High-Performing Teams & CULTURES Keynote Speaker
Inspiring, insightful, and high-impact keynotes on building high-performing teams and cultures that leverage discretionary effort, deliver performance upgrades, and drive hustle without losing humanity and integrity—from 10x serial entrepreneur leading smart and often entirely remote teams to deliver excellence with few resources.
Why "working groups" are very different from high-performing teams that can drive results together across silos and functions—and how to energize hustle without losing our humanity.
How to motivate not manipulate people, build genuine psychological safety without being too soft, and empower team members to perform with guidance and guardrails rather than micro-management
Go beyond high-performing teams to high-performance cultures that can drive efficiencies and improvements with existing KPIS while delivering change, digital transformation, and innovation.
Ways to instill accountability and responsibility without resorting to "shame and blame"—and how to inspire excellence without perfectionism and anxiety.
Why managers, leaders, and team members should watch out for seemingly innocuous habits that actually tank team trust, reduce intrinsic motivation, and undermine collaboration.
The different "archetypes" needed in teams—and how to balance people's different strengths and weaknesses depending on the team's ambition and the company culture.
A standing ovation! I am already sharing the insights with my leaders. Thank you!
CEO,
Unilever USA
Nick was the highlight of the 2-day conference. He made it worth going to. Thought-provoking, insightful, and very enjoyable.
SVP
Investment Bank
Nick had a pronounced and profound impact. Exceptional!
President,
Kellogg’s North America
Nick transformed our event with an engaging and evocative talk that hit all the nails that we put out there. It set a perfect scene for the remainder!
Head of Marketing,
Syngenta
Top Keynote Speaker On high-performing Teams & CULTURES
Nick Jankel is a top 50 global professional keynote speaker who shares penetrating and inspiring insights into how to lead significant change, transformation, and innovation born from 25 years on the frontlines of disruptive innovation, purpose-driven entrepreneurship, and transformational leadership.
Nick is a sought-after and accomplished keynote speaker and futurist who helps audiences make sense of and simplify complexity, understand what is coming and what is possible, and understand how they can metabolize unstoppable disruption into value-creating, customer-centric ideas, insights, and innovations.
Nick is an award-winning author of multiple books on transformation and leadership, has been a master transformation coach on two global TV shows, and is a thought leader who has spoken at the illustrious Aspen Ideas Festival, The Economist Innovation Summit (alongside Elon Musk), and at Talks@Google.
keynote on high-performing teams taster video
Employees in high-trust companies experience remarkable benefits, with over 100% more energy, 50% higher productivity, and 40% less burnout compared to standard companies. Engaged employees outperform satisfied ones by 44%, while inspired employees boast an impressive 125% productivity boost. However, a concerning 60% of team members report negative team environments, with 84% encountering toxic coworkers and 87% having experienced toxic bosses.
Research consistently underscores that emotional dynamics within teams surpass IQ levels, job titles, or advanced degrees as predictors of high performance. Teams comprising diverse individuals of average intelligence often outshine groups of like-minded, highly intelligent individuals. Conventional management techniques geared toward efficiency may lead teams into learned helplessness, reduced agency, poor judgment, faux delegation, immunity to change, and failed innovation, resulting in loss of competitiveness and significant talent acquisition costs.
Drawing from over 20 years of experience, I’ve led businesses, coached successful innovation teams, and advised top leadership in multinationals. I’ve learned that high-performing teams don’t arise solely from smart and successful individuals. To unlock discretionary effort, new ways of thinking, breakthrough innovations, and collaboration critical for thriving in a changing world, teams must foster agility and accountability rooted in trust and safety.
In my keynotes, I tailor insights to exceed expectations, connecting with audiences to unleash energy, momentum, inspiration, and traction. I share crucial differences between working groups and transformational teams, guide on balancing performance with purpose, and detail the framework for creating cross-functional teams realizing bold visions. I address seemingly innocuous behaviors that damage trust and teamwork and offer hacks to cultivate genuine psychological safety.
Motivating people without manipulation is a complex skill, and I provide strategies to unlock coherence, creativity, and sustained collaboration in any team. Let me amplify your messages, elevate ambitions, and deliver a keynote customized for your audience, making a lasting impact on innovation, transformation, and team dynamics.
I saw the room go from a bit tired to very inspired. Totally engaging and fully immersive. You wouldn’t want to miss a second of it. It was powerfully supercharged right from the start.
VP Digital,
Alfa Laval
Wonderful! The talk was motivating, thoughtful, and so well-delivered. Many of my colleagues said they felt seen for the first time.
Director,
McCormick & Co
Nick goes deeper and clearly made an impact on me and others. Looking forward to seeing the seeds grow in me and my organization!
EVP,
Merck
Exactly what we wanted. Our CEO has been quoting Nick’s thinking to our leaders.
HR Director,
Oxford University