Keynotes & Speaking
Most leaders are working harder than ever and still can’t get their teams fully on board.
Dr. Patrick Farran helps organizations close the gap between strategy and commitment. Drawing on two decades of research, executive coaching, and real-world leadership experience, Patrick delivers keynotes that don't just challenge how leaders think. They change how organizations operate.
Whether you're navigating transformation, building a high-performance culture, or trying to unlock the full potential of your people, Patrick brings a rare combination of academic rigor and practical wisdom that leaves audiences with tools they can use the next day.
Patrick is the co-author of The Intentional Executive: A Purpose-Driven Playbook to Transform Your Leadership, Your Team, and Your Results, a TEDx speaker, and the co-founder of Ad Lucem Group. He has worked with leaders across six continents and advised organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
TEDx Talk
Stop Selling Your Vision
TEDxNorthampton, UK | March 2026
The ideas Patrick brings to every keynote and client engagement are grounded in research he has spent years testing in real organizations. This TEDx talk is perhaps the most direct expression of what Patrick believes about leadership and why it matters.
People support what they help create. It sounds simple, but most leaders spend their careers doing the opposite, crafting the perfect plan and wondering why their teams won't fully commit to it. In this talk, Patrick challenges the traditional top-down leadership model and makes the case for co-creation as a driver of sustainable commitment, alignment, and results. Drawing on behavioral research and real organizational stories, he offers a human-centered approach to building teams that genuinely believe in the future they are creating together.
Keynote Topics
What Patrick Speaks On
Patrick speaks to executive leadership teams, corporate conferences, nonprofit organizations, association events, and university audiences. Each keynote is grounded in research, rich with real-world stories, and designed to move people from insight to action.
TOPIC 01
The Purpose Advantage: How Leaders Who Connect People to Meaning Drive Measurably Better Results
Organizations with a strong connection to purpose don't just feel better to work in — they perform better. Research consistently links purpose alignment to higher employee engagement, stronger retention, greater innovation, and improved financial outcomes. Yet most leaders treat purpose as a values exercise rather than a performance strategy.
In this keynote, Patrick makes the business case for purpose-driven leadership and gives leaders a practical framework for connecting their teams to the "why" behind the work, in ways that translate directly to results.
Audiences leave with:
- A clear understanding of the performance link between purpose and organizational outcomes
- A framework for articulating and embedding purpose at the team and organizational level
- Practical tools for sustaining that connection through the inevitable pressures of daily execution
Best for: Senior leadership teams, executive conferences, organizational kickoffs, and culture transformation initiatives
TOPIC 02
Beyond Buy-In: How the Best Leaders Build Teams That Own the Outcome
Most leaders are trained to craft the vision, communicate it compellingly, and inspire their teams to follow. The problem is that this model consistently underdelivers. Teams comply, but they don't commit. Plans get launched, but they don't stick.
The research is clear: people support what they help create. In this keynote, Patrick draws on behavioral science and real organizational case studies to show what changes when leaders shift from presenting their vision to co-creating it with the people who must bring it to life. The result is not just stronger buy-in. It is better strategy, more durable execution, and teams that are genuinely invested in outcomes.
Audiences leave with:
- An understanding of why top-down vision-setting consistently fails to generate real commitment
- A practical co-creation framework applicable to strategic planning, culture change, and team alignment
- Concrete approaches for inviting genuine input without losing direction or momentum
Best for: Leadership teams, change management initiatives, strategic planning offsites, and organizational development conferences
TOPIC 03
The Disruption Dividend: How the Best Leaders Turn Uncertainty Into Competitive Advantage
Every organization eventually faces a moment that demands fundamental change. A market disruption. A leadership transition. A mandate to operate in an entirely new way. The organizations that come out stronger are not the ones with the best plan on paper. They are the ones whose leaders keep people aligned, engaged, and moving forward through the uncertainty while others stall.
This keynote draws on Patrick's research and hands-on experience guiding organizations through complex transformation. He addresses the human side of change that most transformation frameworks ignore: how leaders build trust under pressure, how teams maintain cohesion when the path is unclear, and how the best organizations create conditions for people to do their best work precisely when it is hardest to do so.
