Interactive, inspirational Speaker on:

* Empathy at work
*DEI & Inclusive Leadership
*Workplace communication
Great session and a lot to reflect on individually and as a group.
– Paul Pythian, Executive Partner, IBM

Watch Shola’s 2.5 mins virtual speaking reel

Watch Shola’s 12 minute TEDx talk

Watch Shola’s 3.5 minute in-person speaking reel

Speak up under pressure – 4 minute clip

‘Thank you for an engaging and useful session. I was actually able to put some of these frameworks into practice at our department’s meeting the following day and saw the positive reactions to my intervention.’
Keynote attendee, Salesforce

You need a speaker…

who will engage and inspire your audience, whether that’s thousands of people at a virtual event or a senior leadership team of ten.

Shola’s messages are relatable, actionable and evidence-based. She speaks on Communication, Empathy and Inclusion. The end result is more empathic, engaged, and productive workplaces with compassionate leadership and happier teams. Which tends to lead to lower turnover, higher performance and greater profitability!

Shola’s mission

Shola’s experience  working for corporations in the USA and Europe led to an  understanding of some of the challenges faced by underrepresented groups on multiple levels. Today she blends her background in the STEM, financial and creative industries to share clear, effective communication frameworks and insights that help people work better together. These are delivered in a high impact, engaging style.

Typical events include global company keynotes, leadership development sessions, diversity summits and industry conferences. Our team can also support Shola’s front-end keynote speeches with longer training programs, train the trainer offerings, facilitation and licensed content.

A communications and inclusion specialist, award-winning international keynote speaker and author, Shola spent time in academic research at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) followed by several years in IT consultancy and later returned to the U.K, working as an account director for global clients in aviation and finance.

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Shola’s keynote feedback scores:

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KEYNOTE DESCRIPTIONS

From company-wide keynotes, to leadership training, to small-group strategic action sessions, Shola’s programmes are customised, relevant, and actionable. She’ll sit with you, taking the time to discover the nuances of your organisation, ensuring that your speech feels tailor-made for your audience.

Shola has a global client base. She’s culturally sensitive, understanding that different audiences respond better to different examples, analogies, and stories.

Her programmes are super-engaging and highly interactive, as Shola loves involving her audiences through polls, Q&As, and chats. She likes to call her speeches ‘conversations’ and, because of the high levels of customisation and interplay, no two sessions are identical.

Expect inspiration, interaction, and insight!

A selection of four speech descriptions and learning objectives is shown below, but for the full, current list go to: sholakaye.com/sd

Please feel free to share this link with colleagues who are considering Shola for a speaking engagement.

Embrace Psychological Safety and Inclusive Communication

– Are you wondering why there has been so much interest in the topic of psychological safety?

During this interactive keynote, we explore the vital role of psychological safety in fostering an inclusive environment that values open, authentic communication. We’ll discuss the importance of embracing vulnerability, trust, and empathy in your daily interactions, enabling your team to unlock its full potential through collaborative ways of working.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the key elements of psychological safety and their impact on team performance
  • Explore the relationship between psychological safety and emotional intelligence
  • Discover strategies to create a culture of inclusive communication that values and supports diverse perspectives
  • Recognise the role of empathetic leadership in fostering psychological safety
  • Learn practical techniques for building trust and promoting vulnerability within teams
  • Understand that cultural factors also play a role in the creation of psychologically safe environments

Keynote or workshop

What people say: ‘Excellent feedback on your session, especially from our executive leadership team.’ Liftoff

Elevate Empathy!

– To increase inclusion, productivity and engagement (Suitable for all employees and delegates)

Creating a workplace where everyone feels that they belong is more important than ever before, but how can you build supportive, cohesive environments within your organisation?
This is a high-impact, inspiring keynote. You’ll walk away with the tools and the inspiration to become a more compassionate and effective leader, manager, or individual contributor. It can be modified for senior leaders, management, and whole-company keynotes. We’ll look at the important themes of curiosity, courage and being a catalyst and you’ll understand the vital components of empathy, how to be compassionate while avoiding burnout, and why skills like emotional intelligence are in high demand.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the different types of empathy and their impact on your well-being
  • Find out how empathy can impact inclusion, engagement, retention, innovation, and happiness
  • Working remotely? How to demonstrate virtual empathy
  • Walk away with a simple three-step framework for displaying more empathy

This keynote may be adapted with additional content to suit any of the following themes:

  • empathy + inclusion
  • empathy skills for leaders

Virtual session? We’ll use chat and other forms of interactivity to encourage engagement.

What people say: ‘An incredible keynote speech. The combination of D.E.I. and Empathy really spoke to our workforce.’ Reckitt
Are you ready to implement a company-wide Diversity & Inclusion program? Find out about ‘The Inclusion Launchpad’.

Skyrocket Performance: Deliver Effective Feedback With Empathy

– Develop the skills to support and co-create your colleagues’ success (Session is suitable for all employees, not just managers)

At work and in our personal lives, delivering effective feedback is a valuable skill. Delivered in the right way, feedback can be empowering, inspiring and can drive an individual, and their team, towards fantastic success.
However, delivered in the wrong way, feedback can be divisive, demotivating, and destructive. And when we avoid giving feedback to spare someone’s feelings, the eventual outcome can be just as damaging.
So what’s your intention as a manager? Is it to break or build? To crush or to co-create? Do you restrict your feedback to the obligatory once or twice a year, or do you feedback continuously, increasing the motivation and confidence of your team members?
This interactive, high energy keynote contains insightful stories, impactful data, and valuable tools you can use again and again.

Learning objectives:

  • Understand the importance of providing ongoing, tailored, empathetic developmental feedback
  • Explore the repercussions of poor feedback styles such as The Drive-by, The Comparison, The Public Humiliation, and The Wrecking Ball
  • Discover the four elements required to create psychological safety so that your feedback is well-received
  • Take away an effective strategy for delivering feedback as an individual contributor
  • Learn three different feedback frameworks and the pros and cons of each

Keynote or workshop

What people say: ‘Thought-provoking and educational. Our employees have given us great feedback about their experience.’ Nexthink

Strategies for Inclusive, Empathetic Leadership

Equip your leaders with the skills and knowledge to combat bias and foster belonging

After the impact of the pandemic, we know that many workplaces will never be the same again. That’s why today’s leaders need an expanded repertoire of skills and know-how to ensure staff are engaged, happy and productive. In this highly impactful program, leaders are given the skill set to flourish in today’s complex work environments, managing ever more diverse and demanding teams.

Learning objectives:

  • Explore the 6 key traits of an inclusive leader and their related behaviours
  • Review key data that support the value of compassionate leadership skills in today’s work environments
  • Discover what it takes to create an environment of psychological safety
  • Explore inclusive communication best practices to ensure everyone feels encouraged to speak up and make a contribution
  • Discuss a number of behavioural nudges that help us bypass bias and create an atmosphere of innovation and belonging
  • Review important cultural factors that all managers must consider when they lead diverse, multigenerational, international or intercultural teams

60 – 120 min virtual workshop or half-day/full-day seminar

What people say: ‘Brilliant thought leadership about staying curious and the importance of inclusion to foster better decision making and higher performance.’ Oracle