David  Burkus Profile Picture

Keynote SpeakerDavid Burkus

Leadership & Teamwork Expert, Internationally Renowned Keynote Speaker, Bestselling Author

One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration. A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and... Read More

Biography

One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration.

A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked multiple times as one of the world’s top business thought leaders. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings.

A former business school professor, David Burkus now works with leaders from organizations across all industries, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA. David’s keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening, they’re evidence-based and immensely practical–offering leaders at all levels a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately.

"The team and I appreciated all David did to understand our challenges and tailor his talk to meet the needs of our workforce. David provided us with tips and practices we can easily implement." NASA
“We loved David’s presentation and delivery. He’s a genius. He paid attention to everything and incorporated it into his presentation.” SACRS
“David got rave reviews.” NOSCO
“David was awesome and extremely engaged with our group. We really enjoyed his time spent with us on stage and off the stage.” NRECA
“What I loved about his presentation was its intellectual underpinnings. That depth made his rise above the average motivational speech. And our Academy participants loved it.” Phi Theta Kappa
“David received very high ratings for providing useful and valuable information for attendees. Also his approach was well received and he was very engaging. He clearly had done his homework about the work the participants are involved in, and that allowed folks to make those direct connections to their own work.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
“David was fantastic!” American Chemical Society
“Besides being a professional in this domain, David is a great partner to work with. He listens to our needs, working in collaboration, responsive and always looking for a way to bring value. The materials and session that David delivered were engaging, fun and meaningful. He is able to create connection with the learners even in remote sessions, which we all know is a big challenge.” Amdocs
"I couldn’t have asked for a better keynote speaker for our leadership conference." Synovus Bank
"It was such a pleasure to work with David. We got fantastic ratings for your session." National Association of Manufacturers
“Exactly what we needed.” NixonPeabody
“If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be WOW! Everyone was completely engaged and jotting down a lot of notes. A few people that presented later even tied some of the things you talked about in their presentations.” Phinia
“A provocative and valuable session.” COO Pepsico
“David has an incredibly engaging style, and I loved the way he introduced fluidly stories, research and models in a conversational way – it was like watching art!” Senior Learning & Talent Development Manager, Stryker

Popular Talks by David Burkus

  • Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams
    Every leader wants to build a high-performing team, and nearly everyone wants to be on one. But most teams fail to perform at their optimal level. We try to recruit star players, improve compensation, give copious feedback, obsess over engagement surveys, and in the end, we still don’t have the...
  • The Truth About Trust: Elevating Teams Through Psychological Safety
    Collaboration is essential to teamwork. But it can be difficult to collaborate with people whose perspectives, preferences, and personalities are different from our own. It’s hard enough to build trust among the team and collaborate properly, but keeping that trust is even harder. That’s why high-performing teams don’t merely trust...
  • Innovation is a Team Sport: The Science of Creative Collaboration
    As the challenges organizations face seem to compound, we need innovative ideas more than ever. But many teams struggle to find and implement their brightest ideas. Much of this struggle comes from a common misconception: you can’t create an innovative company teaching individuals to be more creative. Instead, research reveals...
  • Leading From Anywhere: How To Build High-Performing Remote and Hybrid Teams
    The debate over hybrid work and returning to the office keeps raging, and leaders’ plans for how to manage their team just keep changing. The desire for autonomy among employees is at an all-time high, while feelings of connection and belonging to the team are at all-time lows. It’s enough...