Michelle Ray

Business and Leadership Keynote Speaker

Call Now: 1-877-773-2561
Book Michelle

Self-Leadership

The Power of Positive Communication at Work and in Life

by

 

Dilbert, my silly slammer stress buster toy, sits on my desk, vying for my attention as soon as I walk into my office. I enjoy his “rant” each time I slam him, although he only has three sayings: “Get out of my cubicle!”, “that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”, and “You want it when?”

Dilbert came into my life long after I left my last full-time job working for one of “those” bosses we’ve all experienced in our lives, but his cubicle admonition echoes my own then-daily internal rants at the woman I named “Attila the Hun.” As soon as I started working for Phyllis, I knew that I had made a mistake. Her overbearing presence was foreboding and intimidating, her steely glare and tight-lipped smirk (replete with hot pink lipstick) rendered her a force to be reckoned with. [Read more…] about The Power of Positive Communication at Work and in Life

Leaders have a responsibility to Educate and be Educated

by

 

There’ll never be a day where we can say we know it all. And the responsibility to continue our learning, continue to educate ourselves, and be educated by others has never been greater. we’re in an environment today where so much information is available in a split second.

So, sometimes we feel like it’s hard to keep up. But our own experiences are also learning experiences. And we can share those experiences with others, because people are craving knowing about what it takes to be successful in their careers, in their businesses, in their lives.

So we are all life long learners, and we all contribute to the conversation. And remember, it was Eric Hoffer who once said, “The learners shall inherit the Earth, whilst the learned will continue to live in a world that no longer exists.”

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXfXBtCZOY4&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Lead with the Heart

by

 

Are you a leader who cares about long-term results? And when I say long-term results, I’m not just talking about the bottom line and having a healthy bottom line. I’m talking about being a leader who really takes the time and recognizes that effort and hard work that goes into achieving great results, that it’s okay to have setbacks.

It’s okay to make mistakes, and it’s okay to not just be checking all the boxes to see whether or not you’re covering what needs to be done but also that you have your eye on the future, that you’re conscious of being that visionary and that it’s okay if, perhaps, you don’t necessarily have the results you want in the short term but that all those setbacks will ultimately lead to an extraordinary long-term payoff, and it may not necessarily only be profitability.

It can be the way that your team responds to you, that they feel a part of the culture, and this is all because long-term results are also associated with building trust. We can’t automatically get our team to trust us. It takes time for them to really genuinely believe you as a leader. So all of that will pay huge dividends as long as you are focused on being the absolute best that you can be, the best genuine, caring, authentic leader that you can be.

This article is a transcript of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N0huZf8w28&feature=youtu.be on YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

by

This article was originally published on September 7, 2016, and has been updated.

Do you remember your first encounter with a passionate leader?

The reality is that any leader can be passionate…if they know what to do.

But first, let’s look at why this is so important. [Read more…] about Passionate Leadership: 12 Key Traits That Distinguish The Best From The Rest

Key Leadership Traits: The ability to Take Risks

by

SHRM defined one of the most important competencies in leading organizations as taking risk. The ability to risk. Without question, we want to be conscious of taking calculated risk. There is a difference between taking extraordinary risk and taking calculated risks. What kind of a risk taker are you? If we don’t take risks, we simply stand still. Of course today, it’s impossible to move forward without taking some kind of risk. That involves of course being able to let go of the fear and trust yourself. Trust in who you have around you. Trust in your decisions. Trust in your decision-making ability that you are able to take that next step.

Some of the risks we take may seem overwhelming initially, but once you’ve taken that risk and you’ve lived to see the result, you realize that what you actually did will give you the energy to continue to take risks. Being a risk taker doesn’t necessarily mean you are the risk taker extraordinaire, but you have an ability to embrace your fears, move through them and take the next step to take the risk.

This article is a transcript from Key Leadership Traits: The ability to Take Risks YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Leading Self: Developing Adaptability

by

Leadership Competencies is all about honing your ability to be adaptable, to be flexible. Today, I would say more than any other time, we are seeing the pace of change accelerating and so of course, we need to be flexible. We need to be adaptable, and along with being adaptable, we need to be willing to be flexible. There is no room today to stand still.

So, how adaptable are you to move with the pace of change, to recognize that things are happening outside of yourself faster than you can even imagine, faster than your business can even keep up with at times. So, if you are willing to be adaptable, and if you are willing to remain flexible, then you are in a position to teach other to do the same. You are in a position to be able to transcend change and you are able to remain on top of ever changing business dynamics and where your customers are going.

So, remaining flexible, is that you? Remaining adaptable, is that you? Because that is what we need to do as one of the core competencies to lead yourself.

This article is a transcript from Leading Self: Developing Adaptability YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

The impact of a Stable Personal Life on Leadership Ability

by

A key characteristic of great executive is to have a stable personal life, a balanced life. You may think to yourself, how realistic is that? Well, the best executives recognize that burnout is not the optimum state. They know how important it is to take time for themselves, to take care of themselves, to prioritize in their life the most important things: family, health, personal health, mental health, physical health, all the things that make them most productive. It’s not about working ourselves 14, 15 hours a day. It’s about realizing that the more balanced our lives are, the more effective we can be, the greater the difference we can make to our people at work and at home. So to be that great executive, we sometimes need to take an honest look in the mirror and see what needs to change, and if that’s you, the change can start right now.

This article is a transcript from The impact of a Stable Personal Life on Leadership Ability YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Leading Self: Increasing Your Capacity To Learn

by

It was Eric Hoffer who once said that “…the learners shall inherit the earth, whilst the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

What an incredibly highly relevant statement that is. I love it, because it’s all about the ability to remain open, to see yourself as a lifelong learner. It makes sense that as a leader, there will never be a day where we should say that we know it all. How can that be possible when we remain open to learning, we will become better leaders, we will become sought after leaders in our organization. We will remain humble, and we will be seen as people who are sponges, who are always willing to grow.

Today, with the pace of technological change, and the speed of change, it is essential that we remain open to being a lifelong learner. Do you see yourself that way? Because that is one of the critical components to be able to lead yourself.

This article is a transcript from Leading Self: Increasing Your Capacity To Learn YouTube.

(Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

The Usual Suspects: Three Reasons Why Difficult People Win… And What You Can Do About It

by

“She’s not happy unless everyone around her is panicked, nauseous or suicidal.” One of the unforgettable lines from Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) describing her boss, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada”. Fortunately, Andy realized that she didn’t need to play her boss’s game, refused to be a doormat and ultimately rose above Miranda’s outrageously dysfunctional behavior. Not only did she gain her respect, she learned to respect herself, succeeded in detaching from the drama and set impenetrable boundaries. Sadly, the same cannot be said for many individuals who work with difficult people. How are they able to push every “hot” button with ease? Why do they win? And what can be done to minimize their negative impact on morale, productivity and workplace cultures? [Read more…] about The Usual Suspects: Three Reasons Why Difficult People Win… And What You Can Do About It