion.
  • End the debate of what is most important — inspiration or trust?
  • Utilize the Navy SEAL Trust/Performance Matrix and its implications for hiring and promotions.
  • Engage in breakouts and a team dilemma role play to better identify your values.

• Workshop — An Equation for Culture: Values, Behaviours, and Influence

  We all know culture matters, but how do we effectively define, articulate, and grow healthy and productive cultures? In this highly interactive workshop, we will unpack the Culture Equation and bring it to life for your team and organization.

  Workshop Objectives

  • Share a definition and equation for culture — Culture = (Values × Behaviour)^Influence.
  • Unpack each of the parts and work in teams to define your values and cast them into actionable behaviours.
  • Leave the experience feeling clear, inspired, and ready to live and be ambassadors of your culture.

• Workshop — Better Leadership: Define, Select, and Support

  It’s hard to be good at a job without an adequate job description. We all know leaders and leadership matter, but do we have a common understanding and appreciation for what leadership is, how to effectively find and select leaders, and how best to support their development?

  Workshop Objectives

  • Discuss a simple, powerful, and modern definition of leadership.
  • Unpack a concept and leadership assessment tool, the Wheel of Leadership, which outlines the behavioural attributes of leadership.
  • Identify key nuances of leadership for your team and organization.
  • Explore how best to interview and select leaders for your teams and organization and how to develop your pipeline of leaders both effectively and efficiently.

  This workshop creates a highly interactive experience.

• Workshop — Feedback: A Dish Best Shared

  The purpose of feedback is to build relationships and help one another grow. Yet, the very word “feedback” is so charged because most of us are cruddy at delivering and receiving it. So, let’s figure out how to use feedback in a way that can make it your team’s cultural and performance superpower.

  Workshop Objectives

  • Discover the best use of feedback, when and how it’s appropriate, and when a different type of conversation (advice, request, instruction) is better.
  • Unpack a model to deliver feedback — the Feeling, Behaviour, Impact (FBI) model.
  • Get practical and try it on, preparing real FBI statements for both acknowledgment and constructive feedback.

  This workshop is fun, dynamic, and impactful.