Sally Helgesen Keynote Speaker

  • Women's Leadership Expert
  • Thinkers 50 Hall of Fame Inductee
  • Author, "Rising Together: How We Can Bridge Divides and Create a More Inclusive Workplace"

Sally Helgesen's Biography

Sally Helgesen, cited in Forbes as the world’s premier expert on women’s leadership, is an internationally best-selling author, speaker and leadership coach. She has been inducted into the Thinkers 50 Hall of Fame, which honors those whose ideas have shaped the field of leadership worldwide. She is ranked Number One in leadership by Global Gurus, and has been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Institute for Management Studies.

Sally’s latest book, Rising Together: How We Can Bridge Divides and Create a More Inclusive Workplace, offers practical ways to build more effective relationships with people we may perceive as different from ourselves.

Rising Together builds on Sally’s remarkable success with How Women Rise, co-authored with legendary executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, which examines the behaviors most likely to get in the way of successful women as they move forward in their careers. Rights have been sold in 24 languages.

Other books include The Female Advantage: Women’s Ways of Leadership, hailed as the classic in its field and continuously in print since 1990, and The Female Vision, Women’s Real Power at Work, which explores how women’s strategic insights can strengthen their careers. The Web of Inclusion: A New Architecture for Building Great Organizations, cited in The Wall Street Journal as one of the best books on leadership of all time, is credited with bringing the language of inclusion into business.

For 35 years, Sally has delivered seminars, keynotes and master classes for companies, partnership firms and associations around the world, working in 37 countries. She is a contributing editor for Strategy + Business magazine and a member of the 100 Coaches Network and the New York and International Women’s Forums. She lives in Chatham, NY.

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Sally Helgesen's Speaking Topics

Rising Together

Rising Together is designed to help participants build stronger relationships across a range of divides: gender, ethnicity, race, age, and values.

Sally’s approach is practical and forward-looking, a shift from the familiar emphasis on identifying unconscious bias. The focus is on how we act rather than on what we think, on giving others the benefit of our good will rather than searching out micro-aggressions.

How Women Rise

Women’s distinctive strengths and behaviors provide them with many advantages. Yet the very habits that serve them early in their careers can hold them back from moving to more senior positions.

In this program, Sally draws on her work with #1 ranked executive coach and New York Times best-selling author Marshall Goldsmith to help women identify and address the internal barriers most likely to get in their way.

Tapping the Power of the Female Vision

Women’s distinctive vision— the power of what they notice, what they value, how they connect the dots– offers a competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace. Yet because women’s ways of seeing have not been recognized or understood, their potential to make strategic contributions is rarely fully engaged.

Sally draws on insights from two decades of groundbreaking research to help women use the power of what they see to position themselves as visionary leaders.

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Books by Sally Helgesen

Comments & Testimonials

Sally’s presentations have huge impact because her insights both resonate and can be put to immediate use. Her engaging, authentic style builds participant trust, which allows for open exploration of difficult topics. I highly recommend her for any audience on a wide array of leadership and career development topics.
Matt McHatten CEO, MMG Insurance
With pragmatic optimism and drive, Sally shows us how to lead with fortitude and grace: for ourselves, our teams, and together.
Stephanie Kramer CHRO, L’Oréal USA
We have engaged Sally on several programs for clients, both in-person and virtual. She always receives exceptionally high praise for her engaging, thoughtful and actionable content. To quote one of our clients, ‘Sally’s presentations are powerful, thought-provoking and relevant- the most worthwhile sessions I have attended in a long time.’
Alison Jeffrey Senior Advisor, Client Development, Blakes, Cassels & Graydon

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