Natalie Johnson

Dare to Lead

Embracing Courageous Leadership

Based on the groundbreaking research of Dr. Brené Brown, Dare to Lead™ is a transformational experience in courageous leadership. Guided by a certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, participants explore the four skill sets of courage: rumbling with vulnerability, living into values, BRAVING trust, and learning to rise. Through interactive storytelling, reflection, and skill-building, you will gain tools to have tough conversations, build deeper trust, lead with integrity, and rise stronger after setbacks. This experience invites participants to replace armor with grounded confidence, and to lead with more courage, clarity, and heart.

Workplace culture isn’t a perk; it’s a power source. When shaped with intention, culture becomes the invisible engine behind high performance, deep belonging, and lasting retention. But too often, culture is left to chance. Organizations and teams want a better culture, but they don’t know where to start and specifically, what to do tomorrow. In this interactive session, we turn culture into something you can see, influence, and sustain. Anchored in our CultureJourney™ framework, Natalie explores how to elevate energy, prioritize connection, and choose courage, so your culture supports the outcomes that matter most. Whether you're just starting out or refining what’s already in place, this session helps you design and nurture culture intentionally with clarity, strategy, and purpose. This keynote includes a copy of the book, Leading the Culture Journey. 

Powerful communication starts from within. Before we ever speak a word, our mindset, emotional patterns, and internal narratives shape how we show up. In this reflective and energizing session, participants will examine their “inner operating system” to uncover what’s helping, or hindering, their ability to connect, communicate, listen, and lead with clarity. Through practical tools and real-life examples, this session builds the foundation for more grounded, confident, and courageous communication … even in high-stakes moments.

Truthful, kind communcation is the heartbeat of a strong culture, but when conversations get tough, fear, avoidance, or defensiveness often take the lead. This session equips the audience with the tools and courage to navigate those high-stakes moments with clarity and care. Building on the inner mindset work, or standing strong on its own, this keynote focuses on the outer skill set: how to say what needs to be said in a way that strengthens trust and connection. The audience will practice how to speak hard truths, reduce emotional reactivity, and build relationships grounded in empathy, candor, and courageous honesty.

Many teams struggle with silence, hesitation, and unspoken concerns. Ideas go unshared, questions go unasked, and people hold back, especially when the stakes feel high. Over time, this lack of openness undermines learning, inclusion, and performance, even on teams filled with capable and committed people. This keynote explores how psychological safety creates an environment where people can speak up, take risks, and fully contribute.  Participants will gain a clear understanding of what psychological safety is (and what it is not), why it is essential to healthy team culture, and how everyday behaviors and signals either strengthen or erode it. Through research, stories, and practical tools, participants will assess their current team environment and identify concrete actions they can take to positively influence psychological safety, regardless of role or title. This keynote comes with a copy of the book, "Leading the Culture Journey" for every audience member. This allows the audience to actively continue applying what they've learned at work and at home. 

Change is constant ... and exhausting. But with the right mindset and tools, it becomes a catalyst for clarity, growth, and connection. In this interactive session, Natalie explores the latest research on how change is happening faster than we can humanly adapt and what to do about it. The audience will learn how to shift from chaos to clarity, support yourself and others through uncertainty, and create steady ground even when the future feels shaky. This keynote comes with a copy of the book, "Leading the Culture Journey," so the audience can continue their learning together and actively apply what they've learned with their teams at work and at home. 

In today’s fast-paced and emotionally demanding world, the way we relate to stress can either drain us or drive us. This energizing and eye-opening session flips the script on traditional stress management, showing how stress, when understood and harnessed, can fuel performance, deepen connection, and build lasting resilience. Backed by research and packed with practical tools, this session challenges the idea that stress is something to avoid, and offers a smarter, more empowered way to work with it. Participants don't just learn about resilience, they practice it. Through real-time reflection and application, they will leave with a new relationship to stress, greater confidence in navigating challenges, and practical strategies they can use immediately in work and life. 

In today’s nonstop world, the real competitive edge isn’t time, it’s energy. When we learn to manage and elevate our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy, everything changes: we perform better, feel more balanced, and contribute to a healthier, more connected workplace. This energizing and interactive session challenges the myth that burnout is just part of modern life and replaces it with practical tools for showing up fully, with intention and energy. You’ll walk away with fresh insight, science-backed strategies, and a renewed ability to elevate and replenish energy, not just for yourself, but for your team. 

The importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace has become a significant topic for forward-thinking organizations. If a person doesn’t have a high level of emotional intelligence, their IQ or work ethic will only take them so far. The audience will:

• Define emotional intelligence
• Learn at least three new practices for managing their emotional energy for the benefit of themselves and others around them.
• Learn at least three new practices for better understanding the emotional states of other people.
• Learn about the connection of emotional intelligence to mental health.

Research from the field of organizational psychology suggests that the most important key to bringing our best selves to the workplace, even in times of demanding change, is to put our egos in the backseat and lead with vulnerability and empathy. This session will offer important insights into the role of vulnerability and empathy in today’s changing workplace and guide participants as they identify ways to practice both. The audience will:

• Define psychological safety and understand the relationship between vulnerability and empathy.
• Create an internal navigation system for themselves and understand how vulnerability and empathy are necessary.
• Re-define empathy and use it in a tough conversation that requires vulnerability