That People Thing

I don’t think we would have achieved the success we did without the determined, consistent, honest and challenging support that Blaire and her team brought to the project. Steve Hardy
Former CEO, AXA Personal Lines.

Through her books, Blaire shares thought-provoking ideas, inspiring readers to step up and drive change.

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Blaire Palmer Books

Leadership Change and the Future of Work

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Blaire Palmer is the authority on disrupting the future of leadership, provoking senior leaders to think more critically about the idea of work and leadership itself.

After starting her career as producer of the BBC’s Today programme, she took the leap from this safe and respected job to train as one of Europe’s first corporate coaches. Since then, she has worked with multinational corporations and organisations such as Mattel, Airbus, Roche Pharmaceuticals and the FA.

Blaire helps make sense of the perfect organisational storm of generative AI, hybrid working and the long tail of the pandemic, growing understanding of mental health, the rising cost of living and cost of supply, and global unrest.

As an expert keynote speaker, Blaire uses her bold and provocative perspective to bust myths about what it means to lead and to educate today’s leaders on how they can truly inspire their teams to step up and take on the challenges of operating in constantly changing times. Blaire leaves her audiences feeling stimulated by fresh ideas and empowered to rethink their approach to work.

Covering themes around attraction and retention, leading through change, the impact of AI on how we work, work trends of the future, emotional intelligence and communication, the importance of trust, hybrid working and remote leadership, Gen Zs in the workplace, mental wellbeing and how to lead in uncertain times, Blaire ensures the key messages of your event are reinforced and built upon in an entertaining, memorable, interactive and inspirational way. 

She is the author of four books on leadership and work: The Hyper-Creative Personality: How to Focus Your Ideas and Become the Most Successful Person You Know, The Recipe for Success: What Really Successful People Do and How You Can Do it Too, What's Wrong with Work: The five frustrations of work and how to fix them for good. Her 2024 book, Punks in Suits: How to lead the workplace reformation, is a provocative rallying cry for organisations to ask uncomfortable questions about how they work, and grapple with whether or not their approach is still fit for purpose in today’s world.

“Blaire offers a wealth of experience in her field, all relevant to today’s business demands, and coupled with an engaging, warm and thought- provoking delivery style, has given me and my colleagues some valuable insights and actions to take and make a positive difference!” - Kosta Christofi, Santander UK

“A very energizing, fresh, relevant, (even provoking), but still enthusiastic & positive presentation. A warm, shared show based on strong experience in the field. A real inspirational speaker!” - Bruno Meijer, Airbus

“Blaire’s interactive and engaging session on behaviour change was the perfect fit for our conference. Her fascination with leadership and change shone through and she presented our audience with an array of real take-home advice that resonated with everyone in the room.” - Luke Nichols, Editor edie.net (sponsors of Sustainability Live)

“Blaire's presentation was inspiring, relevant, fresh and fun. There was a great sense of collaboration at our Top 100 Leaders meeting today and that was, in no small way, down to the thought-provoking messages and enthusiasm that Blaire brought to the event. Just what we needed.” - Petar Cvetkovic, Chief Executive, DX Group

“Blaire has done a fantastic job. Not only does she engage the crowd during the live event, she’s also really got involved in tweaking the actual event design. She really has been a joy to work with. we would not hesitate to work with her again” - Sarah Scarth, founder Resonate EWvents

“Blaire captivated our audience in presenting her experience and advice with regard to empowering McCormick's staff to succeed and develop. She was upbeat, engaging and gave us confidence that we are on the right journey with regard to diversity in our company.” - Melanie Williams, VP Human Resources EMEA, McCormick UK Ltd

“Blaire Palmer was everything the EAIE wanted in a leadership speaker. In only 45 minutes she was able to turn everyone’s perceptions of leadership and management on its head. Blaire was extremely relevant and was able to clearly and simply get her message across to our international audience. She is a must have for any conference! Highly recommended!” - Nicole Hardaker, European Association for International Education (EAIE)

“Blaire Palmer gave insight to the core of what it takes to be a leader today. Blaire brought a sense of realism, humour and practicality to an energising session, leaving a deep impression on the audience.” - Ian Gregory, Head of Learning and Development at Foreign Commonwealth Office

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Leadership Change and the Future of Work

Speech abstract - PUNKS IN SUITS: HOW TO LEAD THE WORKPLACE REFORMATION

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The business environment has never been more challenging than it is right now, and senior leaders are the ones bearing the pressure and responsibility. Levels of trust in authority figures are as low as they’ve ever been. But what if we could turn every individual employee and contributor in an organisation into a leader?

