Sandra McDowell

Inspire leaders with a new conversation.

Sandra McDowell

CEO, Founder, and Executive Coach

Author, Speaker | MA, PCC, CULC, CPHR, CULC

As the founder and voice behind the globally recognized eLeadership Academy™, Sandra McDowell is sounding the alarm that brain health is under threat. In her talks, she captivates audiences by blending theory, story and practice to help leaders and organizations increase their performance by harnessing the untapped power of the brain.

With relevant content, relatable examples, and practical takeaways, Sandra’s engaging sessions spark a bold conversation about the power of human connection, brain health and well-being, and increased focus and accountability.

Biography

With over two decades of credit union executive experience and advanced certifications in Leadership, Coaching, Neuroleadership, and HR, Sandra is a trusted authority on the application of neuroscience in leadership. As CEO and lead faculty for eLeadership Academy, Sandra drives a mission to deliver training that builds inspiring credit union leaders who people love to follow.

Sandra is a dynamic and sought-after speaker who has engaged audiences of all sizes, from virtual webinars to prestigious international mainstages. She has delivered a keynote address to over 3,500 attendees at Toastmasters International, presented in Brazil for the Secredi credit union system, and shared her expertise with CU audiences across the UK, Europe, and North America. The impact of her work is far-reaching. She has led impactful sessions for CEOs and board chairs of the largest credit unions, facilitated on-site workshops for executive teams, and inspired women’s groups and emerging leaders through her engaging and thought-provoking presentations.

Sandra is a long-time partner of the World Council of Credit Unions and CCUA, an associate faculty member at two universities, and the author of Your Mother Was Right: 15 Unexpected Lessons About Leadership and the Brain. Earlier in her career, she received a CCUA National Young Leader Award and a World Council WYCUP Young Leader Award.

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Virtual or In-Person Speaking Topics

Shut the Duck Up: Learn the Coach Approach to Leadership

Telling people what to do is easy, but it’s not the most effective tool in your leadership toolbox. The coach approach focuses on asking questions to facilitate problem-solving, rather than doing the problem solving yourself. Learn to shut the duck up by transitioning from advice-giving to asking questions, empowering others to cultivate their thoughts and plans, fostering richer conversations, and nurturing stronger relationships. In this light-hearted session, attendees will assess how much they love to quack and learn to quiet their inner duck. With brain-friendly, memorable examples, Sandra will teach leaders of all levels to support accountability, inspire action, and build confidence in those they lead by holding them capable. Learn the power of the coach approach in this session led by certified executive coach and CEO Sandra McDowell.

The Neuroscience of Trust

This session delves into the crucial topic of the neuroscience of trust. It underscores the pivotal role leaders play in either fostering a culture of trust or breeding mistrust. Understanding this role is key, as it significantly influences organizational culture, employee engagement, collaboration, and overall performance. By effectively understanding and cultivating trust, leaders can create a culture of belonging where employee well-being and performance thrive. Ultimately, this knowledge equips leaders with the tools to navigate challenges and inspire their teams toward collective success. Join Sandra to explore practical strategies for fostering trust, which serves as the essential currency that fuels team dynamics and enhances organizational culture.

Moving from "Us and Them" to We

Mergers and remote work have eroded workplace trust, creating a vortex of change that presents significant challenges for leaders striving to cultivate trusting and cohesive teams. In this environment, many employees feel on guard and resistant to change. It’s time to shift from crisis management and reactive problem-solving to the core responsibilities of leadership: building cultures where employees feel they belong and are empowered to learn, grow, and thrive. This session will explore the neuroscience behind current leadership challenges, providing practical steps to enhance trust and change agility, enabling groups to transition from a mindset of “us and them” to “we!”

Don't Get Burned by Your Own Ambition

In this session, we'll talk about pre-empting the devastating effects of stress and burnout that routinely cripple even the most successful leaders. Sandra McDowell, an expert in the application of neuroscience for leadership, will explain the physical and cognitive impacts of stress and how to recognize, avoid, and deal with the exhaustion to which ambitious leaders are most susceptible. Sandra raises the concern about the fine line between burnout and ambition, and our individual and collective responsibility to build organizations conducive to wellness.Bridging the gap between brain research, human behavior, and 21st-century leadership, Sandra sounds the alarm that we need to guard against stress to protect the human brain––our personal leadership supercomputer.

Inclusive Cultures: Bias and the Brain

If you have a brain, you have bias. Bias is a survival mechanism developed over thousands of years. How-ever, when left unmanaged, bias can do serious damage to your workplace culture in terms of trust, be-longing, and overall well-being. Within this session, participants will learn insights from neuroscience to better understand bias, the social brain, and the importance of allyship. Sandra will share how leveraging an understanding of the brain, and psychological safety can mitigate the unintended consequences of bias, resulting in increased inclusivity and well-being.

Leading with Heart and Backbone

Heart of gold or backbone of steel? Effective leaders have both. In this session, Sandra explains why leading with both heart and backbone has never been more important. In order to do their best work, people need empathic leaders who foster trust and safety while courageously facing uncertainty. Leading with heart fuels collaboration, trust, and psychological safety, while leading with backbone fosters accountability, performance, and the confidence to move forward. In this session, you’ll learn about the neuroscience of the social brain, the importance of courageous leadership, and techniques for handling difficult conversations. You’ll also receive an online assessment to determine your balance of heart and backbone, along with take-away strategies you can use to strengthen your leadership impact.

