Margie Warrell

The Courage Gap
EMPOWERING BRAVER LEADERSHIP FOR BETTER OUTCOMES
In today’s volatile and fast-changing world, the greatest risk facing organizations is not external disruption—it’s fear that undermines decisions, narrows thinking, and stifles effective action. This keynote addresses this hidden barrier to growth, creativity, collaboration and strong decision making, challenging audiences to reset their relationship with fear, reframe risk through the larger lens. Combining cutting-edge research and global insights with compelling stories that connect head and heart, Margie moves beyond platitudes about the what and why of courage, delivering a practical roadmap to operationalize the how of courage – closing the gap between the potential we hold and the actions we take, transforming fear into a catalyst for bolder thinking, braver action and stronger outcomes.

Key Learnings Include:

Cultivate Courage: Harness the two key levers for cultivating courage – a learnable skill – regulating fear and emboldening ourselves to move forward anyway
Rethink Risk: Discern smart from reckless risk-taking amid complexity and uncertainty and identify longer term vulnerabilities created by ‘courage gaps’
Fail Right: Leverage a play-to-win mindset to embrace intelligent failure, accelerate learning, and harness the value in setbacks.
Lead With Courage: Anchor in “Self-Certainty” to reset discomfort and transform fear as a catalyst for growth.
Unleash Collective Courage: Build a culture that supports ‘loyal dissent’ and galvanizes common purpose around a bold vision for the future.
This keynote resonates with diverse audiences as Margie customizes stories and examples that resonate and inspire. It’s especially impactful for leaders aiming to cultivate a “courage mindset” within their organizations.

Additional Interactive Element:

To deepen engagement and actionable outcomes, Margie can incorporate her Courage Gap Quiz to gather real-time data on participants’ courage gaps. This interactive element provides valuable insights into collective opportunities that enhance impact.

Lead With Courage
YOU CAN’T LEAD FROM YOUR COMFORT ZONE
No organization can outperform its leaders over time. It’s why the #1 threat is never external but the fear that drives smart employees to play it too safe. Leaders who invite candor and encourage innovation without demonstrating vulnerability, normalizing dissent, and derisking ‘smart failure’ will fall short every time. Margie will embolden your leaders to lead from the inside out, building a ‘culture of courage’ that unlocks collective creativity and discretionary effort across your enterprise.

Learning objectives and audience outcomes:

Research into a ‘courage mindset’ and why it’s a force multiplier of talent
Harness ’emotional contagion’ to galvanize employees behind a bold vision with a big “Why”
What we get wrong about risk that makes us more vulnerable
Three ways to foster loyal dissent and harness constructive conflict
How to lead from self-certainty to make more effective decisions amid the unknowns
Identify the invisible ‘timidity tax’ of excess caution in your team/business
Accelerate learning and incubate innovation by scaling a play-to-win mindset

This program is ideal for leaders at all levels, from emerging to those at the top.

Falling Upward
TRANSFORM YOUR BIGGEST PROBLEMS TOWARD YOUR HIGHEST GROWTH
No one is immune to life’s hardships and heartaches, yet some people handle them better and emerge better off. This powerful keynote blends research in psychology, well-being, and spiritual traditions to reframe how you view and process your biggest problems, expanding your bandwidth to handle them better and transform them into catalysts for growth.

Weaving personal stories – including losing a brother to mental illness and supporting another to adjust to life with paraplegia – Margie brings evidence backed strategies to expand your audiences capacity for life, find the opportunities for growth, and grow into the highest that our toughest challenges always hold.

This program will teach you how to:

Mine the lessons failure holds to improve the future
Short-circuit stressful thinking, turning the psychology of fear into the physiology of courage
Four pillars to activate post-traumatic growth and can-do optimism
Lead from ‘self-certainty’ to thrive through change
Build micro-habits to turn stressors into cues for courage
Rescript the stories to get unstuck and bounce forward stronger

This program is for broad audiences, from faith groups to business groups.

Brave Women Rising
DOUBT YOURSELF LESS, BACK YOURSELF MORE & MAKE THE DIFFERENCE YOUR DIFFERENCE MAKES
When women are empowered to bring the full quota of their feminine leadership strengths to the table, it improves the decisions being made. Yet, despite progress, the gender gap persists. Drawing on her doctoral research in women’s leadership and decades of experience empowering women from diverse backgrounds, Margie weaves relatable and entertaining personal stories as a ball-dropping working mother raising four children amid multiple global relocations. This session provides actionable strategies to help women get off their own backs and make the difference their difference makes.

Learning objectives and audience outcomes:

Reset the relationship with power to ‘take charge while taking care’
Why courage precedes confidence and how to’ behave your way to believing’
Counter self-doubt and turn ‘imposterhood’ into a catalyst for growth
Navigate feminine double-binds to manage the backlash effect
Speak with authority to win followers and ignite action
Amplify the voice of other women, lifting as you climb

Can be customized for all women’s groups plus mixed audiences, championing men to lift women!