Duncan Stevens Helps 48 Gilead Leaders Turn High Potential Into High Performance
With Duncan Stevens, behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and best-selling author
OUTCOME 1
Potential put to work
Gilead’s regional leaders left the Cycle Meeting with a shared picture of what high performance looks like.
OUTCOME 2
Aha moments that stuck
Storytelling and interactive exercises sparked fresh thinking, with plenty of aha moments across the room.
OUTCOME 3
Insights they can use
Practical ideas they could carry back to their teams and put into day-to-day leadership straight away.
THE CHALLENGE
Gilead Sciences wanted its regional leaders turning high potential into high performance, not sitting through theory.
When the 2026 Cycle Meeting came round, Gilead Sciences’ regional leadership group had a full agenda and little appetite for abstract concepts. Pavel Komarov, Human Resources Director for the region, selected Duncan to facilitate the session and asked for something that would move people from potential to performance.
He wanted ideas that felt real, exercises that got everyone involved on the day and a session his leaders would still be talking about long afterwards.
DUNCAN’S SOLUTION
A high performance session built on storytelling, practical insight and interactive exercises.
Before the meeting, Duncan spoke with Gilead’s HR team to understand the group, the aims of the Cycle Meeting and what leaders needed to take home.
He then designed a 60-minute session called From High Potential to High Performance. It opened with story, layered in practical insights, and built in interactive exercises so every leader took part rather than watching from their seat. On-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations showed how quickly perspective can shift, and each idea came with a clear next step.
THE RESULT
A leadership group full of aha moments and a partner Gilead Sciences will keep close.
Pavel Komarov said the session sparked numerous aha moments across the group and left a lasting impression on the entire audience. He called it far more than abstract concepts. Gilead Sciences will keep Duncan on its radar as a trusted partner. In the survey, 98% of leaders said they’d recommend Duncan.
The audience survey below shows how the session landed with the people in the room.
Building leaders who deliver, not just leaders with potential? Check Duncan’s availability or explore his High Performance Leadership keynote.
THOUGHTS FROM DUNCAN
Potential is only a promise until leaders practise what they’ve learned.
I never want a room to leave with a good feeling and nothing to do with it. High potential turns into high performance when leaders see themselves in the story, try the idea for themselves and take one clear step back to their team. That’s why I build in so much interaction.
Gilead’s leaders were curious, generous and quick to jump in, which made the session a joy to run. I’d love to work with them again.
HOW GILEAD SCIENCES' LEADERS RATED DUNCAN'S LEADERSHIP KEYNOTE
98% of Gilead Sciences’ leaders would recommend Duncan, and 96% are extremely or highly likely to use his takeaways. The words they used most to describe the keynote were engaging, insightful and inspiring.
Survey of 48 Gilead Sciences leaders, completed straight after the Cycle Meeting session.
LIKELIHOOD TO USE DUNCAN'S TAKEAWAYS
HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND DUNCAN
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE DUNCAN’S KEYNOTE
Want your own leaders turning potential into performance? Talk to Duncan about your leadership 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.
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Duncan’s helped global organisations like Gilead Sciences lift their teams, their culture and their bottom-line results. Let’s do the same for your event.
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