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Motivating keynotes on change and building trust

Mark DeVolder

travels from Canada

Change Specialist and top-rated speaker known to share knowledge on change, engagement, and leadership

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5 out of 5 stars

Mark kept us glued to our screen, very entertaining and interactive, a true artist!

Simone Zatti, Marketing Director, Hilti See all references

Why you should book Dr. Mark DeVolder for next event

  • He’s an original thinker and motivator on transition management. Mark has guided some of the most high-stake transitions of recent history: preparing Colombian business leaders for the NAFTA Free Trade Agreement, aiding in the wrap up of the NASA space shuttle program, and coaching multiple companies through multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions.
  • His work speaks volumes. Speaker Dr. Mark DeVolder has a proven track record of 95 % success in his licensed mediator agitation. With outstanding numbers, Mark demonstrates the company enhancement.
  • He is influential with actionable takeaways.  Mark dedicated his career to equipping and motivating leaders to harness the hurricane of change. Today it shows as he drives companies into success in the long run.
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Mark DeVolder is the world’s foremost authority on Empowered Change. He is super-charging audiences around the globe with his revolutionary approach to not just “managing change”, but being transformed through change. Mark will lead you on a dynamic journey through the stages of change, guiding you and your team from fear of the unknown to confidence in change. Mark has empowered thousands of people who are faced with the over-whelming challenges of managing change.

Why you should book Dr. Mark DeVolder for next event

  • He’s an original thinker and motivator on transition management. Mark has guided some of the most high-stake transitions of recent history: preparing Colombian business leaders for the NAFTA Free Trade Agreement, aiding in the wrap up of the NASA space shuttle program, and coaching multiple companies through multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions.
  • His work speaks volumes. Speaker Dr. Mark DeVolder has a proven track record of 95 % success in his licensed mediator agitation. With outstanding numbers, Mark demonstrates the company enhancement.
  • He is influential with actionable takeaways.  Mark dedicated his career to equipping and motivating leaders to harness the hurricane of change. Today it shows as he drives companies into success in the long run.

Whether it’s growth opportunities, unknown unknowns or bold new ventures, Mark shows people how to change …

  • from coaching NASA rocket scientists to re-invent themselves;
  • to the cultural transformation of a $42 billion merger;
  • from pivoting to a safety-first culture in Qatar’s oil industry;
  • to preparing Egypt’s largest company to restructure itself.

 

Mark is trusted by clients around the world, including GE, Autodesk, Siemens, UT Southwestern Medical Center, PepsiCo, Bristol-Myers Squibb and PWC. Mark has engaged and delighted audiences from Monaco to Dubai, from Singapore to London, and from Istanbul to Barcelona.

Mark’s inspiring message is backed up by personal experience. After 15 years of traveling the globe as the change specialist, Mark suffered a freak accident while speaking at a conference in Holland. Faced with the possibility of total paralysis, Mark learned the deep personal lessons of transformation during adversity. Using insights and inspiration gathered from his personal life, doctoral studies, research and clients, Mark has written the ultimate guidebook for navigating change, “Perpetual Pivot: How the Best Leaders Adapt to Exponential Change.”

Whether through inspirational keynotes, executive coaching, blogs or books, Mark provides practical tools and inspiring strategies to equip you and your team for Empowered Change.

See keynotes with Mark DeVolder
Keynote by Dr. Mark DeVolder

EMPOWERED CHANGE: FROM FEAR TO CONFIDENCE

Never before have leaders faced our current level of fast and extreme change, where chaos, disruption and crisis have become the norm. How do we navigate through an uncertain future? Mark’s answer, we must learn the skills of Empowered Change, a process of adapting, reinvention and anticipation. Mark explains that the hardest part of change is the transition. Consequently, he shows you and your team how to traverse through the maze. Deeply practical, you will learn how to walk through the door of uncertainty into the future, armed with tools to successfully navigate change with confidence.

During Mark’s engaging session, you will learn how to:

  • Navigate the stages of transition
  • Thrive while living in limbo
  • Be mobilized, not paralyzed by uncertainty
  • Increase personal resilience during adversity
Keynote by Dr. Mark DeVolder

CHANGE-READY LEADERS: THRIVING DURING DISRUPTION

Extreme change has tested us all. And yet in the midst of disruption, there are some surprising examples of leaders who are successful in nearly impossible situations. What’s their secret?  They think and act differently when it comes to change. Mark DeVolder has uncovered some of the most powerful mindsets of change-ready thinkers.

In this high-energy presentation, your team will learn to embrace mindsets that conquer adversity, improve resilience and adapt to change. This memorable, interactive session will leave your audience motivated, inspired and ready for change.

