"Respect for All: How a Nice-to-Have Turned into an Absolute Organizational Imperative"

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Respect isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a business necessity. Today’s workforce is dominated by Millennials and Gen Z, a diverse, values-driven generation that expects respect to be baked into leadership and culture. In fact, they’re ten times more likely to leave a toxic environment than one with low pay.

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In this energizing and interactive session, global thought leader Gregg Ward makes the compelling case for creating an Actively Respectful Culture™ (ARC) in your organization. You’ll explore the latest data, dive into the neuroscience of respect, and learn practical steps for making respect a driver of productivity, engagement, and collaboration.

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Through this session, you'll:​​

1. Discover the cultural shift reshaping today’s workplace—and what it means for you.

2. Understand the neuroscience of respect and the three categories of respectful behaviors.

3. Learn a four-phase model to embed respect into your organizational DNA.

4. Walk away with tools to improve team performance, satisfaction, and retention.

 

Speaker Bio:

Gregg Ward is the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Respectful Leadership and of the Respect for All Foundation. He began his career as a theater professional in New York using improvisation to train NYPD police officers. He also served as a journalist in Europe for BBC Radio and other UK media, covering the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He now serves as a global thought leader and keynote speaker on respect and is the author of the best-selling, award-winning business fable "The Respectful Leader" (Wiley 2016). Over the past two decades he's keynoted at hundreds of conferences and offsites in North America, Western Europe and the Middle East. Clients include ADP, Booz Allen Hamilton, Ford, Kaiser Permanente, Qualcomm, the US Navy and Warner Bros. Studios. Gregg holds a BFA from Boston University, is a Board-Certified Coach, a Master Corporate Executive Coach, and a Certified Management Consultant-Emeritus. In 2024 he was a finalist in the San Diego Business Journal’s CEO of the Year competition; and was named Top Executive Director by the International Association of Top Professionals, and one of ten Top Executive Coaches of 2024 by Real Leaders Magazine. Gregg also was honored with Culture Con’s “Distinguished Speaker” Award for his standing-room-only presentation at Culture Con West in 2024. Gregg sits on the BU School of Fine Arts Dean’s Advisory Board and on the Advisory Board of the Hyacinth Fellowship. He’s based in San Diego and umpires Little League baseball in his spare time.