Speaking
A leadership keynote with an unusual proving ground behind it.
Thirty years running leadership development inside Fortune 50 companies. Thirty-nine days on Survivor with no authority over anyone. A room gets the story — and a practical framework it can use the following Monday.
Keynote topics
Three talks, each tailored to the room.
Leading Without Authority
Most managers depend on people who don't report to them. On Survivor nobody reports to anyone — and the people you're competing against decide whether you win. This talk takes what worked on the island and what works in a matrixed organization, and shows they're the same four things.
The room leaves with
- Why relationships have to be built before you need them
- How to create value nobody assigned you — and become hard to remove
- Reading a room before speaking into it
- Why trust is spent, not stored, and how to keep the ledger healthy
Turning Challenges Into Opportunities
The talk I gave at TEDx. Setbacks — the small daily ones and the ones that change the direction of a career — are where leaders are actually made. How you respond decides how the story plays out, and the response can be learned.
The room leaves with
- A practical way to reframe a setback in the moment
- How to lead a team through a disappointment without losing it
- A personal plan for the next challenge, before it arrives
Thriving Through Change
Nobody likes change, and every organization is going through it. Drawing on culture and change programs that moved real business results — including a financial services firm's growth from $4.79 billion to $5.16 billion in assets — this talk is about staying effective while the ground moves.
The room leaves with
- Why people resist change, and what actually lowers the resistance
- How to keep a team productive through uncertainty
- How to shape what comes next rather than wait for it
Watch
Speaker reel
Four minutes from a keynote at IFMA in Orlando.
Keynote · SHRM Missouri
Turning Challenges Into Opportunities · TEDx
Medical AllStars Conference · Orlando
Formats
From a keynote to a full day.
Keynote
45–60 minutes for a full audience. Opening or closing sessions, leadership summits, company meetings.
Keynote + breakout
The keynote, followed by a smaller working session where managers apply the framework to their own situation.
Half-day workshop
Deeper work with a leadership group, with assessments and practice. Often booked alongside a keynote.
Every talk starts with a planning call so the content fits your audience, your theme and what you want people to do differently afterwards.
Stages
Where I've spoken.
- SHRM Missouri State ConferenceKeynote and pre-conference workshop
- H&R Block National Convention3,000 franchisees
- TEDxFreedomHighSchoolTurning Challenges Into Opportunities
- GBTA South FloridaChapter meeting
- Medical AllStars Conference, OrlandoKeynote
- IFMA, OrlandoKeynote
- Florida Business Travel AssociationKeynote
- Orlando HealthSpeaking engagement
From event organizers
What the people who booked me say.
“Carolyn's candid style and humor won over the packed house of Human Resources professionals the moment she began speaking. Both her keynote and breakout session got such high ratings. If you get a chance to bring her into your organization or conference, do it before someone else books her.”
“She captured the attention of her audience right from the start. Carolyn was so easy to work with and she tailored her material to meet our specific needs. Definitely a speaker I would book again.”
“Whether it is 20 tax professionals in a small setting or 3,000 franchisees at a national convention, Carolyn is able to tailor her message in a way that is compelling, engaging and fun.”
“You were simply fantastic, funny and motivating. We've received amazing feedback. They loved the way you tied your experience on Survivor to the business world.”
About the Survivor story
Thirty-nine days with no authority over anyone.
I finished as runner-up on season 30 of CBS's Survivor, the oldest player in the cast. It's the backbone of the Leading Without Authority keynote — and it's more useful than a victory lap would have been.
Planning an event?
Tell me the date, the audience and what you'd like people to leave with, and I'll confirm availability and suggest the right talk.