Stephen Drum

Retired Navy SEAL Master Chief | Co-Creator of U.S. Navy’s Warrior Toughness Program | Author of Life on the X. Create Resilient Leaders and Courageous Teams.

Topic Categories:

Leadership, Motivational, Resilience, Teamwork, Virtual Presentations

Fee Range: Contact Speaker Exchange Agency

Former Navy SEAL and co-creator of the U.S. Navy’s Warrior Toughness Program, designed to develop the mental resilience, confidence, and readiness needed to perform in high-pressure environments.
Drawing on his elite military experience, Stephen teaches individuals and organizations how to plan, prepare, and execute at the highest levels, especially when the stakes are high and performance matters most.
Through his signature keynote, “Perform on the X,” Stephen shares proven strategies for facing challenges with courage, confidence, and readiness, helping audiences perform at their best under pressure.
Provides practical tools for managing stress, overcoming adversity, developing mental toughness, and maintaining focus and emotional control during uncertainty and change.
Helps leaders and teams strengthen resilience, emotional intelligence, accountability, and decision-making skills to improve performance and achieve results in demanding situations.
Delivers engaging, actionable lessons that translate Navy SEAL training and high-stakes experiences into everyday leadership, workplace challenges, and personal growth.

*Fee ranges are presented as a guideline only. Speaker fees are subject to change without notice. For an exact quote, please contact your Speaker Exchange Agency representative.

About

Stephen Drum is a combat-tested retired Navy SEAL Master Chief with 27 years of experience leading and developing high-performance teams.

As an in-demand speaker and consultant, he helps individuals and organizations develop leadership and performance strategies, so they can plan, prepare, and execute at the highest levels when it matters most.

Stephen served in the Navy from 1992-2019 and has trained and led U.S. and foreign partner special operations forces on high-risk and strategically vital missions across the globe, including combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He recently co-developed and taught “Warrior Toughness” training for The U.S. Navy. This vital program fundamentally changed the culture of the Navy in how it trains and prepares young sailors and officers for the acute stress of intense combat operations.

During his Navy career, Stephen has personally trained thousands of elite military soldiers and Navy SEAL candidates, helping them succeed in severe training courses and overseas combat operations.

His first book, Life on the X: A Navy SEAL’s Guide to meeting any challenge with Courage, Confidence and Readiness, was released March 2023.

Topics

Life on the X - Learn how to meet any challenge with Courage, Confidence, and Readiness!

Work, family, relationships—life is demanding. A high-stress situation, or being on the X where all the pressures converge, could be right around the corner. How will you confront it? Your ability to succeed in stressful and challenging situations and seize opportunities depends on how you show up to face these moments. When you’re up against obstacles, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed and underprepared. But the battles you face are won when you prepare for life on the X.

Life on the X shares strategies used by the world’s highest performers. In this guide, you will discover tactics that elite athletes, military special operators, and successful business leaders use to thrive under pressure and deliver world-class results.

You can triumph when you are deliberate in how you prepare for, execute, and assess your actions in the most important moments in your life. By learning the skills and methods of top-performers, you can meet the X with courage and confidence.

Are you ready to bring your A game to life?

In the SEAL Teams, the X refers to the most critical and dangerous point of the operation; fast roping from a helicopter onto the rooftop of an enemy building, a coordinated attack on an enemy compound, or operating deep behind enemy lines. This is the point of NO RETURN where a SEAL must be at their best.

No matter where and no matter the circumstance, it’s critical that SEALs perform at their best “on the X” in each of these moments.

While in the boardroom instead of the battlefield it may not be life or death, but there are still critical moments where the pressure is on, and we absolutely need to bring our A-game.

When the stakes are this high, we must be focused, resilient, and well prepared.

As the Co-Creator of The U.S. Navy Warrior Toughness program, Stephen teaches how the same techniques used by the Navy & SEALs, elite athletes, and top-performing CEOs operators can be applied to leading & developing high-performance teams in business as well as by individuals in their personal and professional lives.

In this presentation, Stephen shares proven performance psychology techniques and training methods used by the world’s most elite performers and shows how it can easily be applied to any high-pressure business situation or personal event. Each presentation will be customized around the audience’s specific goals and challenges

After you learn to perform on the X, you and your teams will not only learn to face challenge and adversity with courage and resilience, but you’ll also learn concrete methods that will allow for: Increased Employee Engagement, Stronger Collaboration, High-Performance Under Pressure, Agility, Stress Management, Increased EQ, Proven Preparation and Rehearsal Methods for Important Events, Proven Team and Individual Lessons Learned Framework, Adaptability & Change Management

Takeaways

Learn how to develop to true resilience in the face of adversity and set-back
Face the most pressing life and business challenges head on
Execute with agility and flexibility when everything is on the line
Develop a deliberate process to study lessons learned in preparation for what’s next
Implement effective strategies for leading teams through dynamic change

Perform on the X - Leadership Workshop

With Stephen’s “Perform On The X” framework, your team will learn stress management techniques designed to enable individuals and teams to remain focused, resilient, and prepared in the face of adversity.

He also provides proven preparation and rehearsal methods for important events so that they can be tackled with confidence and courage.

Learning Objectives:

Learn the framework process for preparing and executing in high-stakes or challenging situations which include: Commit, Prepare, Execute and Reflect
Learn critical stress management techniques for successfully responding to stressors in professional AND personal settings.
Discuss goal planning and execution strategies for prioritizing and performing in a fluid and stressful environment.
Learn and perform mindfulness and performance psychology skills for increased resilience and focus during stressful periods and situations.

Opening story and Commit content:

Purpose and personal philosophy
Objectives and goals
Obstacle forecasting
What are some potential obstacles to our success? Daily and long-term

Story and Prepare content

Performance Psychology skills
Skill development practical
Recalibrate-breathing exercise/Breathing habit training

Story and Execute content:

Situational Awareness
Variable Focus
Agility/Flexibility
Scenario Discussion on above content

Story and Reflect content:

Your process for: Assess, Analyze, Reflect
Giving and receiving feedback
Body Scan or Progressive muscle relaxation exercise
Closing Comments and wrap-up:
Customized Deep Dive Workshop (75 minutes – 4 hours)

When the stakes are this high, we must be focused, resilient, and well prepared

Takeaways

Learn how to develop to true resilience in the face of adversity and set-back
Face the most pressing life and business challenges head on
Execute with agility and flexibility when everything is on the line
Develop a deliberate process to study lessons learned in preparation for what’s next
Implement effective strategies for leading teams through dynamic change

Customized Deep-Dive Workshops (75 minutes – 4 hours)

Session Outcomes:

Learn the framework process for preparing and executing in high-stakes or challenging situations which include: Commit, Prepare, Execute and Reflect
Learn critical stress management techniques for successfully responding to stressors in professional AND personal settings
Discuss goal planning and execution strategies for prioritizing and performing in a fluid and stressful environment.
Learn and perform mindfulness and performance psychology skills for increased resilience and focus during stressful periods and situations.

Workshop Format: