Choose the Right Speaker
Dr. Jessica Metcalfe is an award-winning international speaker and best-selling author, recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2023. Her diverse career includes operations management at Nestlé Canada, owning a rock 'n' roll music school, practicing dental oncology, and serving as Education Director at a leading cancer center. Currently, she works part-time in private practice and manages two clinics while speaking globally on leadership development. Driven by personal experience, Dr. Jessica focuses on improving workplace dynamics, emphasizing emotional intelligence, impostor syndrome, and burnout. Her best-selling book, Speak Kindly, You’re Listening , guides leaders in navigating their dialogues to enhance organizational culture.
Learn more about Dr Jessica's story here.
Keynotes and Workshops
Programs are customized to meet the needs of the organization.
Include:
- A pre-engagement call
- 30-90 minute live session
- An unlimited number of seats
- An optional Q&A
Include:
- A pre-engagement call
- Length of time dependent on organization needs (from 1 hour to full day workshops)
- # of seats vary with workshop
- Q&A built in
- Interactive components throughout: brain training exercises*
* What are brain training exercises? These are workshop exercises to improve mental performance for the individual and team. Digging deep means doing the work individually and together. That is how you start to enact long-lasting change.*
All Topics
There are 3 pillars to Dr. Jessica's workshops: Confidence, Communication and Culture, the 3C's. Each pillar can be chosen as an independent keynote or workshop OR they can be combined. During the pre-engagement call, we can pinpoint your organization's needs.
Am I Good
Enough?
Confidence
Self-doubt is normal but shouldn't hold you back. Gain insights on impostor syndrome and perfectionism and the negative impact it has on leaders and teams.
What the Hell is
Wrong With You?
3 C's
Being a leader isn't easy. Build an engaged leadership that retains and builds the team, improves productivity and increases sales revenue.
Why Do I Feel
Like Crap?
Confidence | Culture
It's been a hell of a couple of years which feels like decades. Address the implications of burnout caused by stress associated with today’s modern lifestyle.
Did You
Say Something?
Communication
Every single person wants to feel seen, heard, and understood. Learn effective communication skills that help you express your thoughts and vision with clarity.
The Impostor Syndrome Epidemic: The Truth and The Deception
Confidence
A lot of people talk about impostor syndrome but aren't sharing what's actually going on. There is more then just self-doubt and feeling like a fraud.
The Intersection of Burnout & Success: Work-Life Balance Is A Scam
3 C's
There is no true work-life balance but you also don't need to be hustling. This isn't your quick fix magical equation that will make you feel successful; it's more than that.
Speak Kindly, You're Listening
Confidence | Communication
Have you ever thought of how you speak to yourself? The words you choose? The tone of voice? The pitch or volume? How you choose to speak to yourself has a profound impact on your identity and worth.
Speak Kindly, They're Listening: Building Confidence, Communication and Culture
3 C's
What's just as crucial as meeting client demands? It's the time invested in honing your team and leadership skills.
"Am I Good Enough?"
Have you ever felt that if you took one more course, or had that specific degree, or even that right client, you would feel that much more confident? Do you question or underestimate your abilities? Do you struggle to leave work at work and find that it follows you home? Are you waking up in the middle of the night in a panic or having trouble sleeping because you can't stop those racing thoughts? Here's the thing: you're successful, but you don't feel it or believe it. The pressure you put on yourself is immense and you compare yourself to others and wonder, "What am I doing wrong? Am I good enough?"
Dr. Jessica has asked all of these questions too and now teaches others why it happens, what is happening and how to make changes. Time to understand the psychology, behaviours and inner voice of the high achiever.
Learning Objectives
- Identify the difference between self-doubt and imposter syndrome
- Gain tangible skills to break down self-sabotaging traits
- Discover ways to help team members improve their inner narrative
- Explore the negative aspects of perfectionism causing increased stress levels
- Define your executive presence by changing how you communicate to yourself
- Learn to use practical tools to identify and analyze your current skills and personal values without self-sabotaging future growth and career opportunities
- Assess and create your personal career goals and roadmap with certainty, boldness and grit
Who Should Take This?
- All high achievers (in leadership roles and team members)
- High achieving, high performers who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
"What The Hell Is Wrong With You?"
The hustle and grind work culture that we’ve become accustomed to has churned out people feeling under-appreciated and over-worked. People are questioning if their career is even worth it. They’re beginning to question if it’s worth their mental and physical health.
In this open and raw discussion, Dr. Jessica breaks down effective leadership and communication styles, ways to improve workplace culture and ways to improve your quality of life.
