Keynote Descriptions

Building That Brain Muscle Takes Action and Practice – Developing a Growth Mindset
Embracing a growth mindset leads us to understand the value of the process. The process that creates greater engagement and perseverance. But it takes practice! When leaders create a growth-mindset environment steeped in “yet”, positive change happens.  A growth mindset often uncovers a person’s passion and talents. It embraces a desire to grow, learn and strive for new, different and stronger abilities. Understanding the difference between a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset gives us the capacity to recognize why some people wilt in the face of failure, while others thrive with challenges and learning from mistakes. With a desire to learn more, we recognize what are our trigger moments, those past experiences or current fears that prevent us from having a growth mindset.  We become aware of what our actions can be and how to practice for success.

SHINE! Being a Beacon of Light Through Your Actions
Being a leader when the water is calm is always going to be easier. You know the routine, the usual expectations and how to get the job done. Hopefully, you know what to expect of your staff, and they know what they can expect of you. However, it is during a storm that our leadership skills are tested. How can you SHINE and be a beacon of light that helps bring everyone together? It’s no longer good enough to hope that the agile few will work out the answers, while the rest just sit back. Now is the time to embrace the opportunity for each person to do the work. Together, let’s discuss how leadership is a VERB, not a noun.  What actions can you take that conveys a positive, strong and competent leader?  Learn the importance of Lori’s SHINE acronym, and how it will guide you – and your team members – to better embody leadership.

The Johnny Apple-seeds of Our Time; Planting the Seeds of Support
We all plant seeds; seeds of creativity, inspiration, leadership and support. Sometimes we receive the perfect conditions for our seeds to grow, other times there is just too much fertilizer, and things burn up. Whether or not we get to stick around and enjoy the ‘fruit’ of our labor or move on to sow seeds elsewhere, it’s important that our work is recognized. Join Lori in this humorous and insightful approach as we look at the reasons we “do what we do” and how to sow the seeds of support through our stories of success.

(Keynote or Workshop)
Recovery after Columbine; a Community Response
“This is a marathon, not a sprint.” Any community that has faced a traumatic event, be it natural disaster or man-made, understands that phrase. Following the tragic shootings at Columbine High School, not only did we quickly learn the meaning of that phrase, it was also important for every person, agency, faith organization and community entities to recognize their strengths and share those in order for healing and recovery to take place.

Additionally, there is personal capacity building that can take place with a community’s support and intentional practices. Lori will share how the tragic events of April 20, 1999 forced everyone to dig deep and recognize what can be done…together.

(High School or Middle School Assembly Keynote)
Remember Who You Are; Understanding the Power You Have to Make a Difference
The choices that you make, the activities that you engage in tells everyone around you what you believe about yourself. The question is, does it really reflect “who you are”? No matter what struggles you have in your life, you have the power to make a difference… in your life and in the life of others around you. The challenge to you is, will you do it?