Arlington, VA
$18,000.00 - $50,000.00
A good cappuccino
Dr. Margie Warrell brings sharp insights and a global lens to inspire bolder thinking and braver action for stronger outcomes. In her sixth book The Courage Gap, Margie gets to the heart of what holds people back, distilling research into actionable advice to bridge the know/do gap between what people do and what they’re capable of doing.
A leading expert on courageous leadership, Margie’s insights stem from her diverse life experiences spanning her childhood in rural Australia to living in Asia, Europe, Papua New Guinea, and the USA, where she resides. Margie’s dynamic presence and deep insights have led her to speaking in over 25 countries and inspired thousands of audiences to embolden braver leadership and equip teams with practical skills to bring their bravest selves to work. Leading organizations such as NASA, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Deloitte, and Morgan Stanley, have engaged Margie to foster courageous cultures that drive innovation, embrace change, and unleash human potential. Margie has been recognized as a Top 200 Leadership Voice and Women’s Economic Forum Honoree. She also advises US Congressional Chiefs and women who aspire to lead change in emerging democracies. Her expertise in leadership, women, and workplace issues is regularly sought by media including CNN, Bloomberg, TODAY, and The Wall Street Journal. She also writes for Forbes.
Throughout her life, Margie has consistently chosen courage over comfort, including summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro with her husband and their four teenage children and, most recently, running her first marathon.
Margie has gained profound insights on managing fear, navigating risk, and embracing change since her childhood in rural Australia. Thirty years of living and working around the world—from Papua New Guinea to Singapore—have provided her with a globally grounded
perspective on navigating risk and overcoming the barriers that stifle potential in individuals and
organizations.
Drawing on her doctoral research and experience in coaching and Fortune 500 consulting, Margie is a trusted advisor across private and public sectors, helping to embolden braver leadership and cultivate forward-thinking ‘cultures of courage’ that counter change resistance, foster learning, and accelerate growth. Organizations such as NASA, Dell, Morgan Stanley, SAP, Novartis, the UN Foundation, HP, Google, and Johnson & Johnson have sought her expertise.
Soon to release her sixth book, The Courage Gap (January 2025), Margie is renowned for her ability to bridge the ‘head and heart’ as a writer and speaker.
She has also co-authored two other books with Stephen Covey, Ken Blanchard, and Jack Canfield. Her interviews with leaders and luminaries— including Bill Marriott, Richard Branson and Amy Edmondson of Harvard Business School—inform her thought leadership, which she shares through her Live Brave podcast, Forbes column, and leading media outlets such as CNN, Bloomberg, and the WSJ. Margie’s commitment to ‘braver leadership for a better world’ extends to advising US Congressional Chiefs, McCain Global Fellows, and emerging female leaders in burgeoning democracies. A passionate advocate for women in leadership, she has served on numerous government roundtables, co-led Korn Ferry’s Power of All initiative to advance more women to C-suite and board tables, and been Senior Partner in their CEO & Leadership Institute.
Margie lives in ‘Old Town’ Alexandria, Virginia. Outside of work, she is an aspiring barista and lifelong hiker. Her passion for adventure inspired her to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro with her husband and their four children.
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A sought-after speaker on leadership, mindset, and resilience, Margie’s powerful new keynote weaves compelling storytelling with cutting-edge insight to engage, educate, and empower action to close the ‘courage gap’ in your franchise. Key learning includes how to: Rethink Risk: Discern smart from foolish risk taking amid complexity and uncertainty Identify Fear Traps: Counter cognitive biases that hinder learning, stifle innovation, and block crucial conversation Fail Right: Leverage a play-to-win mindset to embrace intelligent failure, accelerate learning and find the treasure when you trip Lead With Courage: Reframe discomfort and use fear as a catalyst for growth
Cultivate Courage: Create a culture that supports
‘loyal dissent’ and unites purpose around a bold vision for future Everyone needs courage, making this ‘a’must-hear’ message for all audiences.
