Libby Spears Educate Liberate Entertain

Leveraging Your Strengths and Building a Strengths Minded Team is the Key to Success

I am a TRUE BELIEVER in the power of Clifton Strengths and its ability to transform a leader, a team, and an  organization’s culture for the better. Strengths provides a shared language where every person can lead with PURPOSE, POWER, and POTENTIAL.

Since its introduction into the marketplace in 2000, more than 30 million people have taken a Clifton Strengths Assessment and are now a part of community that speaks strengths. The Stronger Together Program launched in 2020 with Edgewood ISD in the midst of a pandemic. That may seem like a strange time to do this work, but the Gallup Organization tells us that when a person leads with their strengths every day, they are less likely to report they experienced stress, fatigue, or burnout the previous day.

Strengths provides a strong foundation when there is a disruptive change and challenges arise.

I took my first Clifton Strengths Assessment in 2002 and was hooked. I love a good assessment as much as the next person, but this one was different. The science was solid and the premise a game changer: What would happen to our people, our teams, our culture if we focused on what is right with people instead of fixating on what is wrong with them? (Don Clifton the father of Strengths was certainly on to something!)

In this Keynote, I share how to Strengths can transform you, your team, your organization and ultimately your culture.

You will learn about spotting the CLUES TO TALENT as well as understand the power of a Stronger Together Team and what happens when every person can Name Claim and Aim their strengths. Be inspired by hear stories from other leaders who have successfully leveraged their strengths to go from
good to great. You leave feeling energized and motivated to, “Get gooder at what you are already good at…” (Sorry English majors.)

Ask any adult who knew me as a kid and I bet you a dollar to a donut that the word BRAT would come
up in their description. I was a brat. After A LOT of therapy and self reflection, I have come to
understand why and through this I came to see the angels that were sent to me along the way that
changed the course of my life. The most influential of all of these people was my principal, Bill Roach.
In this inspirational talk, the audience will hear how I learned what it means to be a leader at a very
early age and the lessons I took from this 25 year friendship.

Generations in the workplace continues to be a dynamic topic. Far too many people default to
stereotypes and generalizations when talking about the other generations, leading to frustration and
misunderstandings among their team. What if generational differences could be your organization’s
greatest strength? In this fun and informative keynote, the audience comes face-to-face with their
own generational misconceptions and replaces them with new ways of thinking and new ways of
doing.

The foundation of EVERY Bravo cc topic, this keynote is the perfect mix of education and inspiration.
Can a question be life changing? For ten years I have asked this question of myself daily and use it to
write my success plan for my personal and professional life. The audience will learn Plan Be strategies
that they can activate in their own lives.

Everyone wants to have stage presence. In this fun and humorous keynote the audience learns the
seven reasons most presentation miss the mark and what to do instead. Equal parts data and
anecdote, your audience will leave with ideas on how to create their presentation style that is
confident, courageous, credible, and connected.

Stop and consider your interactions with friends, family, and colleagues—how many stories are exchanged in any given day? You will likely note that you hear hundreds of stories a day. Have you ever stopped to consider the VALUE of these stories?

Story connects us, helps shape our reality, and gives meaning to everyday experiences. Through story we come to understand each other and empathize with one another’s experiences.

It is STORY that moves people.
It is STORY that bonds us.

You tell stories, but are you a GREAT storyteller?

In this Keynote, I share the POWER of story first by presenting a compelling BUSINESS CASE for becoming a better storyteller. Next I break story down into its pieces and parts, examining the inner workings of a story well told.  Through the examination of a great story, I also reveal my CAREFULLY CURATED LIST OF STORYTELLING PET PEEVES.

To wrap up our time, I ask you to join me around the campfire while I share with you my most asked for story: The time seven-year-old me was asked to tell a joke to an audience of an in studio taping of a game show.

Don’t miss the chance to improve your storytelling skills and meet me around the campfire. I’ll bring the knowledge, you bring the hot dogs and fixins’ for s’mores. 

“Help, this is hard,” says every leader I talk to. Life post 2020 has been challenging for leaders,
the pandemic brought to the surface a number of issues that had been simmering under the
surface for a long time: Engagement has plummeted and you struggle to understand what to do
to improve it; communication has broken down across the organization and people feel isolated
and overlooked; expectations feel unrealistic, leaving a workforce that is burned out and
demoralized.
And you have been asked to lead with confidence nonetheless.
What are you to do? Answer: Lead from the front.
Sadly, many leaders lead from the backside—self reflecting after the fact and scratching their
heads, asking, “What went wrong?” Or “Why am I struggling so much?” Shift to the front side
(planning for success) and watch as you feel more confident day-to-day.
As your confidence grows, your team also feels the impact of your confident leadership.
In this keynote, I share my framework to start leading from the front, designed to build and sustain
confidence, even when things are hard. This framework is the result of studying and working with
outstanding leader for the last 20 years. I keep copious notes on what works and what doesn’t
work. I have seen the difference that comes with a confident leader who is not afraid to do the
hard “stuff” that comes with leading others.
I share my stories, strategies and practices to help you plan every day for success + ideas to use in
the moment when things aren’t going the way you planned.