Keynote by Mark DeVolder

Harnessing the Hurricane: Adapting Faster to Exponential Change

Change is constant, unpredictable and accelerating.  Exponential change can – much like a hurricane – leave you dizzy, dazed and disoriented, as though the earth is moving under your feet. Even if you survive the storm, you know more is coming.

 Change expert Dr. Mark DeVolder throws a lifeline to you and your team with tools and strategies he’s developed to clear away the fog. You will learn how to rewire your brain to adapt to change, anticipate future trends and persevere in adversity. Mark’s practical principles enable you to act boldly, nimbly and quickly in face of exponential change.

 During Mark’s high-octane presentation, you will learn how to:

  • Overcome change-paralysis and get mobilized through transitions
  • Develop change-ready thinking and behaviours
  • Overcome decision-quicksand, making smart-decisions, faster
  • Repeat the cycle of success with the unstoppable power of resilience
Keynote by Mark DeVolder

Unstoppable Resilience: Developing the Mindset of a Champion

Why doesn’t the fastest runner always win the race? Or why doesn’t the smartest person always get the best job? Because it’s not always the ones who “start out the smartest who end up smartest.” (Dweck) It takes more than natural speed, intelligence or ability to be a champion. It takes resilience. But resilience is not just for the elite with an Olympic gold around their neck. Resilience can be learned.

Mark shows leaders how to increase their grit, passion and purpose by developing the mindset of a champion. Mark’s best practices will help you cultivate determination, increase resilience and conquer adversity.

You will learn powerful lessons to help you:

  • Create a winning mindset of self-belief and unlimited potential
  • Increase innovation and creativity through constructive nonconformity
  • Expand tenacity and decision-making responsiveness
  • Develop perseverance, positive attitudes and unstoppable resilience
Keynote by Mark DeVolder

On Fire! Energized Together, Everyone, Every Day

When individuals lose their spark, organizations lose their fire. This predicament has a devastating effect on productivity, profitability and company reputation.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Mark’s test-driven model of employee engagement equips people to identify the causes of “flame out” and recognize behaviours and leadership decisions that act as a fire extinguisher.

People will learn how to apply engagement strategies that increase the total employee experience in four key areas: clarity, competence, influence and appreciation.

Mark shows leaders how to:

  • Identify behaviors to increase engagement
  • Re-ignite employee’s passion for teamwork, communication and innovation
  • Build a culture of trust, loyalty and appreciation
  • Accelerate performance and productivity

Recharge your team with Mark DeVolder’s industry-tested program. Get your employees and organization on fire.

Keynote by Mark DeVolder

“Target Zero: Engaging High-Performance Safety”

Hazards and obstacles abound in the fast and frenzied pace of business today. In the rush to stay competitive, people are increasingly tempted to take short cuts and sacrifice safety. The most common barrier, however, is actually change itself. Some employees feel paralyzed by change, and when they feel paralyzed, they disengage. Without the ability or capacity to change, accidents can happen.

During Mark’s high-performance presentation, you will learn how to:

  • Get change-right and change-ready
  • Defy change paralysis through Mark’s mobilized for safety approach
  • Significantly reduce risk of accidents and liability
  • Identify behaviours that enhance engagement
  • Implement strategies to increase productivity, motivation and safety

 

Empower your employees to achieve “target zero.”

Special Virtual Meetings by Speaker Dr. Mark DeVolder

Catch him in action!

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References

Mark’s virtual presentation was so refreshing and timely with such great take-aways.

Janna Boloten

Nutrition Science Adviser, Abbott Laboratories

Mark’s presentation was such a breath of fresh air! An incredible delivery! The mark of a professional!

Jeff Reynolds

Advisor/Principal, Plan It Financial Corp

Mark’s virtual keynote energized the audience and he provided us with tools to apply to our organization.

Sharon Chen

Professional Engineers Ontario

“Mark kept us glued to our screen, very entertaining and interactive, a true artist!”

Simone Zatti

Marketing Director, Hilti

"Dynamic and engaging. Timely and informative. The Right topic, the Right time, the Right Person."

Insurance Brokers Association of BC

“I have interacted with several keynote speakers and I have never come across a more warm, generous, prepared and magnanimous person than Dr. Mark.”

Booking Agent- QNA International- Dubai

“We all left with tools to soar higher.”

Spaceport Operations, NASA

“Mark, you were nothing short of awesome!!!”

Maria Sharpe, Chief Personnel Officer

PepsiCo Europe

"If you get to work with Mark DeVolder, you're really lucky!"

Jim Carrick-Birtwell, CEO

ChangeBoard, Arabian Human Resource Management Association

“Mark was terrific! The day exceeded my expectations! We are already actively using his information around engagement to develop a new communication infrastructure and process for the Department.”

