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Bring Home Fresh Ideas and Renewed Energy
Mainstage Speaker
Smiley Poswolsky
When companies want to increase a feeling of belonging, human connection, and team engagement at work, they call “Smiley Poswolsky!” Smiley is an internationally renowned keynote speaker, workplace belonging expert, and bestselling author of three books. Smiley regularly speaks at the world’s most innovative companies and has advised foreign leaders about next-gen talent, workplace belonging, and the future of work. Smiley’s TED Talk has been viewed 2 million times, and he has spoken in front of 200,000 people in 25 countries. Smiley’s work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The World Economic Forum.
The Power of Human Connection: How Leaders Can Build Belonging in a Disconnected Workplace
March 24, 8:30am–9:30am
Creating high levels of belonging is good for the students we serve and good for the teams we work with every day. As we emerge from the pandemic, only 30% of employees feel connected to their teams and only 20% of employees are engaged at work. What is workplace belonging and what are the key factors for creating belonging for yourself and those we work with and serve? In this inspiring opening presentation, Smiley makes the case that the future of work is human connection. Smiley will share how we can attract, retain, and engage the next generation of talent, increase team connection, and create more belonging by building supportive communities inside the workplace. Smiley will share practical workplace rituals and tools you can use to foster psychological safety on your team and to re-imagine a collaborative, inclusive, purpose-driven culture that ushers in The Great Reconnection.
Mainstage Speaker
Jeffrey Binney
Resilience: Being Smart Enough to Start, Dumb Enough Not to Quit
March 25, 9:30am–10:30am
Jeffrey James Binney’s unexpected path to ultrarunning taught him how to persevere and finish hard things. This motivating and hysterical talk with leave your audience inspired to stop procrastinating, “do the thing,” and—most importantly—cross the finish line! It is an ideal talk for high performing teams, celebrating what it takes to excel and those who need to be reminded that we all hold the power to resilience.
Mainstage Speaker
Dr. Kate Steiner
Embracing Burnout
A More Resilient Approach for Mental Health
March 26, 8:30am–9:30am
Stress is not unheard of in academic spaces. Stress can lead to burnout, which impacts your student’s ability to succeed in college. Burnout shows up as extreme fatigue and apathy, impacting the mental health of students. Dr. Kate Steiner will introduce your students to a self-reflective process used to create a personalized sustainability and wellness plan. This plan is focused on honoring that school and work influence students’ lives and happiness. This is not about finding balance but rather creating a plan that allows them to observe their wellness, prepare for burn events, and recover in a personal way. Students will develop stronger resilience and build a practice of addressing burn events in their lives.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of attending this program, students will learn:
- Students will be introduced to research-backed practices meant to increase mental health awareness
- Students will develop a personal plan to observe, plan, and recover from burnout
- Students will identify the importance of work/school/life integration and the impact on their mental health
