Duncan Stevens Helps 45 Donor Network West Leaders Build a High Performance Culture
With Duncan Stevens, behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and best-selling author
OUTCOME 1
One culture to build
Leaders left with a shared picture of the culture they want to build together across Donor Network West.
OUTCOME 2
Culture as a habit
Culture stopped being a poster on the wall and became something leaders shape in everyday moments at work.
OUTCOME 3
Steps to take back
Practical steps from the 8 Pillars that leaders could try with their own teams in the week that followed.
THE CHALLENGE
Donor Network West needed a culture that could carry meaningful, demanding work and keep its people energised.
The work at Donor Network West is mission-driven, and it can be heavy. Acey Blanco, Manager of Leadership and Organisational Development, wanted a keynote that would help her leaders build a culture where people perform at their best without losing sight of why the work matters.
Workloads were growing and the emotional weight of the mission never eased. She asked Duncan to give leaders practical ideas for their own teams, and a lighter touch to balance the seriousness of the subject.
DUNCAN’S SOLUTION
A tailored high performance culture keynote built on the 8 Pillars, with warmth, humour and practical tools.
Before the event, Duncan spoke with Acey to learn about the mission, the team and the weight leaders carry, then adapted his content to fit.
He built a 60-minute keynote around the 8 Pillars of High Performance Culture, using on-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations and plenty of humour to keep the room involved. Every pillar came with a practical step leaders could take back to their own teams.
THE RESULT
Leaders who left with fresh perspectives and practical steps for developing their people.
Acey Blanco said the session aligned with Donor Network West’s mission-driven work and resonated deeply with her team. It broadened her leaders’ perspectives on leadership and gave them actionable takeaways that made a meaningful impact on the team’s development. In the survey, 99% of leaders said they’d recommend Duncan.
The audience survey below shows how the session landed with the people in the room.
Building a culture for people doing meaningful, demanding work? Check Duncan’s availability or explore his High Performance Culture keynote.
THOUGHTS FROM DUNCAN
A strong culture doesn’t remove the weight of the work. It helps people carry it together.
Culture gets built in small moments, and in mission-driven organisations those moments carry extra weight. I wanted leaders to leave with practical ways to look after their people, and permission to enjoy the room, because humour and purpose sit together more easily than most people expect.
The Donor Network West team were warm, open and clearly committed to what they do. It was a privilege to spend the session with them, and I’d love to work with them again.
HOW DONOR NETWORK WEST'S LEADERS RATED DUNCAN'S CULTURE KEYNOTE
99% of Donor Network West’s leaders would recommend Duncan, and 98% are extremely or highly likely to use his takeaways. The words they used most to describe the keynote were inspiring, relatable and uplifting.
Survey of 45 Donor Network West leaders, completed straight after the keynote.
LIKELIHOOD TO USE DUNCAN'S TAKEAWAYS
HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND DUNCAN
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE DUNCAN’S KEYNOTE
Want your leaders building a culture people are proud to belong to? Talk to Duncan about your event.
SEE WHAT OTHER CLIENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT DUNCAN'S KEYNOTE:
“It is evident that Duncan has a passion for delivering outstanding results and look forward to partnering again!”
Jenny Tsimpouka
Events Co-ordinator, CEO Clubs Greece
“His speech was very motivational and inspirational and the entertainment part was just mind-blowing!”
Tonya Winders
CEO, GAAP Barcelona
“I would highly recommend Duncan to anyone looking for an amazing speaker who can inspire and motivate diverse audiences!”
Natasha Amurao
Event Organiser, Abu Dhabi
“His content was delivered perfectly. Exactly what we were looking for! Actionable takeaways for everybody!”
Ashleigh Goodchild
Director, PM Collective
Popular Keynote Topics
Duncan Stevens is a behavioural psychologist, high performance expert and globally recognised keynote speaker. He inspires and educates leaders and teams at conferences around the world, in person or virtually.
His award-winning keynotes cover high performance, change, collaboration and influence.
Turning High Potential Into High Performance: Duncan’s signature keynote gives leaders the behaviours and mindsets to deliver strategic goals, drive change, inspire teams and strengthen culture.
The High Performing Team Advantage: An inspiring, entertaining keynote that gives teams the tools to collaborate better, drive marginal gains, take ownership and thrive through change.
Practical strategies to navigate uncertainty, overcome resistance, build resilience and create a culture that adapts quickly when things change.
Proven strategies to break down silos, build trust, share ownership and help teams achieve more together than they ever could alone.
How to build a culture where people want to perform at their best, using the 8 Pillars of High Performance Culture.
Built on Duncan’s best-selling book Effective Influence, this talk shows audiences how to build trust, communicate with impact, shape decisions and inspire action.
Let's Work Together.
Duncan’s helped global organisations like Donor Network West lift their teams, their culture and their bottom-line results. Let’s do the same for your event.
Schedule a call to start the conversation.