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The Power of Purpose: Organizational Values that Thrive
Your brand is a reflection of your organization’s culture, which is determined by your daily habits, values and guiding purpose.
In this presentation, ZAHRA AL-HARAZI draws on powerful stories from extraordinary leaders who have learned to build, shape and unlock their purpose. She proves that the key to building a great company lies in how well you enable learning and connection. She shows you how to reverse engineer your purpose into your organizational reason for being and thrive in a world that is constantly changing. She explores how to create compelling brand propositions, as well as how to lead and motivate your team to bring out their powerful talent within.
What It Takes: A Story of Purpose, Strength, and Laughter
Today, ZAHRA AL-HARAZI is a successful entrepreneur, a consultant to some of the world's biggest companies, and a sought-after international speaker. Her voice is clear and confident – but this was not always the case. Zahra was raised in a country where women didn’t have a voice. Growing up, her goal was to stand out as little as possible. In 1996, she found herself in Canada as a refugee, with no understanding of the culture or business world, and no higher education. She had little confidence in what she had to say. Through perseverance, she managed to find her voice. In this inspiring presentation, Zahra shares her journey of how she channeled frustration into courage, the mistakes she’s glad she made, the milestones that propelled her, and how a compelling voice can help anyone get what they want most in life.
Dreamer to Leader: Building Powerful & Purposeful Leadership
To build the life we’re meant to live takes more than ability or luck — it takes the right mindset. Today, it’s more important than ever to be a learner, adapt and teach yourself new skills. This insight formed the basis of ZAHRA AL-HARAZI’s latest entrepreneurial journey - Skillit - an online skill-sharing marketplace that makes learning new skills fun at any age. In this keynote, Zahra outlines key insights from the new science of motivation and learning to guide audiences through a journey of building resilience and grit, and why adopting a growth mindset is the key to success in today’s fast-paced world. Using evidence from large-scale behavioral experiments, and new findings from science and the business world, Zahra guides audiences through a journey of resilience, an enlivened attitude, and an openness to adapting for success.
The road to real leadership is rarely a straight one. Among Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs, few have faced more obstacles than Zahra Al-Harazi. With a no-holds-barred attitude, Al-Harazi helps people and organizations realize their potential for success through finding their purpose. She draws on her experience as a pioneering woman in the business world with a unique approach to attitude, leadership, and success, as well as her experience as a refugee, immigrant, entrepreneur, and community builder.
A survivor of two civil wars, Al-Harazi immigrated to Canada with her three children in 1996. She had no higher education or connections and very little understanding of the business world, but her entrepreneurial spirit quickly led her to start her first company Foundry Communications, an internationally recognized Canadian creative powerhouse. Al-Harazi is currently co-founder, Skillit, which is an edutainment site for sharing knowledge and building skills.
Zahra is also a consultant who has worked with thousands of Fortune 500 corporations on purpose leadership training, how to use purpose to stand out in a competitive environment, and how to design a purpose driven company. She shares her deep knowledge and “how to” with clients, so they can skip the hard lessons and go straight to strategies that work. navigating disruption, leading change, shifting stakeholder values and transforming your brand.
In recognition of her many accomplishments, Al-Harazi has been named one of Canada’s "Top 40 Under 40," Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by Chatelaine magazine, and one of Canada’s "100 most powerful women." She has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for contributions to Canada, and the RBC Top 25 Immigrants to Canada Award.
As a speaker, Al-Harazi has spoken to audiences in more than 20 countries, inspiring leading institutions such as Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and professional organizations. Her clients have included The Royal Bank of Canada, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Ernst & Young, Young Presidents Organization, WXN, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Great West Life, Telus, University of Toronto, and the Government of Canada, among many others. Her specialty is in understanding the complexities required for building a smart, skilled multi-generational workforce.
Al-Harazi is a former Canadian Ambassador to UNICEF. She is the bestselling author of What it Takes, published January 2020 by Harper Collins.
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