Susan David, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and an award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist. Her #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Emotional Agility based on the concept Harvard Business Review heralded as a Management Idea of the Year and winner of the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award, describes the psychological skills critical to thriving in times of complexity and change. She is the CEO of Evidence Based Psychology, on the faculty at Harvard Medical School, a Cofounder of the Institute of Coaching (a Harvard Medical School/McLean affiliate), and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Thrive Global and Virgin Pulse.

WHO IS SUSAN?

Susan’s TED Talk on the topic went viral with over 1 million views in its first week of release. She is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and guest on national radio and television.

Named on the Thinkers50 global list of the top management thinkers, she is a sought-after keynote speaker and consultant, with clients that include the World Economic Forum, EY, United Nations, Google, Microsoft, NASDAQ, and many other national and multinational organizations. Her focus is on defining and executing effective strategy, especially in the areas of engagement, high-performance leadership, and culture change.

play button

As a speaker, Susan uses spoken stories and expressed emotion to help ideas take flight and drive positive personal and organizational change. Her keynotes combine academic credibility, real-world pragmatic experience, humor, and evocative storytelling to deliver powerful messages that can easily be applied. She routinely receives standing ovations.

She has a passion for keynote speaking and management consulting, and is a renowned executive coach, who applies her knowledge of emotions, human motivation and change to individuals and organizations. She frequently works in the areas of personal leadership, culture, engagement, and people strategy.

WHAT SUSAN SPEAKS ABOUT

Susan’s professional speaking draws on her unique background as an organizational psychologist with a PhD and postdoctoral studies in emotions and motivation, and on her extensive management consulting experience advising the leaders of global organizations on engagement, culture, leadership, and motivation. She has extensive experience speaking to audiences ranging from corporate boards to major company retreats with live audiences of up to 7000 people.

EMOTIONAL AGILITY

Simply put, Emotional Agility is Emotional Intelligence rebooted for today. Based on her more than twenty years of research, Susan shows that while emotionally agile people experience the same stresses and setbacks as anyone else, the key difference is they know how to:

  • Gain critical insight about situations and interactions from their feelings

  • Use this knowledge to adapt, align their values and actions

  • Make changes to bring the best of themselves forward.  

Drawing on her deep research, decades of expert consulting, and her own experience overcoming adversity after losing her father at a young age, Susan shows how anyone can thrive in an uncertain world by becoming more emotionally agile. Spoke with authority, wit, and empathy, she provides a roadmap for real behavioral change -- a new way of acting that will help audiences to reincorporate their most troubling feelings as a source of energy and creativity, and live the life they want.

The way we deal with our emotions shapes everything that matters: our actions, careers, relationships, health, happiness and organizations. Getting hooked by our thoughts, emotions and stories inhibits us from thriving. Emotional Agility is essential for success in all aspects of how we love, live, parent and lead. Susan David shares the powerful strategies you can undertake to cultivate this critical skill-set in life and work.

Emotional agility is a process that enables us to navigate life’s twists and turns with self-acceptance, clear-sightedness, and an open mind. The process isn’t about ignoring difficult emotions and thoughts. It’s about holding those emotions and thoughts loosely, facing them courageously and compassionately, and then moving past them to ignite change in your life.For example: Do we let our self-doubts, failings, shame, fear, or anger hold us back? Can we be determined, persevering toward key life goals, but just as importantly, have the insight and courage to recognize when these goals are not serving us, and adapt?

We had such an amazing experience! Thank you. I had a good feeling about her involvement from the beginning, and the outcome was better than I could have hoped for. She really reached our participants ‘in their hearts’.

Leadership Consultant, McKinsey & Company

The wisdom of Susan David's innovative insights is only made more impressive by its practicality. Her deep understanding of psychology is matched with clear, real-world steps to more effective leadership.

UNDP Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

Susan reminded us of how critical it is to recognize our feelings and to be emotionally agile. Susan connected with the audience in a powerful way with her ideas and personal stories. It meaningful to us to know that so many others around the world will have an opportunity to be informed and to be inspired.

Curator, TEDWomen

SUSAN IN ACTION

play button
play button