Dr Gemma Munro is an uplifting and award-winning speaker, facilitator and writer, with a PhD in performance psychology and a knack of sparking rapid and easeful change. Known as the Alchemist at Work, Gemma specialises in the science and art of courage, transformation and the creation of impossible dreams.
Gemma has ignited change in workplaces across the planet, and inspired over 72,000 people worldwide. She has spoken to global and national audiences at Google, Amazon, Qantas, Vodafone, PayPal and the NHS in London, and her keynote at Google headquarters in Silicon Valley was live-streamed to every Google office on the planet. She is a winner of the Duncan Trust Prize for speaking and a two-time Telstra Businesswoman of the Year finalist. As a classically trained singer, Gemma has performed in Westminster Abbey, Radio City Music Hall and, somewhat heart-stoppingly, to 53,000 screaming fans as a backing vocalist for the Rolling Stones.
Audience members call Gemma ‘a human alarm-clock’, ‘a lightning bolt of love’ and ‘a witch who gets in people’s heads and makes them think anything is possible’. She is known as a catalyst for immediate and sustained shifts in mindset, behaviours and results. She is also known for provoking laughter, a-ha moments and gentle wake-up calls that motivate people to make the changes they want to make (even if they’re scared of change, tired of uncertainty and gold-medal-winning procrastinators).
Gemma co-founded Inkling Group and was the founder of Inkling Women, known for its work across Australia, Asia and the UK in rapidly lifting the percentage of women at leadership level. Before that she was a tremendously serious management consultant and a recovering academic, having completed her PhD at a relatively young and impressionable age.
Gemma is passionate about forging a wild new way of working - where work feels like play, life feels in flow and exhaustion and overwhelm are things of the past. She lives on five acres in the Adelaide Hills with her fiancé Ben Barnett and their exceptionally loving, sometimes exhausting and usually hungry blended tribe of three children, fourty kookaburras and a farm dog called Lucie.
Talking Points
The Science & Art of Rapid Transformation
How to transform in a way that feels easy, The Science & Art of Rapid Transformation
enjoyable and quicker than you’d expect.
At some point in your life, you’ve probably found yourself wanting to change, but unable to make the change last. It’s as if you have one foot on the accelerator, and the other on the brake. It’s frustrating, no?
Welcome to being human.
The exciting news is that there is a way around our seemingly unsolvable tendency to self-sabotage when it comes to making change. There is a way to transform immediately, sustainably, and even enjoyably. In this keynote/masterclass, Dr Gemma Munro teaches the science and art of rapid transformation. You will learn how to get clear on the changes you want, and then to get out of your own way. You’ll learn to move past fears and doubts, and feel confident and empowered to make the changes you need to make. And the best news: whether you want to transform your mindset, habits, behaviours, beliefs or results, you’ll leave with a tool to do this rapidly and easily, over and over again.
People will leave with:
- An understanding of why we keep getting in our own way when it comes to transformation
- A tool they can use over and over to make transformation easy, enjoyable and
long-lasting
- Confidence in how to use this tool (they will practise the tool in the session with a
real-world change they want to make)
- Increased courage and empowerment in the art of transformation
Who is it for?
This session is suitable for all audiences at all levels and of all sizes. It can be tailored to the
specific changes required of intact teams, organisations or industries. It is best suited to events where audience participation and learning is welcomed (in other words, Dr Gemma won’t be talking at the audience the entire time: they will be expected to practise the tools learned in an energised, fun, ‘oh my goodness, I didn’t look at my watch once’ way).
A Wild New Way of Working
Where work feels like play and wellbeing is a daily reality.A Wild New Way of Working
Here is a typical day in the life of many of us. Does some of it ring true for you?
Wake up, feel tired, drink coffee, look at the calendar, feel even more tired, check emails, feel overwhelmed, drink more coffee, attend a meeting, attend a meeting, put out a fire, attend a meeting, check emails, answer 3 of 78 new emails, deal with a people issue that could be an opportunity but just feels like another fire to put out, receive an email that means that tomorrow’s plan is now out the window, feel exhausted, crave wine at 2.45 pm, attend a meeting, look at missed calls, roll eyes, attend a meeting, play phone tag, eat sugar, feel overwhelmed, scroll phone, get home, drink wine, deal with loved ones, drink more wine, watch Netflix, go to bed, scroll phone, sleep fitfully, wake up tired, check email … then rinse, lather & repeat the next day.
