Duncan Stevens Helps 60 Sodexo Leaders Influence and Adapt When Plans Change
With Duncan Stevens, behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and best-selling author
OUTCOME 1
Leaders ready to flex
Sodexo’s planning and deployment leaders left with a shared way to steer change and a clear common direction.
OUTCOME 2
Influence as agility
People came to see influence as the skill that moves teams when plans shift, not a luxury for calm days.
OUTCOME 3
Habits for next week
Simple habits on listening, framing and asking well that every leader could try in their next team huddle.
THE CHALLENGE
Sodexo wanted its planning and deployment leaders influencing people and adapting fast when plans changed.
When clients change what they need at short notice, the people planning and deploying Sodexo’s teams have to adapt quickly and carry others with them. Around 60 leaders gathered for an event built around exactly that pressure, in a business where services run every day and there’s little room for delay.
Heidi Hastings, VP Planning & Deployment, invited Duncan to speak. She wanted leaders to leave with practical ways to influence colleagues and stay agile, and a session the whole room would enjoy.
DUNCAN’S SOLUTION
Influence and agility, brought to life with on-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations and one clear habit per idea.
Before the event, Duncan spoke with Heidi’s team to understand how the leaders plan and deploy, where plans usually get stuck and what they’d want to use straight away.
He built a 45-minute keynote on influence and agility, showing how listening first and asking clearly help people move together when things change. On-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations let the room feel each idea at work, and a short Q&A turned them into next steps.
THE RESULT
An event that brought in lots of great feedback and a warm invitation to work together again.
Heidi Hastings said Duncan’s insights were incredible and that the demonstrations were loved by everyone. Sodexo had received lots of great feedback, and she said Sodexo really looks forward to working with Duncan again. In the survey, 96% of leaders said they’d recommend Duncan.
The audience survey below shows how the session landed with the people in the room.
Planning an event where people need to influence and adapt? Check Duncan’s availability or explore his Influence and Persuasion keynote.
THOUGHTS FROM DUNCAN
Agility isn’t speed alone. It’s bringing people with you when the plan changes.
When plans change, the fastest teams aren’t the ones that shout loudest. They’re the ones where people trust each other enough to say yes quickly. So I teach leaders to listen first, frame the change around what matters to the other person, then ask in a way that’s easy to agree to. Small shifts in wording can save days of back and forth.
Sodexo’s team were warm, sharp and quick to join in, and I’d love to work with them again.
HOW SODEXO'S LEADERS RATED DUNCAN'S INFLUENCE KEYNOTE
96% of Sodexo’s leaders would recommend Duncan, and 97% are extremely or highly likely to use his takeaways. The words they used most to describe the keynote were actionable, thought-provoking and energising.
Survey of 60 Sodexo 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 own leaders influencing people and adapting faster when plans change? Talk to Duncan about your next 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 Sodexo 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.