David Burkus is one of the most exciting business thinkers available today. A thought leader in leadership and teamwork, his forward-thinking ideas are shaping modern leadership across multiple industries today. David is highly sought-after for his specialist business knowledge and can boast leading clients such as NASA, Microsoft, Google, PepsiCo, Fidelity, and Prudential among others. Travelling the world to deliver his keynote speeches, David is well-known for his exceptional presentation skills and ability to engage with his audience to provide highly informative sessions on high-performance teams, innovation, and leadership.
Highly educated, David holds a master’s degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University. A former professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University, David’s insight into teamwork and leadership has been featured in prestigious publications including Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Forbes, and the BBC. Furthermore, he was named one of the nation’s top 40 Under 40 Professors Who Inspire, in recognition of his cutting-edge teaching style and profound knowledge. Moreover, David has worked across industries coaching top leaders in Google, NASA, Viacom, and the US Naval Academy.
An exceptional writer, David has authored several books on teamwork and leadership, four of which have become best-selling including, Leading From Anywhere, The Myths of Creativity, Friend of a Friend and Under New Management. The books have been translated into several different languages, a testament to David’s ranking as one of the world's top business thought leaders. In 2019 he won the Silver Medal from the Axiom Business Book Awards and was ranked in the Thinker50 World's Top Business Thought Leaders list.
David enjoys a large following with over 40,000 people subscribed to his weekly newsletter. A valuable resource complied by him to include useful podcasts, videos and articles that can be used by his subscribers to develop their leadership and teamwork skills. As a distinguished speaker, David is best known for his TED Talk ‘Why you should know how much your co-workers get paid’ which was viewed over two million times. One of the foremost business thinkers and experts on leadership and teamwork, David delivers captivating presentations tailored to his client’s business needs, promising many valuable takeaways for his audience.
Social Media
Books
Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams
Friend of A Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career
Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual
The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas
David Burkus's official speaking topics are listed below:
Best Team Ever® - The Surprising Science Of High-Performing Teams:
Every leader wants to build a high-performing team, and nearly everyone wants to be on one. But most teams fail to perform at their optimal level. We try to recruit star players, improve compensation, give copious feedback, obsess over engagement surveys, and in the end, we still don’t have the results we want and often feel we're out of options. But the secret to unlocking performance isn't recruiting new teammates or designing the perfect incentive. The most effective teams became that way by building the habits and culture of the team that allows for optimal performance.
Talent doesn't make the team; the team makes the talent.
That’s what building the best team ever is all about. When you focus on improving the culture of the teams you lead–or the teams you're on–you create an environment that improves the performance of everyone on it. In this entertaining and enlightening keynote, Dr. David Burkus reveals the secrets of the highest-performing teams in the world and how you can get started tomorrow by applying those secrets. Leaders will leave with a clear and concise understanding of how the culture of their team affects its performance, and a simple and practical blueprint for how to build the best team ever.
Click - Why Some Teams Collaborate Fast & Others Just Collapse:
Every leader dreams of a team that just "clicks," one that collaborates effortlessly, tackles challenges head-on and delivers results time and time again. But not every team reaches this pinnacle of performance. Some teams struggle from the beginning, while others start strong and fall apart. And many just coast along. In each case, engagement breaks down and performance suffers. Why is it that some teams break records while others just break down?
Most leaders think the solution is more talent, more resources, or even more meetings. But the real key is mastering the two elements of great collaboration: clarity and empathy. When people understand not just their roles and responsibilities (clarity), but also the personalities and work preferences of their teammates (empathy), their teams operate at a higher level. When they don't, they're just one misunderstanding away from collapse.
In this evidence-based, high-energy keynote, Dr. David Burkus will reveal the surprising science behind why some teams succeed while others spiral into dysfunction. You'll learn how to establish instant clarity, alignment, and accountability, even in the newest or most complex teams. And you’ll leave with research-backed insights, practical tools, and actionable strategies to elevate your team’s performance immediately.
Ready to unlock effortless collaboration and unstoppable performance?
The Trust Loop - The Hidden Pattern That Builds (or Breaks) Your Team:
Every leader wants a team they can trust. Every teammate wants to know their trust is earned. But here’s the reality: Trust isn’t built in a moment; it's grown over time with each and every interaction.
Trust isn't given. Trust isn't earned. Trust is reciprocated.
The highest-performing teams don’t just hope for trust—they build it, reinforce it, and protect it through a powerful feedback cycle–The Trust Loop. Every time trust is extended, it needs to be met with respect to keep the cycle going.
In this dynamic and research-backed keynote, Dr. David Burkus reveals a proven framework for reinforcing trust in every interaction. You'll learn why trust erodes faster than you think—and how to prevent it from slipping away, but also how great teams recover from failures and setbacks without losing trust. And you'll leave with a practical blueprint to strengthen trust and drive results.
Let’s get The Trust Loop going.
Innovation Is A Team Sport - The Science Of Creative Collaboration:
As the challenges organizations face seem to compound, we need innovative ideas more than ever. But many teams struggle to find and implement their brightest ideas. Much of this struggle comes from a common misconception: you can’t create an innovative company teaching individuals to be more creative. Instead, research reveals that “lone creators” are historically rare and for most innovations, creativity is a team sport.
Teams bring a broader perspective and a more diverse set of solutions, but only if they know how to leverage the wisdom of everyone involved.
By combining insights from social science research and practical takeaways from the most innovative companies and teams, Dr. David Burkus outlines a prescription for any team or organization to work more creatively together, without silos, politics, or frustration. You'll learn how to leverage the expertise of the whole team, how to harness conflict to strengthen ideas, and how to find and implement the best solutions to the challenges your teams face.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"David was extremely well-received. His content connected with the audience and they were engaged on another level." - Equinix
"The team and I appreciated all David did to understand our challenges and tailor his talk to meet the needs of our workforce. David provided us with tips and practices we can easily implement." - NASA
"It was such a pleasure to work with David. We got fantastic ratings for your session." - National Association of Manufacturers
"David delivered were engaging, fun and meaningful. He is a great partner to work with and is always looking for a way to bring more value." - Amdocs
"I couldn’t have asked for a better keynote speaker for our leadership conference." - Synovus Bank
"We loved David's presentation and delivery. He's a genius. He paid attention to everything and incorporated it into his presentation." - SACRS
"David was awesome and extremely engaged with our group. We really enjoyed his time spent with us on stage and off the stage." - NRECA
"David was fantastic!" - American Chemical Society
"The team and I appreciated all David did to understand our challenges and tailor his talk to meet the needs of our workforce. David provided us with tips and practices we can easily implement." - NASA
"David got rave reviews." - Nosco
"David received very high ratings. He clearly had done his homework and that allowed folks to make those direct connections to their own work." - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- 2023 - Author of "Best Team Ever: The Surprising Science of High-Performing Teams"
- 2021 - Author of "Leading From Anywhere: The Essential Guide to Managing Remote Teams"
- 2019 - Named 46th on the Thinkers50 World's Top Business Thought Leaders list
- 2019 - Recipient of the Silver Medal at the Axiom Business Book Awards
- 2018 - Author of "Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life & Your Career"
- 2017 - Named 48th on the Thinkers50 World's Top Business Thought Leaders list
- 2015 - Author of "Under New Management: How Leading Organisations are Upending Business as Usual"
- 2015 - Named on the 40 Under 40 Professors Who Inspire list by Nerdscholar
- 2013 - Author of "The Myths of Creativity: The Truth About How Innovative Companies & People Generate Great Ideas"
- 2010 - Founder of David Burkus
How to hire David Burkus
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring David Burkus for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
