Ryan Leak Keynote Speaker

Bestselling Author of Chasing Failure and Leveling Up
Inspiring Workplace Cultures Rooted in Values, Passion & Risk-Taking
Executive Coach

Ryan Leak's Biography

Ryan Leak is a dynamic speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and strategic advisor renowned for his ability to inspire and transform individuals and organizations. As the CEO of a leadership development firm based in Dallas, Ryan and his team train over 30,000 leaders annually — from Fortune 500 companies to professional sports teams. His unique talent for turning setbacks into opportunities, emphasizing the importance of resilience and the value of learning from failure, makes his teachings impactful and actionable with a splash of humor.

Ryan’s passion is helping leaders push past autopilot and level up in their lives and careers. He spreads this empowering message through coaching, speaking, and leveraging the power of video to reach thousands through his online platforms. He is the author of the USA Today bestselling book “Chasing Failure,” the Wall Street Journal bestselling book “Leveling Up,” and his latest work, “How to Work with Complicated People.” His work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Good Morning America and The Today Show.

With an engaging personality and a deep understanding of human dynamics, Ryan continues to motivate and equip people to overcome challenges and succeed in their endeavors. He is also widely known for planning a viral proposal and wedding on the same day.

Most importantly, Ryan is married to his best friend Amanda and is the proud assistant coach for his son’s basketball team. Whether through his powerful keynote speeches, bestselling books, or social media presence, Ryan Leak inspires over 50,000 individuals every month to chase their dreams and achieve their full potential.

Chasing Failure: Embracing Resilience and Innovation

In a world where fear of failure holds many back, Ryan Leak turns the narrative on its head. Based on his groundbreaking book Chasing Failure, this keynote encourages audiences to see failure as a stepping stone to success. Ryan shares his own journey, packed with real-life stories and practical strategies, inspiring your team to take calculated risks, innovate fearlessly, and build resilience. Perfect for organizations aiming to foster a culture of creativity and courage.

Leveling Up: Mastering Personal and Professional Growth

Unlock the secrets to continuous improvement with insights from Ryan's bestseller Leveling Up. This keynote is designed for those striving to reach new heights in their careers and personal lives. Ryan provides a roadmap for self-development, highlighting the importance of mindset, discipline, and perseverance. Attendees will leave equipped with tangible tools to set and achieve ambitious goals, making this session ideal for leadership training, employee development programs, and high-performance teams.

How to Work with Complicated People: Strategies for Effective Collaboration

Navigating the complexities of workplace relationships is a critical skill in today's interconnected world. In this engaging keynote, Ryan Leak delves into his latest book How to Work with Complicated People, offering strategies for effective collaboration with (nearly) anyone. Through humorous anecdotes and insightful research, Ryan helps audiences understand different personalities, manage conflicts, and build cohesive teams. This session is a must for organizations looking to enhance teamwork, communication, and overall workplace harmony.

He helps leaders and teams unlock higher levels of performance by turning setbacks into opportunities for growth, resilience and long-term success.
He translates leadership and personal development into practical, actionable strategies that empower individuals to overcome challenges, strengthen relationships and achieve meaningful results.
He combines the perspective of a bestselling author, leadership adviser and entrepreneur, helping organisations build stronger cultures, develop more effective leaders and embrace continuous improvement.
He is widely recognised for his engaging storytelling and relatable approach, blending humour, authenticity and real-life experiences to inspire audiences to move beyond their comfort zones.
His keynotes help organisations foster resilient leadership, improve collaboration and create a culture where people are motivated to grow, adapt and perform at their best.

Videos of Ryan Leak

Ryan Leak Speaker Reel 2026

The Art of Self Care and Leadership, Ryan Leak (2024 Chick-fil-A Impact Accelerator Main Stage)

Articles, Media & Podcasts

The Moment I Stopped Being Afraid to Fail

Mature Me Podcast

Books by Ryan Leak

How to Work with Complicated People

Chasing Failure

Leveling Up

Comments & Testimonials

Ryan Leak is a true pro. He didn't just come in and do his thing. His mindset was to come alongside us and help us do our thing. He worked with us beforehand to customize a session that would be best for our women who are preparing for the next level in their organization. Ryan's energy is contagious, which is important to the experience we create for our leaders.

Carol Seymour CEO of Signature Leaders and Networks

I've been in the financial services industry for over two decades and what I saw Ryan do at our regional meeting in front of 4,000+ of my colleagues was one of the best keynotes I've experiences in 20 years. How he could weave in humor, storytelling, and practical content in just 30 minutes was nothing short of sensational.

Mark Wise Wise Financial / Northwestern Mutual

Our business resource group had the pleasure of having Ryan facilitate an enneagram workshop for our organization. Ryan was knowledgeable, informative, and able to captivate our audience with both learning and life skills for self-awareness and career development. We had over 90% of participants report increased learning and knowledge and numerous people ask for Ryan to come back for workshops for their departments.

Ashleigh Hargrave Senior Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity Practitioner

Ryan by far is one of the best speakers/presenters/educators in his field. Ryan can take you from doubled over laughter literally to tears in 3 minutes and draw you into his stories where you feel it and can touch it and your senses are awaken. His story telling ability and his way to lead you to lesson after life lesson is so powerful. Highly recommend Ryan as a speaker or full day seminar on his expertise in the Enneagram training. Have heard plenty of speakers over the last 35 years and rank him in the top ten of all of them.

Sarah Middleton President of Sales & CEO of Fairway Ignite

Ryan delivered exactly what he promised and then some! Our audience was blown away with his positive and thoughtful message. His message to engage and lead at the next level was very much appreciated by our group...right message right time. I am certain he will have follow up requests from our executive audience.

TechServe