Real Talk.

REAL CHANGE.

Interactive keynote experiences from Heather R Younger that bring the heat, then meet you with heart.

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Heather R Younger, J.D., CSP |   Founder & CEO Employee Fanatix, Recognized as a Top Leadership Speaker and Thought Leader, Best Selling Author

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KEYNOTE 1: RESILIENT LEADERSHIP, BURNOUT PREVENTION, CHANGE LEADERSHIP

The Unshakable Team

Navigate high-stress situations, build trust, and overcome setbacks without losing focus

Only 27% of managers feel enthusiastic about their work. Over 40% of workers are experiencing significant stress, and just one in five feels fully engaged. The numbers tell the story: Today’s teams are operating under sustained pressure-constant change, higher expectations, fewer buffers, and faster decision cycles.

When leaders are running on empty, teams feel it. And telling people to “be more resilient” without changing how they lead, decide, communicate, and recover only fuels burnout and disengagement.

In this keynote based on Heather’s forthcoming book by the same title, she draws on 20+ years of leading teams through reorgs, mergers, acquisitions, technology shifts, and layoffs to show what actually builds team resilience: a practical system for leading sustainably under pressure. 

Audiences walk away with a clear framework, shared language, and repeatable tools to navigate high-stress situations, rebuild trust after setbacks, and maintain focus without exhausting people.

This program is perfect for:

  • Leadership teams under sustained pressure who must stay agile, focused, and responsive
  • Senior leaders accountable for high performance, retention, and burnout prevention
  • Managers and project leaders navigating visible, high-stakes change

The audience will leave with:

  • A practical framework for resilient leadership under pressure that helps teams tackle high-stakes challenges together
  • Strategies to sustain high performance without burnout
  • A shared language for how teams move, decide, and recover together—so resilience becomes a team practice, not an individual burden
  • Tools to reduce ambiguity and increase clarity even when certainty is not available
  • A repeatable approach for rebuilding trust and momentum after setbacks without losing focus
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KEYNOTE 2: HYBRID LEADERSHIP, EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT, WORKPLACE CULTURE

The Case for Caring Leadership®

Build high-trust teams, boost engagement and retention, and drive excellence

“Care at work” has been misunderstood and often dismissed as soft, optional, or in conflict with performance. Yet in a world of AI acceleration, change fatigue, and increasing pressure on leaders, care is not a perk. It’s a strategy. Caring leadership builds the trust that enables clarity, accountability, and execution, especially across remote and hybrid teams.

In this keynote, based on Heather’s bestselling book, The Art of Caring Leadership, and her analysis of 40,000+ employee comments, she makes the business case for caring leadership and shows what care actually looks like at scale: measurable, operational, and leader-owned. Leaders leave with practical behaviors that strengthen culture, improve employee experience, and reduce preventable turnover—without lowering standards.

This program is perfect for:

  • Executive and senior leaders accountable for culture, retention, and engagement
  • Senior leaders who want to move beyond engagement surveys into measurable culture change
  • Leaders navigating remote, hybrid, or distributed teams who want care to scale without losing accountability

The audience will walk away with:

  • The nine daily behaviors of Caring Leadership® that build trust, strengthen accountability, improve engagement, and reduce preventable turnover
  • Practical strategies to scale care across remote, hybrid, and distributed teams
  • Repeatable actions that create a high-trust culture where people stay, perform, and grow
  • A clear framework for making care operational, not an afterthought, but a leadership practice
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KEYNOTE 3: LEADERSHIP, RESILIENCE, SUSTAINABLE HIGH PERFORMANCE

The Self-Leadership Imperative

Improve decision-making, strengthen adaptability, and respond to challenges with confidence

In an era of constant disruption, AI-driven acceleration, and relentless performance pressure, the leaders who thrive are not simply working harder; they’re leading themselves better.

In this keynote based on her bestselling book The Art of Self-Leadership, Heather offers a practical look at what it actually takes to take ownership of your own growth, manage your mindset, and guide others through challenges.

This program is perfect for:

  • High-performing individual contributors and informal leaders who others look to for direction
  • People managers navigating pressure from every direction
  • Frontline teams, sales teams, and administrative professionals

The audience will walk away with:

  • The Self-Leadership Framework—a practical model for staying strong, flexible, and grounded through change
  • A compassionate path from perfectionism to progress
  • Tools to sustain energy and prevent burnout before it starts
  • Strategies for emotional regulation, clearer thinking, and steadiness under pressure
  • A renewed sense of agency and possibility and the confidence to lead from any seat
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KEYNOTE 4: LEADERSHIP, COMMUNICATION, TRUST

Listen Like You Mean It

Build trust, strengthen relationships, and drive results with a repeatable approach to making people feel heard

When people feel genuinely heard, trust accelerates. Teams collaborate better. Customers stay longer. Tension de-escalates faster. In a distraction-heavy, hybrid world, listening has become a critical leadership communication skill and one of the most practical levers for engagement, retention, customer experience, and sales performance.

In this keynote based on her book, The Art of Active Listening, Heather introduces The Cycle of Active Listening™—a clear, repeatable framework leaders, sales teams, and customer-facing professionals can use to build trust, strengthen relationships, improve communication, and drive results.

Participants learn how to move beyond “I listened” to “they felt heard”: the key difference that changes outcomes in performance conversations, client meetings, and high-stakes moments.

This program is perfect for:

  • People leaders and frontline managers who need practical tools for difficult conversations
  • Sales teams and customer-facing professionals who need to build trust fast to reduce friction and improve loyalty
  • HR and talent leaders responsible for employee engagement and retention

The audience will walk away with:

  • The Cycle of Active Listening™: a repeatable listening framework they can use immediately with teams, clients, and customers
  • The ability to recognize the difference between listening and making someone feel heard
  • Practical techniques for staying present in conversations, even on screens, even under pressure
  • Language and tools to reduce friction, de-escalate tension, and build trust faster
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MORE WAYS

to  work with Heather

Most speakers arrive, deliver, and leave. 

