Annie McKee

Author, "How to Be Happy at Work: The Power of Purpose, Hope and Friendships"

Leadership

Psychology

Mental Health

Happiness

Wellness & Mental Health

Dr. Annie McKee is a best-selling author, respected academic, and sought-after advisor to top global leaders. Her work focuses on how the power of emotional intelligence can change how we lead and engage with our work and our colleagues. She is motivated by her desire to serve others and to help people create workplaces where everyone is respected, honored, and encouraged to be their best.

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In her latest book, How to Be Happy at Work: The Power of Purpose, Hope and Friendships, Dr. McKee reviews lessons learned from decades of research about how employees and teams can find professional fulfillment by focusing on a positive vision of the future, tapping into meaning, and creating healthy and friendly relationships at work. Combining extensive research with vivid and moving real-life stories, Dr. McKee argues that not only can we be happy at work, but if we want to be successful, we must find ways to live our passion in our day-to-day activities and in the way we engage with and lead others. She is committed to helping good leaders become better and to creating vibrant workplace cultures where people — and their institutions — can thrive.

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Annie has authored and co-authored numerous other bestselling books, including Primal Leadership (with Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis), Resonant Leadership, Becoming a Resonant Leader, and Management: A Focus on Leaders. Her work has been translated into over 25 languages and she is a regular contributor to HBR.org.

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Hailed as the "high priestess of executive coaching," Dr. McKee advises business and institutional leaders around the globe and provides guidance on leadership and management practices that enable individuals to soar and companies to live their mission and serve their customers, clients, and citizens. Her clients have included Luxottica, Sanofi, Thomson-Reuters, UniCredit Group, United Nations Development Program, Unilever, Viacom, Vodafone, PR Newswire, and Creative Commons, to name a few.

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She is a member of the McKinsey-sponsored think tank Consortium for the Advancement of Adult Learning and Development, a member of Marshall Goldsmith’s "Top 100 Coaches," and has been honored as one of Business Week’s Top 100 leaders.

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Topics

Sustaining Happiness, Health, and Well-Being in a Crazy World

The last few years have been difficult, to say the least. The global pandemic, climate change, widespread focus on and the fight for equality, and an economic roller coaster have left many people reeling, even burned out. On the positive side, massive changes and challenges have sparked tremendous openness, creativity and innovation. All together, the times have led many of us to consider what we truly want in life and at work. In this engaging, energetic and inspiring talk, Dr. Annie McKee shares her thoughts on 1) how to use our emotional intelligence manage the wild ups and downs of a changing world; 2) how to support the people around us to find meaning, purpose and hope, even when things are tough and the pressure’s on; and 3) how to craft a vision of the future — and a plan to go with it — that will enable us to thrive, not just survive, as the world continues to change.

Why Culture Matters — And What You Can Do to Make It Great

Dr. Annie McKee has supported dozens of senior leadership teams and their organizations to examine their culture, to discover the deeply held values and day-to-day behaviors and practices that either help or hinder our success. In this practical, inspiring talk she shares how leaders have the responsibility for building a strong, positive culture that supports individuals to be themselves, while sharing key values and beliefs across teams and the company. She also shares that each one of us, no matter our level, can build healthy micro-cultures with the people around us — how we can move toward shared values around respect, creativity, collaboration and open dialogue. She supports participants to see what they can do, each and every day, to create an environment where people can show up authentically, where everyone feels they belong, and where each person’s success is celebrated in the spirit of moving the team and organization toward its goals and noble purpose.

The Power of Emotional Intelligence

Based on decades of experience and on-the-ground experience with global companies, Dr. Annie McKee makes an iron-clad case that emotional intelligence — and the skills and capabilities that accompany it — are the key to personal and collective success. In this practical and uplifting talk, Annie shows how each one of us, no matter our background or level, have many of the emotional intelligence competencies we need to collaborate, lead teams, manage conflict and work through differences. By presenting solid research from the fields of neuroscience, management, and psychology, as well as her own research, Dr. McKee leads participants to understand why emotional intelligence is so very crucial.

Happiness at Work: Leading through Purpose, Hope, and Great Relationships (or Friendships)

Life is too short to be unhappy at work. And happiness isn’t just a bonus in the workplace: it’s essential. In this inspiring talk, Dr. Annie McKee leans into her decades of experience coaching and advising top business leaders to make the case that happiness impacts our ability to succeed at work, individually and collectively. More, she demonstrates through research and real-life stories that the most successful leaders focus deliberately on creating environments ripe with purpose and optimism. They build strong, positive relationships that are based on mutual respect, shared values and common goals, and they work deliberately to ensure that everyone can show up authentically, be their best, and feel a deep sense of belonging. This, Dr. McKee argues, is the formula that enables people and organizations to thrive.

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