Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward

Speaker Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD is an organizational psychologist and CEC certified executive coach. Dr. Woody is author of the Amazon top selling career book, The YOU Plan and he writes regular columns on business leadership and employee engagement that have been featured on Fox Business,Psychology Today, and Thrive Global where he has interviewed such business icons as Richard Branson, Barbara Corcoran, Marcus Buckingham, and Robert Herjavek among many others. From 2011 through 2014 he appeared weekly on the Fox Business shows Morning Click and Career Accelerator with hosts Jamie Colby and Lauren Simonetti to discuss everyday workplace challenges. As a guest expert Dr. Woody has appeared on The TODAY Show, Live w/ Kelly, Fox & Friends, CNN, NBC, and CBS among many others.

Think of Dr. Woody as the Dr. Phil of work! He is America’s “workologist” if you will! As an executive coach trained in organizational psychology, Dr. Woody is a leadership and workplace expert with extensive experience as a coach, consultant, author, and media personality. Dr. Woody’s mission is to help managers and executives create a healthier more balanced work environment by helping them understand the psychology behind effective management, leadership and team work.

Dr. Woody started his career as a human resources consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and then became a project manager with IBM Global Business Services in Washington DC before going back to school to pursue a PhD in psychology. In 2005 Dr. Woody founded the consulting firm Human Capital Integrated (HCI) to focus on management and executive development. He has worked with such clients as Bacardi USA, SAP, Ernst & Young, IBM, Century 21 Real Estate, and The Miami Herald. From 2008 to

2015 Dr. Woody served on the board and as an adjunct faculty member at the Florida International University Center for Leadership where he worked with high potential talent and C-suite executives. Dr. Woody is currently on faculty with the Institute for Management Studies (IMS) where he travels around the country training new managers from such companies as Bose, Verizon, Prudential, Liberty Mutual, and McDonald’s. Dr. Woody also serves as an advisor to the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneurial Winning Women programs. Dr. Woody is also an IBM Smarter Workforce influencer.

From Player to Coach: The Psychology of Becoming a Great Manager

The transition from individual contributor to manager is often a dramatic change. And, it is one that we are rarely prepared for! Whether you are an entrepreneur or young manager, this keynote/workshop is an opportunity to develop and hone core management skills. This is popular as a half-day or full-day seminar and can include a number of the other topics listed in this section.

The Trust Factor: Building a High-performing Team through Trust

The process of building a high performing team is routed in trust. The key points to building trust are familiarity and willingness to take risk. Dr. Woody uses the Schindler & Thomas (1993) model of trust which consists of 5 major dimensions:

• Integrity
• Competence
• Consistency
• Loyalty
• Openness

The Values Compass – Navigating Uncertainty by Being True to Yourself

The values and culture of an organization are rooted in the underlying assumptions and norms that are manifest in the day-to-day interactions between employees. Understanding how to recognize and articulate this will help you to better manage and cultivate team synergy.

Making the Right Call: The Psychology Behind Sound Decisions

Managers are expected to deliver on business objectives by leveraging their team’s capabilities and directing their energy. In order to step up, a good manager must learn to step back. Managers must effectively work through others in order to be successful.

Influence to Action: The Art and Science of Persuasion

The art of persuasion is critical to gaining influence and developing effective leadership skill. Dr. Woody will cover the basics of management-employee interaction.

The Psychology of Effective Communication: How to Have Tough Conversations

All healthy relationships are based on open communication. Tough and painful conversations are a key component to building collaborative relationships across departments as well as managing team performance.

Driving Corporate Culture During Times of Change

The process of transitioning from a small business to a larger more formal organization is rarely well timed and often wrought with difficulty. One aspect that is often overlooked is the need to adapt people management practices. Dr. Woody will discuss the Edgar Schein model of organizational culture and talk about ways executives and managers can drive culture change in a deliberate manner.