Keynotes that spark ideas
Keynote #1: Living Beyond Burnout: Unleashing the Power of Restoration and Recovery
Burnout can feel like running an endless marathon where the finish line keeps shifting further away. For many professionals, the demands of work, family, and societal expectations create a perfect storm of exhaustion and overwhelm. But burnout doesn’t have to define your life or your career.
In this empowering and high-energy keynote, we’ll put burnout into perspective, focusing on the unique challenges professionals face in today’s workplace. Drawing on insights from C-Suite executives and the latest research, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how burnout is intertwined with performance culture and gender expectations. We’ll explore practical strategies to break the stress cycle, informed by the work of Drs. Amelia and Emily Nagoski and the Reinvention Rest Stop: Living Beyond Burnout initiative.
Past Audiences: Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Amazon, SAS Championship Women’s Day, AENC, Blue Cross NC
Takeaways: Each participant will gain:
A clear identification of how and why burnout occurs
Three essential filters to help you decide when to say yes, no, or not now
Immediate actions you can take to interrupt the stress cycle and prioritize your well-being
Testimonial: “Jes Averhart's Living Beyond Burnout talk came closer to addressing the workplace culture issues at my company than anyone ever has. Despite some of us being in shock at hearing such truth, I can wholeheartedly say we needed that. A lot more people need to hear it, too. There’s a lot of work to do.” - Anita, Broadcasting Executive
*Two versions of this keynote are available—one for a mixed gender audience, and one for women-only, tailored to the unique challenges women face.
Keynote #2: Meet the Fab 4 - Cracking the Code of High Performing Teams
Have you ever noticed that you find certain aspects of your role at work energizing… and other aspects absolutely exhausting? You look over at your coworker happily working away and wonder…how does she do it? Well, the logic puzzle might be simpler than you think.
Enter the Fab Four.
In every successful work ecosystem, you’ll find a combination of four types of role players. All four bring unique perspectives and offerings. The trick is to find the harmony that ensures each person is actually playing to their strengths. In this session, we'll take a look at the contributors necessary to support extraordinary results.
Past Audiences: The Kroger Company, Durham Technical Community College, C.L.I.M.B., NCPMI, Entrepreneur Organization (EO), ACECNC
Takeaways: Each participant will:
Learn the four types of contributors essential for high performing teams
Identify which one of the four contributors they are and which key roles might be missing
Better understand the key success drivers in each lane of influence
Testimonial: “Jes’s Fab 4 session set the groundwork needed for me to have a productive discussion with the CEO of our startup about our roles. Now that we clearly see and value our respective roles as disruptor and creator, we have crafted a more productive work environment and work flow between the two of us. All told… I was able to define and implement a role that is more intuitive to my nature… a win for myself, and a win for the company, too.” - Gerty, EO Forum
Keynote #3: Unplugging from the Matrix: Freeing Your Team from Performance Culture Addiction
Ryan Ray, President and CEO of Jobs for Life once said to me, “Most people are living their lives as if they’re always preparing for a big test.”
This ‘addiction’ to performance culture—i.e. the pressure to perform in the workplace—is often overlooked when examining problems with team morale, staff retention and talent attraction. This workshop addresses the root causes of performance culture addiction, including ways leaders can break free from this addiction—for themselves and their teams.
Past Audiences: Palo Alto Networks, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, The Kroger Company
Takeaways: Each participant will:
Understand what performance culture addiction is and its impact on workplace culture
Identify if they themselves are a performance culture addict or healthy high performer
Learn how to set their teams free from performance culture addiction
Testimonial: “Such an insightful session by Jes Averhart hosted by Palo Alto Networks Womens Network Community! JUST the real talk I needed as a new mom working from home full-time 👩💻!
It's so easy to fall into the performance culture trap and I often catch myself saying yes to unimportant things b/c I'm moving a mile a minute!” –Session participant, Palo Alto Networks
Jessika N., National Sales Manager, Pebble Beach Company
“The Opening Session speaker (Jes Averhart) at The Beyond Collection Women’s East Coast Summit was AWESOME, and she really set the tone for the multi-day event. She started with a natural icebreaker and openness, and brought immediate great energy to the group. It was the best summit I’ve attended yet. No cliquiness, and everyone was open and engaging; it was great.”