It’s time to move away from the tired old approaches to work. It’s time to stop feeling exhausted, aimless and inauthentic. It’s time to get off the hamster wheel of stress and overwhelm. It’s time to start listening to the
small, still voice within that’s telling you there must be a different way. The old paradigm of how we work is in need of an overhaul. Most of us are overwhelmed, over-tired and over it. In this keynote (which can also be run
as a masterclass), Dr Gemma Munro paints a new and very doable paradigm: one that involves flowing not forcing, creating not conforming, playing not working, and plugging yourself in not wearing yourself down. She shares the two main shifts to create a wild new way of working, and provides clear action steps under each
shift. You’ll leave feeling re-energised, empowered and inspired to change how you go about your work.
People will leave with:
- An understanding of why we’ve all been stuck in the old paradigm of work and how to get ourselves off the hamster wheel of stress, exhaustion and overwhelm (while still getting great work done)
- The motivation and know-how to light themselves up from within
- Practical tips and techniques to help them:
1. Move from hustle to flow, work to play and exhaustion to vibrancy
2. Lift their energy levels quickly, substantially and sustainably
3. (If the audience is made up of people leaders) Two of the very best tools to light up your people
Who is it for?
This dynamic, thought-provoking, laughter-inducing and transformation-generating session suits industry events that bring people from different organisations together. It can also be tailored to a group of people leaders. It is less suitable for an all-hands workplace conference unless the leaders of the organisation are up for some dynamic discussion about how ‘the way things get done around here’ can (and perhaps should) change.
The Courage to Connect
How to create connection and belonging in the workplace (even when you’re crazy-busy, and even when You don’t want to)The Courage to Connect
This keynote and/or masterclass is for anyone who has ever:
• Felt clumsy when connecting with other humans
• Put off having uncomfortable conversations
• Experienced unwanted flashbacks or hot-faced waves of shame after an awkward interaction
• Worried what other people think of them
• Made safer decisions or behaved inauthentically to avoid looking like a numpty
If you have experienced any or all of these, then congratulations: you are just like all of us. This session is for you.
This session is also for the people who have ever rolled their eyes at the necessity of learning the ‘soft skills’ of connecting with other humans. Creating connection and belonging is not a soft skill. It is the hardest, most essential skill of them all.
It takes courage and know-how, and the courage to admit that you don’t know everything. It takes intuition, and empathy, and a tolerance of discomfort. It takes ALL of you - your head and your heart.
This is why we avoid it like the plague. This is why we get to work and wish we owned an invisibility cloak. This is why we suddenly need the bathroom at networking events. This is why we don’t have the conversations we know we need to.
In this keynote and/or masterclass, Dr Gemma Munro will take you on an entertaining journey to help you to create connection and belonging - even when you’re busy and even if you’re shy. You’ll learn how to get on well with others. To
build trusting relationships. And to create your tribe: the people who strengthen you, call you out, lift you up, bring you home, cheer you on and hold you accountable for being the person you were always meant to be.
People will leave with:
- An understanding of why they’re wired to both need AND avoid connection
- Clarity on the incredible evidence-based benefits of connection and belonging
- The knowledge of how they’re tripping themselves up when it comes to connecting with others
- A toolkit of practical, easy-ish, easy-to-remember and - dare we say it - FUN techniques to create genuine belonging and
connection with the people around them
- The motivation and know-how to build a work environment characterised by kindness and belonging
Who is it for?
This session is suitable for all audiences at all levels and of all sizes. It can be tailored to the specific connection needs and gaps of intact teams and organisations. It also goes down a treat at industry events. It is best suited to events where audience participation and learning is welcomed (in other words, Dr Gemma won’t be talking at the audience the entire time: they will be expected to practice the tools learned in an energised, fun, ‘oh my goodness, I didn’t look at my watch once’ way).
Leading Through Change
How to lead your people through change and uncertainty with energy and ease.Leading Through Change
The last three years have provided multiple and large challenges when it comes to leading people through change and uncertainty.
The challenges are ongoing, and many leaders are understandably exhausted.
In this keynote, Dr Gemma Munro will teach you the art of leading through change and uncertainty.
This isn’t Change Management 101. She won’t be sharing tips like ‘communicate the need for change’, ‘develop and implement change plans’ and ‘evaluate progress and celebrate success’ … these tips are commonsensical, easily googleable, and therefore a likely waste of your time. Instead, Gemma deals with the elephant in the room: we do not like change. We are wired to avoid it. This means that, even if you invest in using one of the best change management models in the world, you will likely leave a good proportion of your people behind.