Audiences leave with:
- A framework for leading people through significant organizational change without losing momentum or morale
- Strategies for building trust and maintaining alignment when the future is uncertain
- A clear understanding of the leadership behaviors that separate organizations that emerge stronger from those that don't
Best for: Organizations navigating mergers, restructuring, strategic pivots, or significant leadership transitions
TOPIC 04
The Culture Advantage: Building Psychological Safety That Drives Performance
Culture is not a perk. It is not a ping-pong table or a casual Friday. It is the invisible force that determines whether your people take risks, speak up, collaborate honestly, and bring their best thinking to work every day. And the research on what actually builds a high-performance culture is more specific and more actionable than most leaders realize.
In this keynote, Patrick draws on Google's Project Aristotle, Dr. Amy Edmondson’s foundational research on psychological safety, and his own work with leadership teams to show what high-performance cultures actually look like in practice. He gives leaders a clear picture of the behaviors, systems, and leadership habits that create environments where people consistently do their best work.
Audiences leave with:
- A research-grounded understanding of what psychological safety is, why it matters, and how to measure it
- Specific leadership behaviors that build or erode a high-performance culture
- A practical roadmap for assessing and strengthening the cultural foundation of their team or organization
Best for: Leadership teams, HR and people operations conferences, organizational culture initiatives, and management development programs
Don't See Your Topic Here?
Patrick also develops tailored keynotes designed around your organization's specific challenges, strategic priorities, and audience. If you have a theme in mind, reach out and let's explore what's possible.
Audiences
Who Books Patrick
Patrick speaks to audiences who are serious about leadership, not looking for inspiration that fades by Monday morning, but for frameworks and tools that change how they lead.
Typical audiences include:
- Corporate executive leadership teams and senior leadership conferences
- Nonprofit organizations and association events
- MBA programs and university leadership initiatives
- Organizations navigating transformation, growth, or cultural change
What People Are Saying
"Ad Lucem Group designed and delivered a custom, interactive executive development program on "Leadership as Influence" to our 100 senior leaders at our global annual leadership conference. It was extremely well received and each region and function took away key actions for implementation when they returned home to their daily jobs."
Beth Powers
CHRO, Clarios
“Patrick combines the right amount of critical strategic thinking with organizational empathy…We felt challenged as well as supported throughout our strategic planning process. We were equipped to have important, and sometimes hard, conversations that have brought us to a place where we have a better understanding of ourselves, our board, our staff and our mission. We were able to break out of our arrested development as an organization and take the next steps toward becoming a sustainable nonprofit with a vision for how to serve our community. We learned that being strategic isn’t static; the tools we received from Patrick will serve us well into the future as we continue to grow."
Missy Schrock
Executive Director, Center for Healing & Hope
"It’s easy to fall into routines and patterns of thinking. Patrick and Amber helped my team think differently about the challenges and opportunities in front of us. With their help, we created a strategic vision that was both inspiring and practical. Most importantly, they got the whole team excited and mobilized for the path ahead. It was transformative."
Anna M. Amato, Ph.D.
Caretaker, Company Culture (CCC), edtec central, LLC
"Ad Lucem Group played a pivotal role in guiding Food Export through a transformative journey of defining our Mission, Vision, and Values. Their expertise and tailored approach not only aligned with our organizational goals but also inspired our team to fully engage in the process. Thanks to Ad Lucem, our MVV statements now serve as a beacon, driving our commitment to peak performance and propelling our nonprofit to new heights."
Brendan Wilson
Executive Director/CEO, Food Export Midwest & Northeast
Media Features
Recent Podcast & Media Appearances
Patrick's ideas have been featured across a range of podcasts, shows, and media platforms. A selection of recent appearances:
Patrick Farran: Proven Frameworks for Leadership
May 2025 | The Influential Nonprofit
Leading with Purpose: Transform Your Team and Results
May 2025 | Success, Secrets, and Stories
The Intentional Nonprofit Executive: Strategies for Sustainable Leadership
June 2025 | The Nonprofit Show
Leveraging the Power of Co-Creation with Dr. Patrick Farran
July 2025 | Productive Joy
Purpose, Agency, and the Real Work of Leadership with Dr. Patrick Farran
August 2025 | Leadership From The Heart
Work Matters S6E6: Patrick Farran - The Power of Co-Creation
August 2025 | The Work Matters Podcast
Inviting Input: A conversation about co-creating the workplace
November 2025 | Comfy Chairs
The Intentional Executive w/ Patrick Farran
January 2026 | Drive Thru HR
The Trust Problem Founders Don't Know They're Creating with Patrick Farran
July 2026 | Scaling With People
Inquire About Speaking
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