KSW monogramKaren S. WellsBring Karen to Your Stage

Keynotes & leadership experiences

Bring Lead. Boldly.™
to Your Stage

Karen doesn't speak about leadership from theory. She speaks from a rare vantage earned at the highest levels of corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurship, and she pairs galvanizing storytelling and humor with data-driven insight. Audiences leave not just inspired, but equipped to practice leadership intentionally and elevate how they lead.

Signature Keynote

Own Your Seat:
The Leadership Truths That Change How You Lead.

Too many capable leaders perform leadership, managing how they're perceived, instead of practicing it. Karen reveals the Leadership Truths that move an audience from performing to practicing: claiming your seat, leading from conviction, and making the daily choices that compound into real influence. Audiences leave with a grounded, practical view of leadership and the courage to lead boldly, on purpose, every day.

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Karen in a blue blazer speaking to a full auditorium
From the main stage to the boardroom, Karen meets every room where it is.

The Lead. Boldly.™ Framework

Three shifts.
A practice for every room.

Three shifts, several keynotes in each. Every talk is customized to your audience and can be delivered as a keynote, workshop, fireside chat, or panel.

01

Lead Yourself

With conviction and purpose, not just performance.

Featured

Be in A.W.E. of Failure

Failure isn't fatal, and it isn't a verdict. It's fuel. Karen reframes setbacks through A.W.E., the practice of choosing to Accept what happened, Welcome what it has to teach, and Embrace who it's making you. Drawing on her own pivots across corporate, nonprofit, and entrepreneurship, she shows leaders how to turn the moments they'd rather forget into the foundation of how they lead next. Audiences leave seeing failure not as something to survive, but as the raw material of reinvention.

Also in Lead Yourself

  • The Relentless Pursuit of Courage in Leadership
  • The Blind Spot Nobody Sees Coming
  • Humility Is a Superpower
  • Own Your Story
  • The Only One in the Room
  • Reset to Rebound: Women, Sports, and Leadership
02

Lead Others

By making their growth as important as your results.

Featured · Trademark

From WIIFM to WIIFO™

Most people lead from WIIFM, 'what's in it for me.' The most powerful leaders make one shift, to WIIFO™, 'what's in it for others.' Karen, the originator of WIIFO™, shows why leading in service of others isn't soft, it's the multiplier that builds trust, develops people, and compounds results no individual could reach alone. Audiences leave with a practical way to measure success by who rises because of them, not just what they achieve.

Also in Lead Others

  • Don't Play Politics. Manage Them.
  • Who's Telling Your Story?
  • Silence Writes Its Own Story
03

Lead Beyond

Building impact that outlasts every title, season, and transition.

Featured

The Power of the Intentional Yes

Every leader can point to a yes they almost didn't give, the assignment, the risk, the person, that changed everything. Karen unpacks how intentional choices, not job titles, build a legacy that outlasts every role, season, and transition. She challenges audiences to say yes on purpose, to the things that compound into lasting impact long after they've moved on. Audiences leave clear on the yeses worth giving, and the legacy each one builds.

Also in Lead Beyond

  • Grow People, Not Just Results
  • Change Is Guaranteed
  • Lead Beyond the Discomfort
  • Leadership Is Temporary. Impact Is Not.
  • The Value of Nonprofits in a For-Profit World

What your audience leaves with

For themselves: a grounded view of leadership and the conviction to lead with intention, not just ambition.

For those they lead: a deeper commitment to developing people, not just managing performance.

For their wider impact: a way to create impact that outlasts titles, roles, and results.

For the challenges ahead: what they need to practice leadership intentionally and elevate how they lead.

Ready to bring Lead. Boldly.™
to your stage?

Tell us about your event, and let's build the right talk for your audience.

Bring Karen to Your Stage