Lee Rubin

Leadership & Team Culture; Helping Organizations Build Extraordinary Teams

Topics: Teamwork, Leadership, Business, Business Leadership, Communication, Corporate Culture, Employee Engagement, Professional Development, Future of Work, Productivity

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Biography

Lee Rubin is a keynote speaker and TEDx presenter known for his ability to help organizations understand the Five Components of Extraordinary Teams. For more than 30 years, he has been building high-performance teams in corporate America, professional associations, and the collegiate sports world, sharing a framework, mindset, and useful tools that help leaders transform a collection of talented individuals into an extraordinary, collaborative team.

Lee’s foundation in teamwork was established early at Penn State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communications with a minor in Business. As a college athlete, he served as Captain of the Nittany Lions football team and was a three-year starting free safety, the 1994 Florida Citrus Bowl Defensive MVP, an All-Big Ten Conference selection, and an Honorable Mention All-American.

Following his academic success, Lee transitioned into the corporate world, with over sixteen years of experience as a Human Resources Executive for globally recognized corporations. This experience gave him a unique inside view into how high-performance teams communicate, build, and succeed. Lee addresses nuanced ideas that will help your team stretch from where they are to where they could be.

Today, Lee is one of the most sought-after voices on team building and leadership. He has delivered impactful keynotes for leading Fortune 500 companies—including Johnson & Johnson, Sony, and JP Morgan—as well as collegiate programs and professional organizations across the country.

Lee is also the author of WIN: Simple Insights to Help STUDENT-ATHLETES Win the Game of Life, a powerful guide that translates lessons from sports and leadership into practical insights for success far beyond the playing field.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Central New Jersey, Lee continues to reside there with his wife, Carmen.

Contact us for Lee Rubin fees and availability

Videos

Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more

Five Components of Extraordinary Teams: Team Building Keynote

Machines are evaluated based on the output of the entire unit, not the impressiveness of their individual parts. Extraordinary teams, like great machines, require certain components that hold their pieces together. While most organizations focus exclusively on building the skills of their individual members, elite organizations invest in the “stuff” that transforms a collection of talented individuals into extraordinary, machine-like teams.
Key Points:
• Individuals must make sacrifices to achieve the team’s COMMON GOAL
• Open and honest COMMUNICATION is the foundation for trust
• Daily, focused discipline is the key to CONSISTENCY

Five Characteristics of a Championship Culture

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are critical issues that require constant attention. Leaders who are having lasting success in those areas are focusing their efforts on building a championship culture. Any efforts to manufacture quantitative results without doing the deeper work of creating an inclusive culture where everyone is able to bring their best selves to work each day, will be short-lived. This insightful, engaging talk identifies the specific areas of focus that contribute to a championship culture.
Specifically, championship cultures are identified by:
• Team members who leverage a diverse collection of individual strengths to achieve a COMMON GOAL
• Open & Honest COMMUNICATION to foster a culture of trust.
• CHEMISTRY: Challenges are embraced as opportunities to learn and grow as a team
• CURIOSITY: Team members seek first to understand the uniqueness of fellow team members and value their perspectives
• CONSISTENCY: Since there are no quick fixes, teams make a long-term commitment to the behaviors that contribute to a culture of inclusion

Testimonials

Lee Rubin is by far one of the best speakers we have had in our organization! Lee was the keynote speaker at our annual company-wide internal meeting, bringing employees together from across the country. Lee’s session on extraordinary teams is motivational, inspiring, engaging, and proved absolutely critical in helping our employees recognize not only the greatness we have already attained, but also the work we can still do together. So many “ah-ha” moments and thought-provoking points delivered with humor from Lee created a memorable presentation our group is still talking about."

– Kristen Greer, Director of Marketing Operations, ImagineSoftware

Lee was the opening keynote speaker for our hybrid event and provided an amazing talk about building teams. Both our in-person and virtual audience were buzzing about how they were inspired and entertained by his session. Aside from giving a great talk, Lee was a pleasure to work with. He was always willing to get on a call to customize his presentation and even worked with our marketing team to promote him with our event. I would highly recommend Lee and believe he would be appropriate for any audience!”

– Brooke Passy, CMP, DES, Senior Meeting Manager, Association Headquarters

What an absolute pleasure to have Lee in to speak to our TPO salesforce this week in Nashville. We have had numerous speakers over the years and I can tell you that Lee provided far and away the most impactful message our team has ever heard. Passionate, truthful, and honest - traits that define our team and our company, and will serve us all well as we continue to work towards achieving our goals in 2022 and beyond. We cant wait to have Lee back, and we are proud to have him as a partner, a friend, and part of the Flagstar family!"

– Rich Hoffman, Senior Vice President of Sales, East Regional Director Flagstar Bank

Lee Rubin was a hit!!! He closed out our 3-day HR state conference with incredible passion and energy. Lee is a genuine, inspiring leader and his skill and talent as a keynote is evident. He captures the audience’s attention and consistently engages them throughout his presentation. His message about building and strengthening extraordinary teams can benefit organizations and work groups of any size in any industry."

– Jen Adix, Conference Co-Chair, South Dakota SHRM

Lee Rubin = Superstar. It can't be emphasized enough how important it is to have great speakers at your events for them to be successful. Now, with most events turning from Live in-Person to Live on-Screen, it may be even more important. I have seen Lee in-person and was very excited that he agreed to participate in Alloya's Annual Symposium. Due to the Pandemic, we were forced to present our event virtually. Lee could not have been more accommodating and with our post-event survey results now in - he couldn't have done a better job - highest marks from our members!"

– Tim Bruculere, Senior Vice President, Alloya Corporate FCU

We were delighted to have Lee Rubin be our opening Keynote Speaker at our NSCP National Conference. Lee’s message to our audience was not only energetic and engaging but also inspirational and “great for all facets of life,” as one of our attendees commented. We received rave reviews of Lee’s keynote and how relevant it was to them as compliance professionals, while also applying to them on a personal level. Lee’s storytelling style, infused with humor, practicality, and truth, made a huge impact on our audience. We would absolutely recommend Lee Rubin as a keynote speaker to any organization because his messages of leadership and teamwork collaboration are timeless and applicable for all industries."

– Holly Orefice, Conference Manager, National Society of Compliance Professionals

We sponsored Lee at our annual Advisor conference, and he was tremendous. Lee brought high energy, passion, and total engagement among the 300 Financial Advisors in attendance. His delivery was direct and he reinforced the messages our team was trying to deliver to a very successful group of employees. Lee was passionate, with high energy and he tackled tough questions head on, and was a crowd FAVORITE."

– Frank Consalo, Citi Personal Wealth Management