Dr. Herbert Zeh, Chair of Surgery

UT Southwestern Medical Center

“Dr. DeVolder was thought-provoking and dynamic. Moving and powerful.”

Al-Noor Moosa, Manager

PricewaterhouseCoopers
10.14.2014

Interview with Mark DeVolder

What is the message you hope people take away from your presentations?

There is a common thread through each of my presentations. Whether I’m speaking on change, engagement or leadership, the message I want people to take away is this; it’s all about people.

In essence my philosophy can be summed up by my phrase, “The business of relationships.”

How do you prepare for speaking engagements?

All of my presentations are highly customized and designed following in-depth interviews with members of the leadership team. Often, clients will send me important background information, articles and memos to help me prepare for a laser focused presentation. Because of this collaborative approach, I often receive enthusiastic feedback and return engagements. Frequently, I hear comments like, “it felt like Mark DeVolder was one of us.”

How do you handle change?

My approach to handling change is to focus on transitions.

When leaders reflect on the successful implementation of organizational changes, many admit that, initially, the bulk of their efforts focused on change management: what needs to be done, when and by whom. Later, when it came time for the changes to occur, leaders encountered surprising difficulties: dependable employees resisted making the prescribed changes, confusion and conflicts in the workplace, costs escalated and increased sick leave, to name a few. Unfortunately, many leaders assumed that if they planned the change carefully enough, the transition would follow automatically.

Transition Management looks at helping management and staff reorient themselves so that the changes can work. People leave my presentations with tools and a template to effectively navigate transitions.

How are your keynote presentations unique?

My presentations are entertaining, energizing and engaging. (After all, I speak on Engagement so my presentations had better be engaging!)

I am known for cutting-edge content, valuable takeaways, entertaining audience interaction, all illustrated by unstoppable humour and memorable stories.

Let me say a bit more about the interactive elements of my presentation because this sets me apart from many other speakers. You’ll notice that there are three distinct kinds of interaction: my interaction with the audience as a whole, the hilarious and poignant interaction with volunteers and the interaction amongst audience members. This last interaction allows participants to personalize and integrate my content for maximum impact.

What are some tips for improving relationships with customers?

Customer relationships can be summed up in four key areas:  competence, clarity, influence, appreciation.

First, customers want a high quality product/or service, and they want it delivered with competence. Customer service is enhanced when we communicate with clarity, providing valuable information in a friendly manner. The third element is influence. When we encourage and invite feedback from customers, it not only helps us to respond to their needs, but creates a cooperative relationship with the customer. The last component is appreciation. When customers feel appreciated, it creates loyalty.

What makes a keynote speech memorable?

Presentations that are memorable stay with people for a long time.

Certainly the entertainment factor is important: stories that people relate to, humour that disarms, content that inspires. In addition, for a presentation to be memorable, it must be engaging;

I’m convinced that participants will be engaged if they make a personal decision and respond. So there must be opportunities for people to respond and integrate the material.

The power comes when there is a swell of commitment to do things differently. Consequently, memorable presentations bring about clarity, simplicity, consensus and buy in. Individuals need to be motivated and equipped to unite together with others to make a profound difference.

This note I received from NASA Spaceport Operations sums it perfectly. “We all left with a better grip on our own humanity and tools to soar higher.”

How does humor factor into your presentations?

Humor is essential in my presentations and I provide lots of opportunities for it.

Humor is not only fun and entertaining, but a valuable learning tool. It disarms, unites, creates a sense of camaraderie and a fun atmosphere. Earlier in the interview, I mentioned three distinct kinds of interaction. Some of the funniest and fun elements in my presentations are the serendipitous interactions that occur with volunteers.

How do you define successful leadership?

A simple definition of a leader is someone who leads. But of course it all comes down to “how” they lead. I believe a leader is and becomes who the team needs them to be.

In a poignant and pointed posting on the website FireYourBoss.com, employees listed the following top six reasons to “Fire their Boss”,

  • Lack of trust and/or integrity (32%)
  • Micromanagement (24%)
  • Lack of feedback (12%)
  • Lack of opportunity to grow (12%)
  • Taking credit for the ideas & work of others (10%)
  • Lack of coaching/support (8%)

In summary, leadership is still the business of relationships.

See keynotes with Mark DeVolder
Non-binding request for Mark DeVolder

Send a simple request. You’ll get a quick reply with fees and availability

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Mark DeVolder
Mark DeVolder

5 out of 5 stars

Mark kept us glued to our screen, very entertaining and interactive, a true artist!

Simone Zatti, Marketing Director, Hilti See all references

Keynote topics with Mark DeVolder