Learning Objective
- Explore a new way of looking at your leadership, your organization, and the environment in which it operates
- Gain tangible skills to increase individual and group performance, productivity and confidence
- Unpack how trust acts as a vital component for high performing teams and is developed through meaningful communication and psychological safety
- Explore worry, stress and anxiety while preventing workplace burnout and retaining a high-performance team
- Investigate what separates high performing teams (and high performing humans) from everyone else
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders (supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- High potential employees who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
"Why Do I Feel Like Crap?"
It's been a hell of a couple of years which feels like decades. You notice you're waking up in the middle of the night stressing about a conversation that was had, a meeting to come or deadlines approaching. You may even notice things that don't usually stress you out, are causing more anxiety and overwhelm. It feels as if you can't catch a break and as you hold your team and yourself together, all you want is someone to tell you, "You're doing a good job and it's going to be okay." As we slowly move into a post-pandemic era, it's time to bring to light the importance of talking about burnout, being busy and feeling blech. Stop struggling to create a work-life balance and re-think your approach to have more energy, freedom and enjoyment each day.
Learning Objectives
- Address the implications of burnout caused by stress associated with today’s modern lifestyle
- Design a framework to proactively manage your energy before overwhelm flows into other areas of life
- Learn how to spot when stress is building and decide when it’s time to re-adjust your strategy to improve self-care
- Manage stress around relationships, decision making, daily habits
- Identity how to detach from work, improve self-care, enjoy interests and playtime to achieve work/life integration
- Investigate what separates high performing teams (and high performing humans) from everyone else
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders (supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- High potential employees who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
"Did You Say Something?"
Every single person wants to feel seen, heard, and understood. It’s not only important to learn how to communicate and communicate your thoughts and vision, but it is just as important to hear what others on your team are saying. Empathetic and actively listening is a communication skill. Yet, it is widely underestimated when leaders are placed in high-stress, high-performing, high-stake situations. It goes beyond simply hearing the words of another but also seeking to understand the meaning and intent behind them. This skill is the foundation of a successful conversation in any setting–whether in the boardroom, at business lunches or in performance reviews.
Learning Objective
- Learn how to create deeper relationships through psychological safety, actively listening and mindful communication
- Establish new ways to confront and connect with others that hold opposing views and ideas by asking open-ended questions to encourage further responses
- Determine how to identify a trusted/relevant network of peers, coaches, mentors and sponsors to assist in your career development
- Discover why “The Great Resignation” and “Quiet quitting” are happening to gain a clear understanding of connection, humanity, and care
- Tap into high-performing teams by listening to understand rather than responding with immediate advice
- Investigate what separates high performing teams (and high performing humans) from everyone else
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders (supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- High potential employees who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
The Impostor Syndrome Epidemic: The Truth and The Deception
A lot of people talk about impostor syndrome but aren't sharing what's actually going on. "Unleash your true potential." "Be authentic and be you." "Own your success and power." Yes, these are all great affirmations but a mantra isn't going to help you. Let's talk about the science, psychology and behaviours around impostor syndrome. It's more than just self-doubt and feeling like a fraud. Learn about the truths and the deceptions that society and social media are portraying. And no, you don't have to have impostor syndrome to learn about the truth and the deception behind it all.
Learning Objectives
- Define impostor syndrome and impostor phenomenon
- Identify the origin of impostor syndrome for you the high achiever by breaking down gender stereotypes, society and culture expectations and upbringing
- Evaluate the 5 different impostor types and experiment with helpful tips
- Take a turn around the impostor cycle (or what I like to call the high-achiever with a loud inner critic cycle) and learn the 6 checkpoints to get you out of the cycle
- Investigate the difference between impostor syndrome and self-doubt
- Rewrite your inner narrative by analyzing 4 steps to take you from inner gremlin to inner wise one
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders and team members (inclusive supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- High potential employees who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
The Intersection of Burnout and Success: Work-Life Balance Is A Scam
Welcome to a paradigm-shifting presentation that cuts through the noise. No more sugar-coating or clichés about work-life balance; it's time to face the harsh reality of burnout and its impact on your success, your business and your team.
You notice you're waking up in the middle of the night stressing about a conversation that was had, a meeting to come, month end financials or deadlines approaching. You may even notice things that don't usually stress you out, are causing more anxiety and overwhelm. It feels as if you can't catch a break and as you hold your team and yourself together, all you want is someone to tell you, "You're doing a good job and it's going to be okay." As we slowly navigate this post-pandemic era, it's time to bring to light the importance of talking about burnout, being busy and feeling blech all while trying to reach the summit of success.
