Uplifting, Authentic,
Evidence - Based

As the event planner, you are looking for a speaker who will engage your audience. BUT, you aren't just looking to deliver an hour of entertainment... you want a subject-matter expert who is going to change attendee behaviors and business results.

As an academic with nearly two decades of leadership experience, David translates psychological theory and data into meaningful, motivational, and actionable lessons that your attendees can take back to their organizations and immediately implement.

Described as "an absolute pleasure to work with," David brings 3 priorities to every event:
1) Motivate the audience
2) Be a catalyst for long-term change
3) Provide an exceptional & seamless experience for you, and your audience.

Building a Burnout-Proof Work Culture

Infusing Meaning & Preventing Burnout in a COVID-19 World & Beyond

Stress, burnout, turnover, and interpersonal conflict are occurring at epidemic levels within the workplace. As organizations manage the new demands and uncertainty of business in a COVID-19 reality (and beyond) it is more important than ever to infuse meaning, gratitude, and support into your work culture. In this keynote (or virtual) presentation, burnout & meaningful work expert, David Shar uses the power of story, humor & interactivity highlighting the latest research in Industrial / Organizational Psychology to explore tactics and benefits of creating a supportive and mission-driven workplace culture.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn to:

Build a burnout-proof work culture.
Prevent burnout before it starts, by going way beyond “resilience training.”
Learn to initiate change from anywhere on the org-chart.
Understand negativity bias & how to override it.

Building a Kinder Kind of Workplace

From Anywhere on the Org Chart.

The workplace climate can positively or negatively affect the important work you do. When times are tough, it is up to each member of the team to rally and support one another. But how? When each member of the team has different biases, backgrounds, and needs, can you work together to get the most out of your team and your job?

In this keynote (or virtual) presentation, burnout and meaningful work expert David Shar uses the power of story, humor, interactivity and the latest research in Industrial / Organizational Psychology to explore tactics for creating a team that is energized, mobilized and passionate about their mission.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn to:

Initiate change from anywhere on the org chart.
Understand the difference between positive & negative conflict at work.
Rediscover their “why”.
Understand negativity bias & how to override it.

Building a Passionate Workplace

Featuring the 3 Ps of Passion: Positivity, Possibility & Purpose

The data is in: engaged and effective managers lead engaged and effective teams. In this keynote presentation designed for managers, leaders and future leaders, David Shar will make you laugh, cry and change the way you think about work, leadership, and life. As he guides you through his signature 3 Ps of Passion, David balances powerful storytelling with proven techniques on how to introduce Positivity, Possibility & Purpose into your workplace. David’s unique combination of humor, moving stories, and scientifically backed data will light the fire inside your managers and send them back to their offices with the tools to spread that passion to their employees.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn to:

Understand negativity bias & how to override it.
Develop & nurture new goals to grow themselves, their staff, and their organization.
Effectively Connect with & communicate Vision

The Science of Selection

Using Psychological Principals to Build a More Effective & Diverse Team

We all know the exorbitant cost of turnover to our businesses. In this workshop we will learn how to strengthen our selection process while increasing diversity, through the utilization of some of the latest research in I/O Psychology. We will discuss the validity of various selection methods and we will debunk common myths and misconceptions about the selection process.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn to:

Understand the advantages and disadvantages to many common selection methods.

Understand the challenges associated with unstructured interviews and why this method can often hinder diversity efforts within an organization.

Understand the limitations of common personality assessments and be familiar with alternatives with greater validity.

Understand Face-Validity and the impact it can have on applicants.

Understand Adverse Impact and how to build a selection process that promotes diversity.

Understand why cognitive ability assessments have traditionally led to higher adverse impact and what HR can do to overcome this barrier.

Understand the nature of surface level & deep level diversity and how diversity, coupled with inclusion, can positively impact their organization.

Changing How we Think About Change

How to Gain Buy-in & Decrease Resistance Through Collaborative Change

Over the past few months, we have been thrust into a rapidly changing world, with no sign of slowing down. In this highly interactive in-person or virtual workshop, attendees will develop new insights into managing change that sticks. Through a series of breakouts and interactive activities we will explore the benefits of collaboration. We will explore the important role of change agents at every level of the organization and how to implement psychological principals to ignite passionate and positive change within your organization. Come prepared to change the way you think about change.

Learning Objectives:

The audience will learn to:

Understand the top reasons people resist change and how to prevent resistance before it starts.
Learn to ignite change from within.
Flip their understanding of change (Hint: It should not be a top-down process)
Understand why change agents are crucial and how to recruit them.