Main Topics: Leadership | Motivation | Empowerment | Engagement | Hierarchy | Change Management | Organisational Culture

Disrupting the Victorian model of work - the hierarchy, the siloes, the risk aversion and being busy over being productive - may be the shot in the arm that a team needs to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Blaire can show your organisation how to empower individuals to go beyond being merely ‘team players’ to create a culture of Personal Leadership. This in turn will fill your organisation with motivated, engaged, and fundamentally collaborative cultures during times of change. The conventional models of topdown leadership are no longer enough for organisations to truly thrive, but if everyone taps into their own inner strength, creativity, sense of purpose and curiosity, the company will be able to weather any storm, together.

Blaire uses her extensive experience to propose inspiring but practical solutions to help audiences tap into their own inner leader and motivate their employees to do their best work every single day.

Key Takeaways:

  • Why it is no longer enough to have leadership at the top
  • How every contributor to an organisation can be their own best leader
  • How to meaningfully create a collaborative approach to deal with disruption and challenges
  • The link between empowered employees and loyal employees
  • Enabling individuals to understand their own personal contribution within an infrastructure
  • How to do away with egos in senior management to allow all employees to do their best work

The ideal audience: Organisations that have ‘tried everything’ to create an energised workforce postpandemic and are ready to do something different.

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Speech abstract - PUNKS IN SUITS: HOW TO LEAD THE WORKPLACE REFORMATION

Speech Abstract - A Brilliant Gamble: Busting the myths of change

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If there’s one thing we know by now, it’s that change is a constant. New challenges - from generative AI to a cost of living and supply crisis - are being thrown at us every day. If teams are not ready to meet this new future head-on, it is hard to see how they will survive in a challenging work landscape.

Main Topics: Leadership | Future of Work | Disruption | Technology | Future-Proofing | Work Culture | Change Management

Technology is revolutionising the landscape of work and business but that only makes your people a more valuable asset. And unless you understand people, you won’t know what to do with technology. Meeting disruption with an equally disruptive organisational mindset is key to pushing teams to reach their full potential.

Blaire will use this speech to challenge audiences to rethink their assumptions about both technology and people, as well as the role of the leader in creating organisations that are fit for the future.

Key Takeaways:

  • What teams need in order to thrive in uncertainty
  • The challenges and opportunities presented by disruptive technology
  • How to create a leadership culture that can weather the ever-changing workplace landscape

The ideal audience: Organisations that often find themselves on the back foot when new challenges arise.

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Speech Abstract - A Brilliant Gamble: Busting the myths of change

Speech Abstract - Seeking Expansiveness: Embracing Individuality

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Of course, inclusion is a huge buzzword right now and has never been so controversial. But what does it mean to your organisation? If it ends at the hiring stage, you won’t be creating thriving, loyal, motivated teams. You’ll simply be meeting a quota with no discernible benefit to your business or the clients you serve.

Main Topics: Diversity | Inclusion | Equality | Hybrid Working |Wellness | Culture | Employee Retention

Inclusion has to be about every individual bringing the unique parts of themselves to work, and using them to inform and enrich the work they’re doing for you every day. Whether that is leveraging the different perspectives and experiences of people at different stages of their life, from new Gen Z hires to women in midlife, or the unique knowledge brought by employees from different cultures to your own, Blaire brings her own personal experiences of navigating the world of work in different seasons of life, and in different challenging work environments, to challenge ideas about what diversity really means.

Blaire asks teams to consider: what if organisations harnessed this uniqueness, and created a working culture that encouraged employees to solve challenges through their expansiveness? In addition to this, Blaire knows it’s impossible to talk about inclusivity without dealing with the challenges of hybrid working and collaboration. Although leaders claim to want to embrace flexibility, there are unique challenges to leading a distributed team. Instead of getting caught up in the details of ‘two days in the office or three?’ Blaire offers holistic oversight to these collaborative working challenges that focus on harnessing that broader overview of individuals and company culture.

Blaire will inspire and energise your team to think about a future of work and leadership that enables everyone - with their own strengths and needs - to thrive for you.

Key Takeaways: 

  • How to approach diversity and inclusion as a gift to a workplace
  • Meeting people in the team in their uniqueness
  • Creating a culture that prioritises wellness in exchange for individuals doing their best work

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Speech Abstract - Seeking Expansiveness: Embracing Individuality

That People Thing

That People Thing

That People Thing.
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Berkshire
RG18 4NU

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That People Thing

That People Thing
74 Harts Hill Road
Thatcham
Berkshire
RG18 4NU

T. +44 (0)1249 454 117
M. +44 (0)7808 581 242
E. connect@thatpeoplething.com

Office hours:
Mon - Fri: 9am to 5.30pm