In this engaging presentation, Dr. Jessica debunks the work-life balance myth while describing what’s truly going on at the intersection of burnout and success that has left countless leaders and teams feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated.
The truth: Dr. Jessica learned the hard way that work-life balance is a scam and then watched her colleagues spiral too. Being busy, thriving on goals and reaching 'success' didn't provide ‘fulfillment’. Instead, it came with finding it hard to relax, always feeling guilty for taking a break and heading into burnout more than once. Burnout doesn’t have to be a badge of honour nor should overworking to the point of exhaustion be praised and glamorized. There is no work-life balance for the high performing company if your success and happiness are always after the next goal.
Learning Objective
- Identify the causes and early signs of burnout within today's modern lifestyle and articulate how these factors impact their pursuit of success
- Develop a personalized self-care and stress management plan, integrating effective coping strategies to prevent and manage burnout
- Analyze the influence of societal and cultural expectations on career goals and formulate practical approaches to balance success with overall well-being
- Apply strategies to proactively address "The Great Resignation" and "Quiet Quitting," fostering a resilient mindset to navigate challenging professional transitions
- Demonstrate self-compassion and boundary-setting skills, establishing health work-life integration to sustain long-term success and well-being
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders (supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- High potential employees who will likely enter a leadership role in the next year
Speak Kindly, You're Listening
Have you ever thought of how you speak to yourself? The words you choose? The tone of voice? The pitch or volume? Just as you use different voices when speaking to a child, parent, or lover, have you noticed you use a different voice when you speak to yourself?
Dr. Jessica heard her voice say on repeat: "I'm not good enough," "I'm not worth it," "What is wrong with me?" and used them as a way to motivate herself, until those words broke her. That inner voice belittled her and shouted insults. She didn't understand how that same voice took care of cancer patients and others but chose to call her names.
This workshop unveils strategies to untangle the complexities of your inner voice. You will unravel the threads of imposter syndrome, perfectionism, burnout, and that haunting inner critic, and illuminate the interconnections among them.
Remember, if you wouldn't say it to a friend or loved one, why is it okay to say to yourself?
Learning Objectives
- Unraveling Imposter Syndrome: Dissect the roots of imposter syndrome, recognize its manifestations, and develop strategies to navigate its grip on your self-belief.
- Confronting Perfectionism: Explore the downsides of perfectionism and its connection to your inner voice. Develop techniques to release yourself from its unrelenting demands.
- Exploring the Burnout Link: Identify burnout's impact on your inner dialogue and vice versa. Acquire tools to manage stress, cultivate balance, and restore well-being.
- Taming the Inner Critic: Confront and disarm your inner critic's negative influence. Transform it into a constructive force that nurtures your growth and aspirations.
Who Should Take This?
- High achievers seeking liberation from self-doubt and a critical inner voice
- Individuals transitioning from self-sabotage to self-empowerment
- Professionals aspiring to align their inner dialogue with their outward accomplishments and embody authentic confidence
*based off of Dr. Jessica's best-selling book: Speak Kindly, You're Listening*
Speak Kindly, They're Listening: Building Confidence, Communication and Culture
What's just as crucial as meeting client demands? It's the time invested in honing your team and leadership skills. For decades, activities like meetings, performance reviews, confidence-building, empathetic communication, and culture development have been brushed aside as mere 'fluff'—the 'soft skills' that often take a back seat amid business priorities. Instead, what was curated was fear-based and shame-based leadership or no leadership at all. Here's the game-changer: mastering these 'fluff' elements is your secret weapon to prevent organizational challenges and build a high-performance team.
Ready to unravel the intricacies of team communication, group performance, and organizational culture? Dive into the significance of clarity, confidence, communication, and culture. This course is not just your survival guide but a launching pad for you to develop, grow, and thrive in the dynamic landscape of today's professional world—business in the 21st century.
Learning Objective
- Foster confidence and autonomy within leadership and team by defining and applying strategies for navigating burnout and improving engagement
- Illustrate advanced communication techniques, emphasizing management of difficult conversations, setting clear expectations and promoting psychological safety
- Analyze the impact of culture on team dynamics, proposing strategies to cultivate a positive and high-performance work environment
Who Should Take This?
- All leaders (supervisors, managers, directors, senior directors, VP levels, C-suite) who manage 2 employees or more
- All teams (of all sizes), group work included