Heather McGowan Profile Photo

Heather McGowan

Keynote Speaker

Top-ranked futurist; 2x Bestselling Author 

Heather E. McGowan is a globally recognized future-of-work strategist who equips leaders and organizations to navigate relentless change by activating their most critical resource: their people. By teaching people to ask better questions, she empowers them to adapt at the speed of possibility to build exceptional cultures that Solve Tomorrow's Problems™.

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Heather McGowan'S SPEAKING FEE $25K - $40K

Heather McGowan Profile Photo

One of Forbes’ Top Futurists, Heather E. McGowan brings fresh energy and actionable insights to the future of work. A sought-after strategist, keynote speaker, and 2x bestselling author, she equips organizations to navigate relentless change by activating their most critical resource: their people. 

McGowan’s audiences range from startups to publicly traded Fortune 500 companies, including Google, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, and Kaiser Permanente. Through data-driven insights and powerful visual frameworks, she helps leaders and teams transform their distinctly human capabilities—adaptability, empathy, and curiosity—into strategic advantages.

Often quoted in The New York Times, with Thomas Friedman calling her an “oasis” for her insights, McGowan’s bestselling books include The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, which was named a Top 10 Business Book of 2023. 

By teaching people to ask better questions, she enables them to adapt at the speed of possibility to Solve Tomorrow’s Problems™.

Featured Videos

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan Speaking Reel

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan on Resilience

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan on The Importance of Curiosity

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan on Skills Gaps and Behaviors: The Power of Not Knowing

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan on The Confidence Gap

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Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan on The Augmented Era

Heather McGowan’s Speech Topics

  • Solve Tomorrow’s Problems: Harness Human Ingenuity to Navigate What’s Next

    Think organizations can’t change quickly? History proves otherwise. 


    When naysayers said “it can’t be done,” humans accomplished the impossible—in weeks, not years. Each pivotal moment reminds us of humanity’s most underestimated asset: our ability to adapt in the face of seemingly impossible odds.


    In this perspective-shifting keynote, Heather McGowan challenges the myth that we resist change using unforgettable stories about a mop, a burrito, and a hermit crab to demonstrate how we can tap into our natural curiosity and hardwired drive to collaborate to see and shape what’s next. 


    Drawing from her bestselling books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, McGowan reveals how leading organizations thrive when they place adaptability at their core, allowing them to find breakthrough opportunities where others least expect them.


    The audience will leave with: 

    • A powerful understanding of how to frame the right question 
    • Practical approaches to optimize how they adapt to new realities
    • Clear frameworks for mapping the past to navigate the future
    • The leadership mindset shifts that guide team success in uncharted territories


  • The Augmented Advantage: Unleashing Human Potential in the AI Era

    Think you can’t remember phone numbers like you used to? You’re not alone. As we hand off more tasks to technology, some of our more-human capabilities will naturally fade. Yet while automation may lead to atrophy in some areas, augmentation opens doors to entirely new human capabilities—if we are intentional. The key isn’t only using AI to replace what we currently do by automating it, but transforming work as we know it. 


    In this eye-opening presentation, Heather McGowan cuts through the AI hype to demonstrate why thriving alongside AI isn’t about having the right answers. Instead, it’s about asking better questions, framing new challenges, and treating AI as our partner—enhancing our capabilities and expanding our cognitive horizons.


    The audience will leave with: 

    • A clear understanding of what to automate vs. augment—and why it matters
    • Practical ways to learn from AI as a collaborative partner
    • Fresh insights on how to build on uniquely human advantages in an AI world
    • Necessary leadership shifts to drive optimal human performance 
  • The Curiosity Advantage: Leading in the Age of Uncertainty

    Remember when being a leader meant having all the answers? Today’s most successful leaders are asking better questions. In a world of unprecedented opportunity, they’re not the most certain, but the most curious. According to research, this shift in profile—from know-it-alls to learn-it-alls—means we may be overlooking the very leaders we need right now. 


    In this paradigm-shifting talk, Heather McGowan reveals why the future belongs to forward-thinking leaders who can navigate relentless change by activating their team’s innate potential to learn, adapt, and grow.


    Drawing on her bestselling books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, along with compelling research and real-world examples, she demonstrates how exceptional performance depends on empowering rather than managing, building trust rather than enforcing processes, and harnessing collective intelligence for breakthrough results.


