The world of work is changing forever and leaders have had little time to adapt to this change. Less than 20% of us want working life to return to how it was pre-Covid. Work for many, was based on traditional male values and the ‘old boys club’ and many women felt they did not belong. Empathy has become more important than ever. Covid 19 gives us the opportunity to reset the world of work and redress the imbalance and make it work for both men and women.

Leaders must now focus on the whole aspects of women's lives, their mental well- being and manage the blurring of our home and work life. This speech demonstrates how some of the biggest companies in the world are adapting to our new world and gives practical ‘nudges’ for those leaders who want to be pioneers of the human revolution.

By the end of this talk, leaders will be able to:

1. Learn from Belinda’s journey as to why empathy is more inclusive than gender initiatives.
2. Understand the power of empathy at work & distinguish it from sympathy.
3. Have real tangible examples of how leaders can increase belonging and empathy for women and diverse groups.

Work will never be the same. Less corporate bull and more empathy. Covid 19 has meant business leaders are ditching their boring powerpoint presentations and spreadsheets and are bringing their humanity to work….remotely.

The forced move to remote working and video meetings has meant that leaders are paradoxically bringing more of themselves and their home life to work. We all remember this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY. No-one now bats an eyelid as our kids blunder in on meetings and demand attention.

Over the last month I've witnessed CEOs introducing therapeutic ice breakers into meetings, introducing their pets during Zoom meetings, announcing Virtual Cocktail Hour on Fridays and asking how people feel before launching into their agenda...a rare occurrence in the dehumanised corporate world! Some companies are organising remote walking meetings and even #formalfriday meetings where people dress up for work meetings. I've even noticed that sign off on the usual passive aggressive email isn't ‘Best Regards’ but is 'Keep safe and well' This is what we call ‘everyday empathy’ which has been squeezed out of our working lives.

But despite this amazing opportunity to reflect and reset, do leaders have the right empathy skills to operate in the remote world? Which are the in-groups and out-groups who are most impacted by Covid 19 at work? What will this re-humanization mean for the future of work?

Drawing on her experience of 20 years in some of the world’s biggest brands, Belinda shares tools and techniques of how leaders can lead with empathy in times of conflict. Leaders now manage five different generations at work and this demands a radically different style of leadership.  This keynote offers a way to bring more empathy and responsibility in times of conflict and provides real examples of sustained culture and customer transformation through empathy.

Topics covered: leadership, culture transformation, empathy, innovation, customers

Despite the business case for diversity, the number of women in leadership positions is not increasing. This provocative talk, based on Belinda’s Guardian article and twenty years experience consulting companies, demonstrates why we should ditch ‘diversity initiatives’ that serve to marginalise women and provides an actionable roadmap to creating sustainable cultures where both women and men thrive.

Subjects covered: diversity, women, empathy, culture, recruitment, retention

In today’s tech obsessed world, we have lost the balance between tech serving humanity rather than humanity serving us. This keynote is targeted to anyone involved in creating tech or leading tech teams and developing products that solve problems for customers. This talk also examines how our relationship with consumer tech has become unhealthy and gives us practical advice on how to connect with each other in meaningful ways.

Subjects covered: tech, digital, transformation, culture, tech addiction, leadership