Heather partners with you before, during, and after.

  • Before the event: Focus groups and on-site visits to understand what your people are actually dealing with, not just what the survey says.
  • On stage: Heather adapts to whichever format serves you best— keynote, fireside chat, panel, workshop, or something else.
  • After the event: Post-event surveys with summary reports, leader guides to reinforce key takeaways, and optional 30-day virtual follow-up sessions to sustain forward motion and support real change.

NEW for 2026: Spark Style Sessions

A high-impact format designed for busy agendas. Heather delivers a focused 15-minute keynote, then transitions into a moderated conversation with one of your leaders. They ask her specific questions tailored to your audience, your industry, your challenges. It's organic, customized, and gets people engaged without monopolizing your agenda.

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Heather has a unique ability to understand her audience and the realities they face every day—

By grounding her keynote in the audience’s real experiences, she delivered a relevant message that was relatable, meaningful, and empowering—and that created the space for reflection, connection, and renewed confidence.”

MICHAEL UNDERWOOD, BSc | Pathway to Excellence Nurse of the Year
SARAH LAVAUTE (MAZZOCCO) SHRM-SCP, M.EDTECH

"Heather creates real impact.

Her ability to customize her message to your organization’s culture and goals ensures every word inspires action.”

SARAH LAVAUTE (MAZZOCCO) SHRM-SCP, M.EDTECH | Chief People Officer, American Senior Living
ANGEL CARDOZA

“Heather’s speeches are filled with energy and passion.

She leaves audiences invigorated to make a difference in their own leadership.”

ANGEL CARDOZA | Vice President, Con Edison
CARMEN WELLS

“You will not be disappointed.

Heather engages with her presence, energy, and knowledge. Her clear, executable strategies are applicable to all leaders.”

CARMEN WELLS | VP, Revenue Cycle Operations, Northwell Health
STEVE HANSEN

“Heather was one of the best speakers we’ve ever had.

Her inspirational words helped our organization's leaders think about how they’ll move forward in the new world of business we’re all now navigating.”

STEVE HANSEN | CEO, Presbyterian Medical Services
STACY BOATRIGHT

“Heather's message was on point!"

She did an amazing job engaging our audience and responding to all their questions.”

STACY BOATRIGHT | VP of Revenue Enablement, Cloudfare
Hi, I'm Heather

I've been through every type of
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
you can think of.

Layoffs, reorgs, mergers, acquisitions and major technology shifts. More than 20 years leading teams through high-stakes situations where results mattered, people depended on me, and decisions couldn't wait.

Those years taught me how to lead. But they also showed me the hidden cost of always being the one who holds it all together.

During our second reorg in less than a year, I walked out of a meeting with no say in what was happening, just marching orders. When my team asked how the meeting went, I should have said, “Give me 15 minutes to process this.” But I didn't. Instead, I let them absorb every ounce of my frustration.

Then I saw their faces.

The people who looked to me for stability had just watched me unravel. What was that teaching them about their ability to handle the pressure?

That moment changed how I saw my role as a leader. Leading teams isn't only about grit or resilience. It's about how your presence builds the trust your team needs to function when things get hard.

Today, I help organizations build unshakable leaders, teams, and cultures. Because when leaders become the calm teams can count on, organizations don't just survive change, they come out strong enough to handle what’s next.

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Books that guide leaders to lead with
strength and care, no matter the industry.

Book 1 (1)

The Art of Self-Leadership

Discover the Power Within You and Learn to Lead yourself

  • Real-world scripts for confident workplace conversations
  • Fresh research, stories, and tools to help you lead change
  • Strategies to sustain success through self-care and courage

Discover how to own what’s in your control, speak up for yourself, and influence others with confidence in today’s changing workplace.

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Book 2 (1)

The Art of Active Listening

How People at Work Feel Heard, Valued, and Understood

  • A five-step framework to listen deeply and act on what you hear
  • Practical tools to boost engagement and strengthen culture
  • Strategies to solve misunderstandings when they surface

Learn how to ensure people at work feel heard, so they do whatever it takes to achieve the outcomes that serve your relationship and organization.

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Book 3 (1)

The Art of Caring Leadership

How Leading With Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations

  • Nine powerful ways to lead with empathy and intention
  • Proven actions to help people feel seen, supported, and valued
  • A practical roadmap for building cultures of trust and belonging

Learn how to ensure your people know you care, so they move mountains for your mission.

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Book 4 (1)

The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty

Fascinating Truths About What It Takes to Create Truly Loyal and Engaged Employees

  • Practical strategies to inspire commitment and connection at work
  • Proven methods to strengthen engagement, retention, and performance
  • A leadership mindset that transforms culture from the inside out

Learn how to build the kind of loyalty that inspires employees to stay, grow, and give their best.

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Becoming Unshakeable Podcast

With Heather R. Younger

Becoming Unshakable is the podcast for leaders, creators, and changemakers who know TRUE LEADERSHIP starts from within.

Each episode explores what it takes to lead with resilience, compassion, and purpose while staying human through it all.

Through candid conversations with executives, frontline leaders, coaches, and everyday heroes, Heather uncovers the real stories behind growth, compassion, setbacks, and transformation.

From navigating change to creating emotionally safe cultures, Becoming Unshakable reveals what it really takes to create leaders—and organizations—that can’t be shaken.

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Contact Heather Today!
+1 403-398-8488

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