Karin Hurt helps human-centered leaders find clarity in uncertainty, drive innovation, and achieve breakthrough results. She’s the Founder and CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders, a global leadership development firm known for practical tools and techniques for human-centered leaders. A former Verizon Wireless executive with more than two decades of experience in sales, customer service, and human resources, Karin is known for growing courageous leaders, building great cultures, and inspiring high-performance teams.
Since 2013, Karin and her husband, David have grown tens of thousands of leaders on every continent (except Antarctica) with their leadership development programs and keynotes. In addition to encouraging courage around the world, they also provide clean water to the people of Cambodia through their Winning Wells philanthropic initiative.
Karin is an award-winning author of five books, including:
- Courageous Cultures – How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators, Problem Solvers and Customer Advocates
- Powerful Phrases for Dealing With Workplace Conflict: What to Say Next to Destress the Workday, Build Collaboration and Calm Difficult Customers
She is the host of the popular LinkedIn show, Asking for a Friend. She was recently named by Inc. Magazine as a Top 100 Great Leadership Speaker.
Speaking Topics -
Navigating Workplace Conflict: How to Have More Influence, Less Drama, and Better Collaboration
Master any workplace conflict with confidence and ease, have less drama, better results, and thrive at work. When there are problems to solve, and people who care (and there are so many things to care about) you’ll face conflict. And if you want to have more success, influence, and joy in your work, you’ve got to navigate it well. But conflict is hard. You weren’t born knowing the perfect words to say when you’re angry, dealing with a jerk, or when someone calls your game-changing idea “stupid.”
This highly experiential keynote is based on findings from our expansive World Workplace Conflict and Collaboration study. You’ll leave with the courage, confidence, and competence to navigate even the trickiest conflict scenarios and build better, lasting collaboration.
Building High Performing Teams: Creating Habits to De-Stress Your Team and Work Better Together
Experience the pinnacle of teamwork transformation with the original creators of the SynergyStack Collaboration System and the authors of Powerful Phrases for Dealing With Workplace Conflict. Through the 4 Cs of Collaboration—Connection, Clarity, Curiosity, and Commitment—you’ll engage in a hands-on, practical engagement that will transform the way your team works.
In this highly interactive program, your team will:
- Craft a unified vision that defines and directs your collective efforts toward success.
- Learn key habits that underpin high-performing teams and pinpoint the ones most critical to your team’s success.
- Master and practice powerful techniques to weave these habits into daily interactions.
- Construct a tailored action plan to instill and nurture these habits, ensuring sustained collaboration and performance.
Courageous Cultures: How to Help Your Team Solve Problems Faster, and Surface Remarkable Ideas
Based on ground-breaking new research in innovation and problem-solving, you’ll learn what leaders like you are doing to build more creative and solutions-oriented teams. Teams who don’t just bring you more ideas, but practical, ideas you can use to make work, work better.
You’ll explore the root causes of FOSU (fear of speaking up) and ways to turn your team’s fears and frustration into practical innovation. You’ll learn easy-to-use tools and techniques to empower solutions-thinking and customer-focused problem solving; how to respond to wacky ideas without crushing your team’s hearts and spirits; and techniques to encourage courage and deeper dialogue up, down, and sideways.
Courageous Leadership: Practical Ways to Be More Daring
When you’re barraged with problems every day, sometimes it’s easier to take the path of least resistance. You don’t speak up because it might rock the boat. You procrastinate on a decision or don’t try that new idea because you’re afraid of failure. Or you don’t invite feedback because you might not like what you hear. In these moments, you miss opportunities, waste money, and erode your team members’ trust.
Building your reputation as a courageous leader doesn’t necessarily mean making big, bold, game-changing moves. It happens every day, little by little, as you own your strengths, speak up, stand out, and dare to take appropriate risks. This highly engaging keynote gives you five practical ways to be a bit more daring every day—to become the courageous leader you want your boss to be.
Innovative Minds in a Digital World: Fostering a Fearless Tech-Driven Culture
While technology is a vital tool, it’s humanity that truly fuels innovation and solves complex problems. This keynote empowers managers to unlock what humans do best—connect and create. You’ll gain actionable strategies to dismantle the Fear of Speaking Up (FOSU) in tech-enriched settings, cultivating a culture where cutting-edge ideas and transparent communication are the norm.
This program is ideal for leaders who want practical ways to use technology better, by tapping into the ideas and best practices of every team member. Equip your team with the means to forge stronger connections and tackle problems more effectively and efficiently, utilizing their innate human capacity to imagine and realize the extraordinary, with technology in hand as your steadfast partner.
Courageous Cultures Collaboratory: How to Build a Culture of Innovation and Problem Solving
Elevate the innovative capacity of your organization in this cutting-edge 1/2-day or full-day leadership program. The Courageous Cultures Collaboratory is designed for experienced leaders eager for actionable solutions that revolutionize the workplace in a rapidly changing world.
The Courageous Cultures Collaboratory is more than just a learning experience—it’s an interactive journey that will challenge and equip you with research-based tools, best practices, and daily habits to lead a cultural transformation in your organization. By attending, you’ll not only gain invaluable insights but also practical, scalable solutions that will make work, work better for everyone.
This program is easily customizable for companies looking to apply these tools internally, or for associations and conferences bringing attendees together to learn practical ways techniques, and best practices to take back to their organizations.
Winning Well: Breakthrough Results Without Losing Your Soul
Do you ever wish your team had more energy, would get more done, or solve problems on their own? It’s tempting to demand more, tighten control, and micromanage to get more results out of your team…but there is a better way. WINNING WELL is a practical leadership strategy to achieve breakthrough results that last. Get results while keeping your team (and yourself) energized, motivated, and inspired. In this highly interactive keynote, you’ll learn six proven approaches to give you the courage and confidence to have more influence and impact, and practical tools to build high-performance, high-engagement teams.
The Accountability Advantage: Elevate Your Team’s Commitment through Greater Clarity
Do you feel like you’re constantly chasing after your team to get them to do what must be done? Are you frustrated and often ask yourself “Why can’t people just do their job?” Do you worry about losing team members if you hold them accountable? Maybe you’re exhausted and wondering if this whole “leadership thing” is worth it.
You can overcome these challenges and enjoy your work, and your team, and achieve remarkable results by mastering The Accountability Loop.
In this practical and highly interactive program, you’ll learn how to easily incorporate The Accountability Loop into everything you do: communicating and reinforcing clear expectations and aligning on a shared understanding of success; engaging in accountability conversations that create commitment; and celebrating outcomes. And you won’t just learn tools and techniques– you’ll leave with a specific plan for your team and your work.
