Heather Younger is the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm. She is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, bringing the best insights from over 25,000 employee stories to the stage, a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist, and the world’s leading expert on listening at work.
Drawing from her personal experiences as the only child of an interfaith and interracial marriage, Heather Younger is committed to inspiring leaders everywhere to flex their empathy muscles and master the art of active listening to ensure every employee feels valued, heard, and supported. Her presentations are dedicated to helping leaders and organizations create supportive cultures of care by improving how they listen to and communicate with employees.
Heather Younger is a two-time TEDx speaker, sharing universal insights with millions all over the world, and the host of Leadership With Heart, a podcast about how leaders can better engage and retain talent. A regular contributor to leading news outlets, she has been featured in Bloomberg Business, CNN Business, and FAST Company, to name just a few.
Heather is the author of two bestselling books: The 7 Intuitive Laws of Employee Loyalty, which was named one of Forbes’ “Must-Read” books for HR Professionals, and The Art of Caring Leadership, which teaches the radical power of caring support in leadership and the workplace.
Known as The Employee WhispererTM, Heather Younger harnesses humor, warmth, and an instant relatability to engage and uplift audiences, and inspire them into action. Her presentations are dedicated to helping teams, leaders, and organizations shine by improving how they listen to, communicate with, and empower employees.
Self-leadership is the foundation of resilient, high-impact influence. It's what allows people to navigate uncertainty, bounce forward from setbacks, and model the kind of adaptability their teams need now more than ever.
In this transformative keynote based on her book, Heather R Younger empowers leaders to trade perfectionism for progress, fear for flexibility, and burnout for balance — without sacrificing performance. She’ll share actionable strategies to help leaders harness resilience as a competitive edge and unlock their full potential in the face of constant change.
And the results speak for themselves:
- 90% of top-performing employees demonstrate high emotional resilience (Harvard Business Review)
- Organizations that invest in leadership development see 2.4x higher revenue growth and 3x better retention (Deloitte)
Because when leaders lead themselves well — they elevate everyone around them.
Ideal for leaders and team members who:
- Want to develop resilience strategies to fuel agility, adaptability, and sustainable success
- Are navigating rapid change, uncertainty, or high-pressure environments and need a mental framework to thrive
- Struggle with perfectionism and want to shift their mindset to prioritize progress over unattainable ideals
- Are ready to step into greater ownership as a leader, by fostering a growth mindset and self-empowerment
- Want to inspire teams to stay engaged, motivated, and high-performing—despite obstacles
The audience will walk away with:
- The Self-Leadership Framework – A proven model to stay strong, flexible, and focused through change
- Progress Over Perfection – A mindset shift to embrace growth, adaptability, and continuous improvement
- A Self-Empowerment Toolkit – How to take control of your career trajectory and leadership influence
- How to Foster a Culture of Resilience – Inspire teams to become adaptable, solution-oriented, and engaged
- Emotional Agility & Decision-Making Mastery – Strengthen clarity, composure, and effectiveness under pressure
This keynote equips leaders to redefine challenges as opportunities, embrace change without fear, and step fully into their leadership power—turning personal growth into enterprise-wide success.
The leaders people remember most aren’t just smart — they care.
They create cultures where people feel seen, heard, and valued. And when leaders lead with care, it doesn’t just feel good — it delivers results.
In this powerful keynote backed by her book, Heather R Younger reveals how compassion, accountability, and a deep commitment to belonging fuel innovation, boost retention, and unlock peak performance. It’s a blueprint for building energized, high-performing teams — even in times of uncertainty and change.
Because here’s what the data shows:
- Companies with high engagement and a culture of care outperform competitors by 23% in profitability and 18% in productivity (Gallup)
Perfect for leaders and teams who:
- Want to build an agile workplace that attracts and keeps top talent
- Are navigating change and looking to keep employees engaged and motivated
- Believe well-being is a strategy, not a soft skill
- Want to elevate their presence, emotional intelligence, and ability to inspire
- Know leadership rooted in compassion, resilience, and purpose is the future
The audience will walk away with:
- A High-Performance Culture Roadmap – Practical steps to create an engaged, results-driven workforce
- Proven Strategies to Improve Employee Retention and Productivity – Reduce burnout, turnover, and disengagement
- Tangible Actions to Drive Employee Motivation & Peak Performance – Unlock discretionary effort and build loyalty
- Leadership Presence & Influence – Techniques to communicate with authenticity, empathy, and authority
- The Power of Recognition & Coaching – How small, intentional actions drive long-term commitment and success.
This keynote will ignite a culture shift where compassion and high performance are not at odds—but instead, the secret to lasting success - because when people feel cared for, they care more — about their work, their team, and your mission.
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