Pathway to Authentic Leadership

As Cheshire Cat said to Alice, “If you don’t know where you’re going, then any road will take you there.” The road to personal leadership begins with getting clear on what matters most to you, how you want to ‘show up’ in the world, and the difference you want to make. Leadership is not based on position, but rather a reflection of how you show up every day at work, at home and in the community. In this session, attendees will hone their leader mindset by leveraging the three Cs of confident leadership: clarity, conviction, and courage. They’ll walk away with a clearer definition of their values, beliefs, and intended outcomes, as well as an understanding of how to rewire the brain for lasting impact.

Clients

Sandra has delivered talks, workshops and keynote speeches to small groups of a dozen and large audiences with over 3500 attendees. These are a few of the companies that have invited Sandra to speak.

Sandra's mission to educate and inspire the next generation of powerful leaders has taken her around the globe.

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Speaking Testimonials

With a passion that resonates deeply with her audience, Sandra has been a pivotal figure at the NEXTGEN conference, where her participants continually describe her sessions as “transformative.” Her expertise in fostering networks and her strategic insights into leadership has empowered countless individuals to elevate their potential within the credit union sector.

Sandra's influence extends beyond the podium as she freely provides guidance and shares her expertise, supporting individuals and organizations when needed.

- Mirren Harris

Vice President of Education and Professional Development, CCUA

We couldn't have had a better fit for a speaker at our conference than Sandra. She received rave reviews from all conference attendees, who took away valuable insight and actionable items from her half-day workshop. Sandra was a pleasure to work with right from the planning stages to the follow-up afterwards, and we hope to continue working with her to further explore neuroleadership, emotional intelligence, and being a leader from the inside out.

- Jocelyne Rowsell

Speaking Event: CUYLM Conference, Canada

GWLN have used many speakers over the years to inspire other women in the worldwide credit union industry, but Sandra took the experience to a whole new level.

The messages that she shared are not only to develop women as better leaders in our professional careers but also to develop us personally to be the best we can be. I don’t think we could have found a better speaker for our Executive Summit - ERS and I hope to hear her speak again soon!

I would highly recommend Sandra McDowell for any corporate or personal event.

- Pam Hermoso

Speaking Event: GWLN, USA

Sandra is a fabulous speaker! Her knowledge about leadership and mindfulness were valuable contributions to our lives and careers. She gave us so many lessons and tips to help us improve our leadership through a wonderful speech. I could hear Sandra for days. She was also very committed to our event and got engaged with the audience that was Portuguese language speakers. No barrier encountered. She made it happen!

- Gisele Gomes

Speaking Event: Women’s Leader Summit, Brazil

'Very engaging’ are the words that come to mind when I think about Sandra. She has served as a breakout speaker and facilitated a deep dive presentation to our credit union leader members. Our members found her presentations very practical and interactive. Sandra would be a true asset for any organization requiring a professional speaker to engage an audience on leadership and the coaching culture.

- James Lenz

Speaking Event: CUES, USA

We contracted Sandra to do an all-day session. She was the consummate professional from start to finish. I worked closely with Sandra in the months leading up to the conference and I can genuinely say that every communication was a treat. The program was outstanding and people who attended have commented that it was our best ever. Besides WYCUP, Sandra also facilitated a breakout session on Millennials, and presented her own breakout session on Mindful Leadership, which was rated as the number one session at our entire conference.

- Will Harris

Speaking Event, Ireland

Sandra served as keynote speaker, bringing together men and women from 20+ countries to learn about leading with the heart and backbone. She was a rock star! Connecting neuroscience with leadership everyone in the audience was equipped with new tools to make them better leaders professionally and personally. Her ability to speak from her experiences as both "topic expert" and industry leader, resonated well with our audience and ignited excitement, engagement and participation from attendees. Leading up to the event, Sandra worked incredibly hard to ensure her presentation aligned with our program’s goals, and she went above and beyond after the forum by continuing to share her expertise with attendees during the remainder of the conference.

- Calyn Ostrowski

Speaking Event: GWLN, Vienna

As one of the conference organizers, I cannot say enough about how important it is to provide your conference attendees with thoughtful and engaging content. Sandra’s session on ‘The Neuroscience of Leadership’ fit the bill perfectly. The session was very well received and attendees gained valuable insight that when leaders better understand the brain and what drives engagement and disengagement, they can more effectively lead others. I would highly recommend Sandra as a professional speaker.

- Melissa Harder

Speaking Event: Central1 Conference, Canada

Sandra was rated No.1 breakout speaker with her session on The Neuroscience of Leadership. Her topic resonated with the audience and really made a great impression on those who attended her breakout. We noticed a spike in the comments section of the conference app when Sandra spoke. I could see the nodding and the palpable engagement that the audience had. It was the relevance of the topic and how effectively and professionally she delivered the message. We were very fortunate to have her as a speaker and facilitator in Belfast and would recommend Sandra as she is an outstanding speaker and the definition of a professional.”

- Víctor Miguel Corro

Event Organizer, Ireland

The Book on the Brain and Leadership

Through the course of Sandra's studies in the field of neuroleadership she discovered an ironic truth: our mothers were even wiser than we thought! Your Mother Was Right demonstrates how most of the common pitfalls of brain function can be overcome simply by following mom's advice. Integrating truths straight from your mother's rule book, Sandra shows you how many of the lessons that your mother shared were legitimately rooted in neuroscience even if she didn't know it at the time!

This book will teach you how to lead yourself and others with the brain in mind, in order to optimize engagement and performance. Your Mother Was Right is an easy-to-read, relatable, and memorable experience that proves your mother had the answers all along.

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