cris wildermuth

Public Speaking

I frequently speak at conferences or association meetings.  My favorite topics are employee engagement, diversity in the workplace (especially personality diversity), and business ethics.  Please contact me if you are interested in one of my topics.

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The 10 M's of Engagement

In today's economy, employers must find new and innovative ways to encourage employees to do "more" with "less."  External and tangible motivators such as bonuses, salary increases, or promotions may simply not be feasible under current circumstances.  This presentation will focus on the importance of employee engagement...a powerful connection between person, job, and employer that has been linked through recent research to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and lower turnover. 

Circles of Ethics

To say that ethical leadership is a relevant topic nowadays is an understatement.  A bear market and a myriad of corporate scandals have brought squeamishness to investors and intensified public demands for corporate accountability.  In order to solve this problem, some organizations have incorporated integrity assessments to their selection processes. Others have instituted “zero tolerance” policies to curb ethical violations.  Integrity assessments, however, have limitations: They may “weed out” flexible, risk-taking, and creative people – precisely the types of personalities that may be typical among high level leaders.  “Zero tolerance” policies may also be problematic – they assume that ethical dilemmas are easy to solve and have clear cut “right/wrong” answers.  Instead, the types of ethical dilemmas faced by typical leaders may go beyond “rule following” and require the ability to solve complex moral dilemmas.  The presenter will “decode” ethical decision-making for leaders and explain the roots of common ethical violations.  Specifically, the presenter will connect leadership personalities and ethics and describe an intuitive and intriguing ethical decision making model entitled “Circles of Ethics.”  She will also share a possible training outline to help leaders improve ethical decision-making.  You will learn key ethical concepts to revolutionize your own ethics training design.

The Case for Conversity

An important medical tenet is “First do no harm.”  Diversity initiatives can do harm by exacerbating the perception of differences and including legally dangerous practices.  Further, diversity development often does not work – instead, participants may leave the training more frightened and prejudiced than they were prior to the training.  In this thought provoking presentation, the speaker addresses this problem and proposes solutions.  Specifically, the presenter will separate myth from fact in the diversity “business case” and discuss key social psychology and brain research findings that impact diversity relations.   Finally, the presenter will make the case for “Conversity®" - an approach to diversity training that focuses on forging connections and finding similarities rather than differences.

Beneath the Surface: Understanding Personality Diversity

Leaders operate in the “people business.” It is vital that they understand the basics of human psychology and become aware of their own challenges and opportunities for success. Personality colors the lenses through which we see, judge, and relate to others.  It gives us a special language – a language that only those who share key pieces of our personality puzzle can understand.  Even though personality is often not excluded from diversity training initiatives, it is a highly significant, albeit invisible, source of bias and conflict in the workplace.  This presentation introduces human resources practitioners to personality diversity and helps them plan to incorporate this important topic in their diversity initiatives.

The Social Networking Revolution: HR Applications of Linkedin

Have you been "linked"? If you don't know what Linkedin is, you could be missing a valuable recruiting tool.  Linkedin allows you to locate "passive" candidates, interact with potential employees, and post jobs for free using the various professional groups available.  This presentation includes best practices on recruiting and job hunting on Linkedin as well as Linkedin's etiquette and best practices.  You will also learn how to design a Linkedin group for your own organization.