Blog - Jody Urquhart

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How to Get People to Take Initiative

April 22, 2025 No Comments

Are you struggling to inspire initiative within your team? Learn to create an environment where people feel safe and valued,

How to Be a Motivational Speaker: Most Speeches Fail Because They’re Too Self-Centered

April 16, 2025 No Comments

Most speeches fail because they focus too much on the speaker rather than the audience. The mistake many speakers make

Why I Stopped Confusing Humility with Self-Doubt

April 15, 2025 No Comments

I used to think humility meant staying quiet and dimming my light so others could shine. But I realized that

Human-Centered Leadership and the Science of High-Performing Teams

April 14, 2025 No Comments

Why do some teams thrive while others barely survive? It’s not luck — it’s science. A human-centered leadership approach transforms

The Fastest Way to Kill Employee Morale: The Voice in Your Head

April 10, 2025 No Comments

The fastest way to kill employee morale is to be present physically but absent mentally. When leaders are lost in

HR Is Supposed to Build Workplace Culture, Not Babysit It

April 8, 2025 No Comments

HR is often seen as the go-to for resolving workplace issues, but this perception needs to change. Instead of babysitting,

What Clients Are Saying

Tracy Dejong Discover Card

Jody creates breakthrough moments of self-reflection that fundamentally changes how teams collaborate.

Victoria McPheat Sunlife Global Investments

Jody’s use of comedy helped break down our defences and encouraged our team to stop living on autopilot

Marisol Kroll Kruger

This isn't about another motivational speech. It's about rewiring how professionals authentically engage, lead, and create meaningful workplace connections.

Donna Balter Cambridge Health Alliance

It’s a huge relief to experience a motivational speaker with no PowerPoint. You are authentic, hilarious and relatable.

Stop confusing effort with impact. Just because yo

Stop confusing effort with impact.
Just because you’re working hard doesn’t mean you’re working smart. The Maximum Effort–Impact Matrix helps leaders focus on what truly moves the needle—before burnout sets in. It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.

#LeadershipTools #FemaleMotivationalSpeaker #WorkSmarter #HumanCenteredLeadership #BurnoutPrevention #ImpactOverEffort

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

It’s praised as a productivity skill—but studies show it can slash your output by up to 40% and weaken your ability to think critically.

We’re skimming through tasks, meetings, even conversations—mistaking motion for impact.

But shallow leadership leads to shallow results.

Here’s how to break free:

1️⃣ Single-task with focus – One thing done well > five done poorly.

2️⃣ Listen to understand – Not to reply. That’s where trust begins.

3️⃣ Pause before reacting – That space is where better decisions live.

Great leadership isn’t about doing more.
It’s about being more present in what you do.

PS: What’s one habit you’ve changed to go deeper in your work or leadership? Drop it below.

Here are some relevant hashtags you can use with the post:

#leadership
#humanconnection
#motivationalspeaker
#femalemotivationalspeaker
#focusatwork
#deepwork
#mindfulleadership
#burnoutprevention
#presenceoverproductivity
#leadershipdevelopment
#multitaskingmyth
#emotionalintelligence

You Didn’t Lose, You Learned. We all have a na

You Didn’t Lose, You Learned.

We all have a natural set point for happiness—but life’s problems are what show us how we block it. Every challenge isn’t just a setback, it’s a mirror. You didn’t lose. You learned how to stop getting in your own way.

#motivational #speaker #leadership #motivationalspeaker #female #happiness #setpoint #resilience #growthmindset #femalemotivationalspeaker

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐰… 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝?

I’ve made mistakes—not from bad intentions, but from believing things that sounded familiar enough to feel true.

Phrases like:
🗣️ “They’re not ready yet.”
🗣️ “That idea won’t work here.”

Sound familiar?
They did to me—until I realized they weren’t facts… just inherited beliefs I never challenged.

It’s called the Illusory Truth Effect — the more we hear something, the more we believe it, even if it’s false.

That’s how bias sneaks into leadership.It hides behind habitual decisions and unquestioned assumptions.

Real leadership?

It’s not about echoing what’s been said a hundred times.
It’s about pausing to ask:
👉 “Is this actually true—or just repeated enough to feel that way?”

PS: What’s one belief you’ve had to unlearn as a leader? Drop it below.

#femalekeynotespeaker #leadershipdevelopment #humancenteredleadership

If you have to control everything, you’re not le

If you have to control everything, you’re not leading—you’re limiting.
Micromanaging:

It kills trust.
It smothers creativity.
And it sends the message: I don’t believe you can handle this without me.

But the truth is, leadership isn’t about control—it’s about courage.

Letting go isn’t easy. It means trusting people to rise, to fail, to figure it out.
It means understanding that people can only meet you to the degree they’ve met themselves.
And that growth often looks messy before it looks strong.

If you want your team to step up, you have to step back.
Create the space. Set the vision.
Then trust them to get there in their own way.

Let go—not because you’re giving up control,
but because you’re building people who no longer need it.

#HumanCenteredLeadership #LeadershipSpeaker #FemaleMotivationalSpeaker #Micromanage #LeadershipGrowth #LetGoToLead #Leadership #EmpoweredTeams #TrustOverControl

𝐓𝐡𝐞 #𝟏 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞? 𝐓𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐱 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.

Here’s the truth most leaders miss:

👉 People don’t want to be fixed — they want to grow.

Yet most feedback sounds like a report card.
Focused only on what went wrong.

No wonder it demotivates.

Great leaders do this instead:
They shift from performance review to potential unlock.

Here’s how:

1️⃣ Acknowledge what’s working — build from strengths

2️⃣ Spot the next step — “You nailed this. What if you also tried…”

3️⃣ Inspire growth — don’t just correct, coach

People rise when they feel seen and stretched.

Lead with belief, not just critique.

💬 What’s one piece of feedback that unlocked growth for you? #femalemotivationalspeaker #leadership

The Fastest Way to Kill Employee Morale? Easy. S

The Fastest Way to Kill Employee Morale?

Easy.

Schedule a mandatory team-building activity during everyone’s lunch break.

Because nothing says we value you like taking away the one hour people had to eat, breathe, or cry in their car.

You know the drill:
• There’s forced fun.
• There are trust falls.
• There’s a breakout room where someone suggests “icebreakers,” and someone else plots their escape through the ceiling tiles.

Meanwhile, Linda just wanted to microwave her sad little leftovers in peace.

Connection isn’t built on obligation — it’s built on presence. It happens when people want to be there, not when they’re volun-told.

If you want to build morale, don’t steal people’s lunch. Feed their energy, not their resentment.

Want a team that laughs, connects, and actually wants to be in the room?

Let’s do it the human way. With meaning, humor, and no trust falls required.

Hire me to speak — I promise to make it worth their lunch.

#FunnyMotivationalSpeaker #EmployeeMorale #TeamBuilding #ComedySkit #FunnySpeaker #WorkplaceHumor #HumanCenteredLeadership #LeadershipWithLaughter

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐈’𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞.

Yep — stomach churning, mind racing, hands a little too cold.

The first five minutes on stage? Pure nerves.

“Will they connect with this?”
“Am I enough?”

But here’s the twist:

That fear? It’s fuel.
That cortisol rush? It sharpens focus.
It anchors me in the moment.

I used to chase fearless. Now I chase real.

Confidence isn’t the absence of fear — it’s dancing with it.

A head nod, a soft laugh, eye contact… the nerves settle.

The message flows. The fear fades.
So tell me this:

👉 Where are you projecting confidence while battling doubt behind the scenes?

#womeninleadership #FemaleMotivationalSpeakers #humanity #fearless

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