Michelle "MACE" Curran Keynote Speaker

Flying Through Fear: How Vulnerability Fuels Success

We are constantly under pressure to hire the right people, create a cohesive team, and perform at a high level… to do more with less. However, success hinges on each team member’s ability to be bold and expand their comfort zone.

In her keynote, MACE takes her audience on a surprising and compelling journey through her career as a Fighter Pilot, culminating in her role as the Lead Solo Pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds. She helps her audience recognize that even those that may seem unflappable have overcome the same doubts and obstacles, suddenly making success seem within reach.

The audience will leave with:

• Reassess their comfort zone
• Learn to use vulnerability as a superpower to accelerate toward goals
• Realize the normalcy of imposter syndrome and identify how to combat it
• Recognize how to step into their boldness and let go of fears

Workshop: Going to War with Your Inner Critic

No matter how confident and independent we appear to be, we all face pressure to fit in, be liked, and meet the expectations of others. This pressure often leads to us becoming our own harshest critic and stands in the way of our success. By diving into the inner workings of our self-critic, we can reframe it. Shedding light on it takes away its power and gives us much-needed perspective.

Despite MACE's success, she struggled with the same inner critic that we all do. Over time, she was able to harness this inner voice and use it to propel her toward success. She now uses these techniques to inspire attendees and help them generate positive change in their inner voice.

The audience will leave with:

• Identify key attributes of their inner voice that have prevented them from taking action
• Understand their inner critic does not necessarily align with the truth
• Develop a new perspective on how to control the power their inner critic wields
• Have a plan to tackle at least one of their goals by a deadline
• Form accountability tools with the support of a wingman

Workshop: Everyone Has a Callsign

Fighter pilot callsigns tend to sound at least kind of cool. However, they don't get to choose them. They are given based on a mistake that was made as a young pilot. From that point on, they are worn on their nametags as a badge of honor.

The tradition of callsigns is based on humility, in celebrating the obstacles overcome to earn that name and to shape a productive view of failure. They help create a culture where mistakes are viewed as opportunities to learn and improve and where people feel safe to fess up when they misstep.

In this workshop, MACE takes participants into the world of a fighter squadron, where admitting errors and using them as learning opportunities is the norm.

The audience will leave with:

• Reflect on lessons from a previous mistake/failure
• Find silver linings in things that didn't go as planned
• Identify how to reframe their view of failure
• Be empowered to face future mistakes with a new perspective and growth mindset
• Have fun and walk away with their own callsign