    The audience will leave with: 

    • Practical tools for activating their team’s collective potential
    • Clear methods for building high-trust environments where curiosity is encouraged
    • Frameworks for transforming management into performance enablement
    • Real examples of how curious leaders unlock performance 


  • Clear on Purpose: Turning Purpose Into Performance Through a Shared Vision

    In an era of unprecedented social division, our professional success hinges not on discussing politics at work, but on mastering the tools of constructive dialogue—active listening, intellectual humility, and genuine curiosity—to create environments where diverse perspectives transform friction into fuel for innovation. 


    The ability to bridge divides through emotional intelligence and skilled communication may be our most valuable professional competency in today’s interconnected world. When organizational purpose aligns with human potential, extraordinary things happen. 


    In this inspirational keynote drawn from Heather McGowan’s most recent book, The Empathy Advantage, McGowan reveals how purpose can become your organization’s most powerful performance driver. 


    Through compelling research and real-world examples, she demonstrates how a shared vision can create the trust, belonging, and motivation needed to transform individual potential into collective impact—through increasing engagement, reducing turnover, and unleashing performance. 


    By getting clear on purpose, we don’t just adapt to change—we shape the future.


    The audience will be able to: 

    • Foster brave dialogue that transforms differences into innovation
    • Link individual roles to organizational purpose through clear vision
    • Transform purpose into measurable actions and celebrated outcomes
    • Make necessary leadership shifts to build shared vision 
  • Start With Trust: The Lifeblood of High-Performing Teams

    Despite disruptions like technology shifts and social changes, businesses today have a unique opportunity to tap into measurable advantages when it comes to engagement, innovation, and profitability—and it all begins with TRUST.


    Just as humanity’s greatest achievements arose from collective effort, cohesive teams innovate faster, adapt more effectively, maintain higher engagement, experience lower turnover, and consistently outperform their peers.


    In this powerful presentation drawn from her two most recent books The Adaptation Advantage and The Empathy Advantage, Heather McGowan shares proven tools audiences can use to activate their natural collaborative strengths so they can achieve extraordinary results, gain a competitive advantage, and drive sustainable growth. 


    The audience will leave with: 

    • Tips to intentionally build trust, belonging, and a shared sense of purpose 
    • Practical strategies to build cohesive, high-performing teams
    • Tools for maintaining focus and cohesion during rapid change
    • Leadership mindset shifts to establish authentic relationships and trust 

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan is outstanding at her craft, tailoring her presentation for maximum impact. She will leave your audience with clear imperatives and fired up to race into action!

Pharmaceuticals

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather – Your event was INCREDIBLE. It absolutely nailed the messaging we wanted to get out there, and the feedback was tremendous. It did exactly what we aimed to do – get people thinking more broadly – and DIFFERENTLY – about how they lead, market/industry context, and what they need to prepare for in the future. I sincerely hope we get to have you back again – I know there were some leaders internally that were interested in having you speak with their teams.

Financial Services

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather nailed it. She inspired my people. It was more than I had hoped for.

Consumer Products

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather was the highlight of the conference. She gave my team a lot to think about in both the near and far term.

Oil & Gas

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather’s presentation style connects to the audience regardless of how your brain is wired. A broad coalition of colleagues found immediate, actionable application of her message.

Other

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

The way Heather combined concrete research data with common sense insights educated people and provided them with a clear blueprint for what actions to take.

Technology

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Really excellent talk. The best one I have attended in quite some time. It was incredibly dense, packing in studies, data, trends, concepts, and frameworks that were relevant as an individual and a manager. Essential viewing.

Telecommunications

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Heather has a unique ability to communicate complex information that is accessible to the public AND credible to the expert. She gave a superb online talk at the record breaking ‘Brainfood Marathon 2020’, which was not only the most watched of the 80+ sessions across the 24 hours, but ‘most requested’ by those missed it. If you are looking for an expert analyst on the future of work who can speak to the widest possible audience, look no further than Heather McGowan

Human Resources

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

In the war for talent, organizations must be able to offer employees a path that goes beyond typical career progression. Heather presents a compelling and thought provoking vision that focuses on lifelong learning and adaptability for employees, which the pace of technological change essentially requires. Her analysis is comprehensive, yet easily understood. She distills it into actionable steps to help organizations move towards creating an environment in which employees and organizations mutually benefit and are well positioned for an uncertain future.

Business Consulting

What other organizations say about Heather McGowan

Not only was working with Heather an absolute pleasure, but her virtual keynote address was beyond compare. Her speech secured our largest audience to date and attendees unanimously praised her inspiring and engaging message. We cannot recommend her highly enough!

Education Programs

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