RENEWING LEADERSHIP FOR PURPOSE-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONS
Mission-driven work has never felt more important. Or harder to sustain.
Hi, I’m Lisa Bennett — author, facilitator, and award-winning journalist. I’ve spent most of my life learning from good people who have risen to great challenges. Today, I bring that work to purpose-driven leaders and teams through talks and workshops.
“Lisa is a great collaborator.”
FEATURED IN
The BBC, NPR, Harper’s, Vox, Big Think, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
THE PROBLEM
A destabilized world is destabilizing us — and it shows up in three ways.
Purpose-led people are dedicated to making a difference. But today’s exponential change, extreme uncertainty, and constant crises can deplete even the most committed leaders.
01
Clarity takes a hit
Overwhelm leads to reactivity and impaired decision-making.
02
Presence suffers
Anger, grief, and despair erode the capacity to show up fully.
03
Agency erodes
Hope seems naïve. Pessimism dampens problem-solving. And we may doubt our capacity to make a difference.
THE SOLUTION
For decades, purpose-led organizations have run on one story: that we must save something bigger than us. But today, the weight of that mission fuels depletion and restricts possibility.
What once mobilized can now demoralize. We need a story big enough to sustain us now.
… because we save what we savor.
How people keep rising to great challenges in tough times begins with unlocking a new story — and then strengthening the skills the moment calls for.
CLARITY
Seeing reality and possibility at the same time.
GROUNDING
Navigating the emotional landscape without being relentlessly triggered.
AGENCY
staying engaged by aligning with what we can impact.
Keynotes and workshops, sized to your moment.
SPEAKING & WORKSHOPS
KEYNOTE
Savor the World
45 - 60 MIN
When challenges feel bigger than us, we need a new shared narrative that helps sustain us. This is an inspiring talk rich in stories and growing research into the psychology of savoring, the counterpart to coping and the bedrock of resilience.
For: Conference openers, all-staff gatherings, the first session of a retreat
Outcome: A shoulder drop and new sense of possibility.
WORKSHOP
HALF DAY
Purpose Under Pressure
Advancing missions in a polycrisis takes skills many of us never had the chance to learn. These highly interactive sessions help teams explore ways of strengthening clarity amid overwhelm, grounding amid chaos, and agency amid daunting challenges.
For: 8 - 30 people navigating a new challenge or ongoing challenges.
Outcome: A new collective story and the skills needed to meet ongoing great challenges.
TEAM DAY
FULL DAY
A Day of Inspiration
Sometimes, we just need to step away from day-to-day needs and experience a big shot in the arm that reconnects us to each other and our work. This full day helps a team reconnect with what first drew them to the work and rediscover what sustains them in advancing it now.
For: Off-sites, retreats.
Outcome: Reconnect people, purpose, and possibility.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
“Lisa is able to create completely new ways to engage audiences such that they can listen, hear and then internalize.”
LISA RENSTROM
President & Co-Founder, Values Advisor
“Lisa is the calm in every cultural storm.”
ELIZABETH BIRCH
Former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign
“Lisa has an incredible talent for guiding conversations in a positive, forward-looking direction while ensuring everyone feels heard.”
ANACRON ALLEN
People & Culture, California Academy of Sciences
SELECTED CLIENTS & PARTNERS
The American Psychological Association
Brown University
California Academy of Sciences
Conferences for Women
Cornell University
Earth Knowledge
The FrameWorks Institute
Human Rights Campaign
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Southern Poverty Law Center
Woodwell Climate Research Center
Decades spent on one question: how do we rise to times like these without them flattening us?
Lisa Bennett is a speaker, facilitator, advisor, and award-winning journalist. She is the author of the forthcoming Savor the World and co-author of Ecoliterate with emotional intelligence pioneer Daniel Goleman.
A former fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, she has written for The New York Times, Forbes, Big Think, and Vox, and has held leadership roles in education, communications, and organizational strategy.
MEET LISA
6
Books co-authored, edited, or contributed to.
250 +
Leaders & experts interviewed
Collaborated with numerous CEOs, university presidents, and executive directors.
Interviewed people across more than a dozen fields, including Nobel Prize-winning scientists, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, and leaders of Fortune 500 companies.
Reported on one-of-a-kind leaders, from the Dalai Lama to Sully Sullenberger.
Selected speaking & media · National Press Club · California Academy of Sciences · Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy · Packard Foundation · BBC · NPR · C‑SPAN
An introduction to this work
What is depleting purpose-driven people, what actually restores them, and the framework I use with teams to get there. A short read, straight to your inbox.