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.
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
Margie knows how to push us to question ourselves, and to find ourselves. We discover we are more than our fears, we can go beyond our comfort zone and make our life more meaningful. She is a true leader. I will remember forever that we should replace a “future by default” by a “future by design,” that our talents and skills should meet with our inner needs and causes, and respond to the problems and requests of the world out there.
Brandeis University and Harvard Program on Negotiation
As keynote speaker at a recent Deakin University alumni event, Margie’s presentation was engaging, heartfelt and thought-provoking. Having spent many years in events management I have rarely seen such an engaged and delighted audience on the night. Margie is a wonderfully inspiring and energetic presenter and I recommend her very highly. Her latest book Brave is also a great read!
Alumni Director, University of Tasmania
Oracle has utilized Margie’s expertise for our Asia Pacific leadership programs on multiple occasions; notably our Oracle Women’s Leaders organization. Her collaborative approach, professionalism and energy, on stage and off, combined with her fresh concepts and calm authority have created those ‘ah-ha!’ moments that make better leaders of us all.
Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Oracle Corporation, Asia Pacific & Japan
Engaging, inspiring, and a delight to work with, Margie’s message of courage was a perfect fit for our employees. She exceeded expectations on every measure and helped every member in our large audience to find their purpose and improve their effectiveness. A true gem, we are already thinking of future opportunities to bring her back!
Manager, Best Buy
When I called Margie to help me and my leadership team prepare for what would be one of the most difficult moments in history for the aviation industry, I knew I would not be disappointed. What a difference that virtual session has made: we felt reassured and equipped as leaders to navigate through the eye of the storm….and what was even more powerful is that our positive energy and courage was heartfelt by the organisation. Thanks Margie for your coaching and leadership.
Vice President, Shell Global Aviation
As keynote speaker at a recent Deakin University alumni event, Margie’s presentation was engaging, heartfelt and thought-provoking. Having spent many years in events management I have rarely seen such an engaged and delighted audience on the night. Margie is a wonderfully inspiring and energetic presenter and I recommend her very highly. Her latest book Brave is also a great read!
Associate Director of Alumni Relations at University of Tasmania
Whether on stage or via Zoom, Margie is a master at engaging her audience. A few years ago, she delivered a powerful keynote at our WELD Conference that struck a deep chord to a packed ballroom. When we converted to a virtual event this year, we knew Margie was the perfect person for our luncheon keynote. Her personality transcended the limitations of the virtual format and her real-life examples coupled with insights from her book “You’ve Got This!” on navigating uncertainty with courage instilled a renewed sense of personal power that was greatly valued. After the event, we received so many messages from attendees saying, “This was just what I needed!”
President & CEO, Women for Economic & Leadership Development
Margie is energetic, professional, easy-going and quite a breath of fresh air. Without notes, props or even a chair, Margie delivered divine words of wisdom for women seeking to make changes and promote themselves at work and at home through conversations with others. Many who attended commented on how much they gained from Margie’s presentation. We look forward to working with her more in the future.
Finance Director, British Telecom
Margie is a dynamic keynote speaker! Her message really hit home, and set an excellent foundation for the rest of our leadership campaign. We were engaged by her dynamic delivery, entertained by her personal stories, and inspired by her ability to tied it all back to our core personal and organizational values.
Senior Director, AOL
Margie and I first met and worked together in 2010 where she was the keynote speaker for a ‘Women in Leadership’ event held in China for our employees, customers and partners across the Asia Pacific region. From the moment we met, I was hooked and a huge fan – her ideas, perspective and ability to deliver thought provoking, inspiring and empowering sessions for leaders of all levels from diverse backgrounds is impressive. I’ve subsequently engaged her for a number of leadership events with incredible feedback from participants.
VP Employee Success, Salesforce.com
Attending Margie’s workshop changed my life and that of my colleagues. I am quite confident you will walk away from her session agreeing that they were some of the best hours you have spent on yourself in a long, long time. A worthwhile investment for all leaders, both emerging and established.
Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte, Asia Pacific
Attending Margie’s workshop changed my life and that of my colleagues. I am quite confident you will walk away from her session agreeing that they were some of the best hours you have spent on yourself in a long, long time. A worthwhile investment for all leaders, both emerging and established.
Chief Talent Officer, Deloitte, Asia Pacific
Margie delivered an incredibly powerful opening keynote on Brave Leadership at our Women in Leadership Asia virtual conference. Not only was her content on point for adapting to this brave new world, but she was dynamic and engaging – not easy to pull off a virtual environment. Fantastic energy, fantastic insights!
Managing Director, Aventedge
Margie was nothing short of amazing with and extraordinary ability to read the audience and deliver exactly what was required. Of all the guest speakers we’ve ever had, she was by far the most effective & engaging. Afterward, many people said she had changed their outlook and had action steps for moving forward. All round, an outstanding speaker and worthy of the standing ovation she received!
CEO, Connect Conference
My first introduction to Margie was via her book ‘Stop Playing Safe’ which was the basis for my team offsite as we prepared for a major change program. We also used her ‘Ten Commandments of Courage’ for our worldwide women’s network. In both cases, her thought leadership made an incredible impact on all who participated. I later had the great opportunity to meet Margie at the Automotive News Leading Women Conference where we were both speakers. During her closing keynote address, she showed an exceptional ability to relate to the audience, sharing inspirational personal stories and actionable advice to lead a better, braver, life. As a leader, speaker, and author who walks her talk, Margie is creating a movement and changing lives around the world!
Controller at Continental
If you are looking for a powerful yet practical message to inspire Your team to take action, Margie is the speaker for you! The audience feels the positive and personal message she delivers with credibility as a best-selling author and global leadership authority. She is also a joy to work with!
Senior Vice President, Global Sales, National Instruments
Margie delivers an authentic, actionable message that hits home for every executive wanting to set clear goals and improve their career path. Her thought-provoking message is delivered with passion and authority.
Publisher, Automotive News & Women in Auto Conference
We were incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Margie as a keynote speaker for our Google team offsite in New York, which was attended by over 400 sales leaders. Her expertise, combined with her authentic and memorable storytelling, captivated and inspired our entire audience. Dr. Margie brought our offsite theme to life, sharing insights on courage, leadership, and growth that resonated deeply with everyone in the room. I highly recommend Dr. Margie for any organization looking to inspire and empower their teams to take bold risks and play to win.
Head of Industry, Google
Working with Margie has been a great experience. I was impressed with how quickly Margie was able to understand my world and her ability to help me find answers to difficult questions with just the right balance of pushing outside my comfort zone and then helping me get back into it. I can recommend Margie for anyone who is looking for some structure, guidance, or even an overhaul in how to approach his/her career.
Security Solutions Director, British Telecom
Margie’s ability to weave interesting personal and professional anecdotes on how to refocus, prioritize and build resilience was extremely well received by our team. Her energy and candour was uplifting and motivating.I highly recommend Margie for any engagement requiring a thoughtful and credible speaker.
Senior Vice President Marketing, Dell
Margie was a huge hit! She kept everyone engaged – not easy with a room of tired and distracted physicians – receiving the highest possible rating from 94% of participants. From a meeting planners perspective, she is a joy to work with. Her input made our conference even better from the outset.
Medical Society of Virginia
Margie sets herself apart with a powerful and inspiring message, paired with her energetic, down-to-earth, and disarming delivery. She provided practical advice on how to challenge ourselves and others to be more courageous, take more risks, and find more success. Feedback from her program was overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. We welcome her back any time!
President & CEO, United Nations Foundation, Washington D.C
Margie is a master and her ability to engage, empower and affect positive change is outstanding. Her visit to Marriot Headquarters, where she gave a keynote, ran a workshop with my team and interviewed Mr Marriott at a town hall gathering was outstanding.
Chief Audit Officer, Marriott International
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