Nataly Kogan

Our always-on work environments are making us less productive, less creative, and generally unhappy regardless of our chosen careers. A recent Gallop study shows that when an employee reports increased feelings of well-being, it is 20% more likely that the employee’s coworkers will report being happier too. In other words, well-being spreads, much like stress spreads—with more than 50% of employees reporting being “close to burnout” when asked about their stress levels.

In this talk, Nataly shares insights and strategies for a happier workforce. Why? Because happier employees are more creative, more productive, less likely to take time off from work for health reasons, better communicators, and deliver better customer service—resulting in an improved bottom-line for all.

Key takeaways:

• Happiness is a practice, comprised of simple scientifically-proven techniques, rather than a vague, spontaneous feeling. Encouraging these practices for employees at work and in their personal lives will dramatically improve their well-being , leading to improved productivity, creativity, teamwork, and engagement.

• The most important factor influencing job satisfaction is whether employees find their work meaningful. There are speciic ways to help them connect their jobs to their inner purpose and improve their motivation and performance.

• The frequency of positive interactions employees have with their colleagues can dramatically improve how engaged and satified they are with their jobs. There are simple ways to create opportunities for these interactions without dramatic changes or expenditures.

Why is the pursuit of happiness so stressful and unfulfilling? Why do we believe that huge achievements trump small everyday moments that connect us with ourselves and those we love most? After years spent chasing “The Big Happy” of career, money and achievements, Nataly explores how the science and research behind happiness can be used to improve all aspects of our lives, showing audiences why we should stop saying “I’ll be happy when…” and start saying “I’m happy now because…” Nataly approaches happiness as a clearly-defined practice rather than some spontaneous feeling, sharing with her audiences strategies, techniques, and tools – along with a strong dose of necessary inspiration – to make them part of their own busy lives.

Key takeaways:

• Happiness is something we do, not something we feel. It’s a capacity we all have, like a muscle, which we can develop through regular simple practices, which have been scientifically proven to improve our well-being and health.

• Happiness is not void of all negative emotion. It’s a practice of being mindful of how we feel, without judgment, and from that place reframing negative events and committing to the practices of gratitude, kindness, and mindfulness to nurture genuine lasting happiness.

• The joy is in the doing. As long as we hang our well-being on the outcome of our achievements, we will always be left wanting and chasing more. We have to learn to cultivate a state of inner wellbeing regardless of our successes, failures, and whatever storms life brings our way.

This speech is suited for managers and division leaders who are driving toward specific strategic goals. In a high-stakes, high-stress environment, creativity, teamwork, and shared purpose become fragile. How does a leader protect those values which determine the success of a project, and retain the best people for the next project? How do leaders cultivate purpose, satisfaction and the right environment amid the stress of a project to bring out the best in the team? The balance might seem delicate, but Nataly explains how happiness helps the team drive faster and better toward shared strategic goals.

Key takeaways:

• Psychological safety – the ability for team members to feel like they can be themselves at work, and not risk being reprimanded – is one of the top factors that determines how well a team works together.

• The best way to impact change is to model behavior leaders want their teams to adopt. Nataly shares specific ways leaders can do this in the workplace.

• Leaders who help remove obstacles for their teams, encourage celebration of small wins, and are honest about their own emotions, including stress, encourage better engagement and performance on their teams.

In this speech, Nataly helps individuals learn how to move their careers forward with optimism, purpose and satisfaction. She shares her happiness manifesto and gives research-based instruction to make happiness a habit and a regular practice, rather than a vague concept. She shows how we each have a responsibility to ourselves and our careers to find the positive path in any work environment, and how if we can do that, we make ourselves invaluable to our employees.

When Nataly Kogan was a Russian refugee struggling to learn English in the projects of Detroit, she told herself, “I’ll be happier when…” So, she became a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a McKinsey pedigree who helped sell PayPal, worked at Microsoft’s FUSE lab, and sat on the boards of several high profile tech companies. But despite the success – perhaps you are familiar with the feeling – she still wasn’t truly happy.

Why is the pursuit of happiness so stressful and unfulfilling? Why do we believe that huge achievements trump small everyday moments that connect us with ourselves and those we love most? Nataly Kogan dug into the research and believes the key to being happier is to stop saying “I’ll be happy when…” and start saying “I’m happy now because…” She created a business, Happier, with to help individuals and businesses cultivate happiness.

This speech is targeted at women to encourage them to connect to their true purpose, learn how to deal with fear, and move from a position of strength to achieve significant growth and fulfillment in their careers and beyond. Nataly has spent her career in male-dominated industries and doesn’t deny that women face significant challenges in the workplace, as well as trying to balance their usually extremely high expectations of themselves with often out of date societal expectations. She offers women audience frank stories, paradigm shifts in thinking, and practical strategies to help them unlock more of their potential without losing their sanity.

Key takeaways:

• Cultivating your own sense of well-being isn’t selfish. It’s the best way you can realize your full potential at work and in your personal life.

• Perception of bias is often stronger and greater obstacle than actual bias women encounter in work situations. There are specific ways to learn how to avoid sabotaging your own success.

• Don’t try to be fearless; that’s only possible if you never try anything new. Instead, understand your fear, accept it, and move to a place of love for what you do, trust in your ability to adopt, and commitment to doing what you believe is important.