David Burkus

Why are some teams more motivated, more innovative, and more successful than others? Why do some groups of talented and seemingly compatible people fall short against lesser teams with less suitable members? And why are we still so surprised about which team members excel, and which ones fail?
We know that high-performing teams deliver higher value results more consistently. But how do you build that high performing team? More often than not, great teams don’t become great because they recruit top talent or pay top dollar. Instead, building the best team ever is about shaping the habits and culture that bring out the best in each team member. In this highly interactive program, we’ll review what the of the most effective teams in the world do differently, and how you can start doing the same on your team. Leaders will leave with a clear and concise understanding of how the culture of their team affects its performance, and a simple and practical blueprint for how to build the best team ever.

Key Takeaways:
-How to create clarity and dependability on any team.
-How to generate team cohesion and cooperation.
-How to build purpose and meaning into every role on a team

It’s undeniable that we’re entering a new era of remote work. While many leaders seek to run business as usual, why settle for the usual when remote teams allow us to work even better? The research shows that employees are more productive and engaged when they have the freedom to work from anywhere.
Which means leaders need the skills to lead from anywhere.
In this meticulously researched, refreshingly practical talk, top business thought leader David Burkus provides managers with a complete guide to leading remotely, packed with everyday examples and illuminating insights. Burkus tackles the key inflection points and challenges that remote managers face from taking the team remote and adding new members, to communicating effectively and quickly, managing performance, keeping the team engaged, and even helping them strike the right balance between work and life. This talk provides everything you’ll need to survive and thrive as the leader of a remote team—which is something all leaders will need to consider themselves from now on.

Key Takeaways:
-How to create a thriving team culture remotely
-How to build bonds and increase engagement from afar
-How to help your team limit distractions and avoid burnout when working remotely

What’s the best way to build and lead teams? Do the best companies really put their employees’ welfare first, and their clients second? Do performance reviews actually improve performance?

Burkus challenges many of the long-established principles of management and leadership. Drawing on decades of research, Burkus has found that not only are many of our fundamental management practices wrong and misguided, but they can be downright counter-productive. These days, the best companies are already breaking the old rules. From sharing salaries openly, to abandoning performance reviews, to putting management in the hands of the whole company, the revolutionary insights Burkus reveals are convincing companies to leave behind decades-old management practices and to implement new ways to enhance productivity and morale. Audience members will walk away with evidence-based strategies and real world examples to drive performance and build stronger teams.

Why do so many innovation efforts fail? Why do our best attempts at creative problem solving never seem to reach their full potential? The cause of both frustrations, it turns out, are actually the same. In this keynote, Burkus targets a common misconception about creativity and innovation efforts: that it has to do with changing how individuals think. Instead, research reveals that “lone creators” are historically rare and for most innovations, creativity is a team sport. By combining insights from social science research and practical takeaways from the most innovative companies and teams, Burkus outlines a prescription for any team or organization to work more creatively together, without silos, politics, or frustration. Burkus’ insights are practical, applicable, and tailored to the audiences situation.

(This keynote is based on David’s books Friend of a Friend and The Myths of Creativity)

Key Takeaways:

• How the more creative teams and companies really operative
• How to get around the most common barriers to innovation
• How to communicate and collaborate better together
• How the more creative teams and companies really operate

What if the advice we’ve all heard about networking and developing relationships was wrong?

In this new and startling look at the art and science of networking, Burkus challenges many of our commonly shared beliefs about networking. Drawing on more than five decades of social science research into how networks work, Burkus has found that what the best networkers do looks a lot less like collecting business cards and making random introductions and a lot more like fostering authentic connections and seeking out diverse new voices. And he reveals how anyone can do the same. Audience members will leave with practical and proven strategies to grow their network and to make their current network work much harder for their success.

Key Takeaways:

· Which areas of your network provide the best source of new ideas and insights
· Where the potential blind spots and weak points in your network are
· How to foster authentic, collaborative relationships
· How to effectively grow and strengthen your network