Kristen Hadeed
- Challenges traditional leadership approaches that are no longer working and shares critical ingredients for connected and engaged cultures.
Kristen Hadeed Speaker Biography
Kristen Hadeed believes that authentic, human leadership can change the world.
At 19, with hardly any leadership experience, she started a cleaning business called Student Maid. She never expected it to be her career; it was simply a way to earn money while she was in college. But before she graduated, her company received a contract to clean hundreds of apartments—and it changed her path forever. She hired a team of 60 people to help her, and within days,75% of that team quit. That’s when her obsession with learning how to be a more human leader began.
Over the next 14 years, Kristen learned a lot by screwing up. But most importantly, she learned how to lead from her heart. Doing so helped her take Student Maid from a small cleaning company to a business known on a global scale for its culture of belonging, its focus on people, and its purpose of building leaders.
Today, she spends her time helping leaders, teams, and organizations around the world embrace their humanity. She has worked in just about every industry, in almost every U.S. state and several other countries, and in hundreds of virtual meeting rooms. Whether she is delivering a keynote talk, a multi-day workshop, or facilitating ongoing development, her goal is always the same: to ignite the kind of human leadership that builds trust, belonging, and wildly engaged cultures.
Her work has been featured in news outlets including PBS, FOX, Inc., NBC, TIME, and Forbes. Her book, Permission To Screw Up, has sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide. Her first TED Talk has more than three million views on YouTube.
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Speech Topics
IGNITE HUMAN LEADERSHIP: BUILD THE CULTURE OF THE FUTURE
If we want our organizations to continue to thrive, the way we think about leadership needs to shift in a big way—and we need to work together to bridge the gap. In this session, Kristen challenges traditional leadership approaches that are no longer working and shares critical ingredients for connected and engaged cultures. She’ll share why human leadership is the answer to navigating the challenges of our world at work; key approaches to remain competitive; and action steps you can take to build the most resilient version of your organization yet.
Attendees will experience an immediately applicable shift in their ability to:
● Anticipate the needs of the next generation and successfully bridge generational gaps
● Attract and retain the next generation of talent
● Reignite engagement, increase talent retention, and reduce unnecessary turnover
● Identify the leadership mindsets and approaches that need to shift in order to remain competitive in the future
COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS: DELIVER & ACCEPT FEEDBACK EFFECTIVELY
Courageous conversations are hard, and yet, they’re often the most rewarding and important conversations we can have to help each other grow. When we know how to deliver feedback at work in compassionate, productive ways, we can build trust, deepen relationships, and take our team culture to the next level. In this session, Kristen will teach you how to face the conversations you’ve been putting off and help reframe feedback as a powerful opportunity to foster true connection.
Attendees will experience an immediately applicable shift in their ability to:
● Navigate conflict and have courageous conversations that build trust
● Develop a habit of delivering compassionate, clear, and timely feedback
● Ask better questions to receive better, more impactful feedback
● Receive feedback in a way that encourages people to speak up again in the future
BUILD MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS: STRENGTHEN TRUST & INSPIRE BELONGING
So often, we’re told to leave our “personal stuff” at home and make work only about…work. But work is personal, and we’re human. The more we can understand one another and our unique experiences, the more compassion and empathy we’ll bring to work, and the more we’ll feel valued as a result. In this session, Kristen will share the secret to how she built a business with an industry-leading retention rate—despite the fact that her people spent their days cleaning toilets. It wasn’t the work that kept everyone engaged; it was the focus on relationships that led to a culture of trust and belonging. You’ll learn how to use curiosity, vulnerability, and empathy to create a similar environment in your organization and discover the connection between deeper relationships and greater results.
Attendees will experience an immediately applicable shift in their ability to:
● Deepen their relationships at work and accomplish more together
● Be more authentic, vulnerable, and empathetic and inspire the same in others
● Strengthen the uniquely “human” parts of their culture in the face of technology and change
● Develop, maintain, and elevate trust
PERMISSION TO SCREW UP: HOW TO REFRAME YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FAILURE
Strong leadership isn’t about knowing all the answers and getting things right on the first try; it’s about having the courage to take risks, make mistakes, ask for help, and admit when you don’t feel strong. Building on the themes in her bestselling book, Permission To Screw Up, Kristen will teach you how to let go of perfectionism, reframe your relationship with failure, and give yourself the permission to be human. You’ll learn how to create a culture where failure equates to growth, where people feel more empowered and psychologically safe, and where collaboration and innovation go hand-in-hand.
Attendees will experience an immediately applicable shift in their ability to:
● Reframe their relationship with failure and see it as an opportunity to build resilience, creativity, and confidence
● Be a more “human” leader and model that type of leadership for others
● Empower themselves and others to take risks, find solutions, and move forward despite ambiguity or uncertainty
● Create a culture where the learning process is just as important as the results
YOU’VE GOT THIS! GROW RESILIENCE & BEAT BURNOUT
When we feel overextended, exhausted, and overwhelmed, it doesn’t just hurt us; it hurts the people around us. The key to reducing overwhelm and working more effectively and productively is knowing how to prioritize time, energy, and well-being. It requires setting boundaries and prioritizing ourselves so that we can give our best to those around us. The better we get at this, the more efficient we are, the more our quality of work improves, the lower our stress levels become, and the more fulfilled we feel at work and in our lives. In this session, Kristen will help you tap into your inner resilience and recenter yourself around what is in your control: the impact you have on yourself and others. She’ll teach you how to prioritize your well-being, be more impactful with your time and energy, and set more “human” expectations.
Attendees will experience an immediately applicable shift in their ability to:
● Combat burnout and achieve sustainable work-life harmony
● Work in their sweet spot—the place where they feel the most energized,fulfilled, and impactful
● Prioritize daily activities and work smarter to achieve greater results
● Set boundaries and realistic expectations that honor their capacity