In this session, you’ll learn how to spark the courage to change in yourself and in your people. You’ll develop the motivation and the
know-how to navigate yourself through change with excitement.
You’ll also learn how to lead others through
change and uncertainty with grace, ease and even enjoyment. You’ll leave with a set of tools to lift your energy, excitement, confidence and skills in leading your people through change and uncertainty.
People will leave with:
• An understanding of why we’re all wired to avoid change and uncertainty
• The mindset & know-how to spark the courage to change in themselves and in the people they lead
• The motivation and tools to navigate change with excitement, and to lead others through change and uncertainty with ease
• Increased energy and enthusiasm levels when it comes to leading through change and uncertainty
Who is it for?
This session is suitable for people leaders at any level and in any industry. It works for intact leadership teams and a diverse range of leaders at industry events.
As with all Dr Gemma’s keynotes, it can be tailored to the specific needs of the audience.
Making Brave Choices
How to make courageous decisions quickly,Making Brave Choices
easily and well.
Why is it so hard for us to make brave choices? How do we summon up the courage and wisdom to make them? How do we find calm and clarity in the midst of uncertainty? How do we make the brave choice to be creative and innovative … to choose the road less travelled over more familiar paths?
And most importantly, how can we be confident that our decisions are correct?
Dr Gemma Munro will answer all of these questions for you in this practical, fun and life-changing session on Making Brave Choices. Gemma will help you to understand and unblock the obstacles to making brave (and correct!) decisions. Whether you need to move past self-sabotage, to manage fear, to lift courage or to overcome a busy mind that keeps second-guessing your decisions, you will leave with three user-friendly tools to make the brave choices you want (or need) to make.
The two most exciting takeaways? You’ll save yourself huge amounts of time, and you’ll never make a pros or cons list again!
People will leave with:
- An understanding of their three main blockers to making brave choices
- Some life hacks to overcome these blockers and develop courage and clarity
- Three easy and practical decision-making tools that will help with every single
decision they make from this point forward (whether it’s what to have for dinner or
what to do at work).
- A marked decrease in mind-chatter and fear
- A noticeable increase in their sense of confidence and clarity in making decisions
Who is it for?
Absolutely anyone! This keynote (which can also be run as a masterclass) suits audiences of all levels, sizes and industries. It can also be tailored to help a specific audience overcome their particular blocks and fears to making brave choices.
Something happened to me when Gemma spoke. It was both a breakdown and breakthrough. I left feeling completely exposed, vulnerable and light as a feather. The mask finally came down. And boy ... keep reading University of Adelaide
Gemma is a brilliant speaker! She is very genuine and engaging. She is a wonderful storyteller. Such wonderful energy and generosity of spirit, and so refreshingly real, fun and informative. Amazing, engaging, insightful, basically the most helpful speaker I could have hoped to hear.
I really enjoyed this session; I found it insightful and inspirational. Dr Munro was a wonderful speaker and her charisma and easygoing nature captured the audience. Her message really resonated with me and I left the session feeling invigorated and excited. This has been one of the best sessions I can remember.
Funny, authentic, and honest a fantastic leader and role model. I loved the real-life examples and backed-up research facts. Few people present thoughts and ideas as openly and relevantly as Gemma does. She is charismatic and relatable.
Gemma is sunshine and inspiration rolled into a package of fearless courage. She inspires people to accept their gifts and be the best that they can be.
Gemma is a great speaker. She engages the room very well and gives a lot of thought-provoking examples and gold nuggets throughout. Watching her conduct a session is a masterclass in itself.
In the circle of life, we need more ringleaders like Gemma.
The wonderful Dr Gemma Munro makes everything seem possible. I now believe I can do anything I put my mind to.
Some of the boldest decisions I've made are down to this incredible woman. In her expert hands, Gemma sensitively guides you to be courageous, authentic and able to lean into discomfort. She is clear, empathetic and engaging. She is also inspiring, funny, knowledgeable and full of humanity.
Dr Gemma Munro is engaging, entertaining, highly personable and knowledgeable. She is professional and fun, inclusive and welcoming, with high energy, an engaging style and relatable story-telling.
Brilliant she is extremely personable and obviously knows her stuff! She kept me engaged the whole time (not an easy task for most!) Gemma has so much energy, knowledge, passion and genuine care. Authentic, approachable, dynamic, sensational!
Dr Gemma Munro is like a lightning bolt of love. She will prepare you for your next big leap in life and career.
