Thriving Cultures: Surviving Super Moments.

As leaders, we all want individuals to show up in the workplace in healthy and empowered ways. We know that freedom to fail and psychological safety are jointly the backbone of innovation. And we know that teams operating with trust and agility deliver better outcomes. But in this super moment with competing interests and layered complexity the gap between what we aspire to, and what we tolerate is significant. In this talk, Deepa breaks down the common challenges companies face in actualizing thriving cultures—including bias, toxic rock stars, the meritocracy myth and the inclusion delusion—and lays out a roadmap to assess, reform, and maintain a work culture that’s a magnet for rising talent and an industry model for the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the factors that make this a super moment for workplaces

• Discover what it means to feel safe and increase trust at work

• Learn the difference between signals and actions

• Unpack data on talent trends and see what it takes to attract top talent

Beyond the Corporate Fairytale: How Employees are Rewriting the Story of Work.

In this imaginative and thought provoking talk, Deepa draws on hundreds of interviews to debunk the old stories of work, that demand assimilation, sacrifice and extraction, and introduce a new fable—one that emphasizes inside-out leadership, well being as a north star, and true agency in where and how we invest our energy. She provides proven steps for taking a step back, having difficult conversations at work, and creating workplace trust where it’s possible to perform at high levels and take care of ourselves.

Learning Objectives:

• Realize what it means to thrive at work

• Understand the generational challenges facing our workforce

• Discover patterns in the design of how we work and learn how it limits “real productivity”

• Learn how our definitions of ambition are evolving

From the Few & Only to the Many: What Leaders Can Do to Empower Women & Women of Color.

As the first-ever Indian American woman partner at Deloitte, Deepa has been a highly influential figure in helping organizations rethink their approaches for recruiting, nurturing, and retaining talent, with a special focus on advancing women in the workplace. Drawing from her own journey of breaking glass ceilings to become a high-level executive at one of the world’s most powerful companies, as well as stories from the first, the few, and the only — the other female trailblazers who have overcome the obstacles in front of them to become changemakers in the corporate world — Deepa shares meaningful insights and action steps for how leaders can create equitable workplaces for all. As part of this talk, she also leads a deep dive into the importance of allyship as a means for advancing professional spaces.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn to spot the key exit points when most women leave the workforce

• Discover how actions and feedback can change career trajectory and have measurable impact

• Be inspired to show up as a co-conspirator, not just an ally

• Understand that daily interactions matter - we feel we belong in small moments

Understanding Burnout and Stress to Perform at Your Best.

Deepa is no stranger to dealing with stress, burnout, and the productivity stalls and feelings of self-doubt that they often cause. For too long, Deepa chose to ignore the signs of stress and burnout and continued to overwork herself until her doctor’s question of whether she “lived to work” opened her eyes to how her health might be impacted if she continued down that path.

Shifting her mindset to a more balanced focus on her professional and personal lives, she found the happy medium between advancing her career while prioritizing wellness. In this reflective session, she empowers audiences to redefine success on their own terms, while putting their own wellness and sense of fulfillment in all aspects of their lives at the forefront. She provides proven steps for taking a step back, having difficult conversations at work, and creating psychologically safe workplaces where it’s possible to perform at high levels and take care of ourselves.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the components of burnout

• Deep dive into how burn shows up differently for managers

• Discover how to address burn out on your teams

• Leverage innovative ideas companies are currently employing to address burnout

Deepa’s Defining Decisions: Harnessing Fuel for Excellence.

Deepa has had an enviable and remarkable career, but what’s most notable is how she has questioned dominant paradigms and blazed her own trail along the way. She has guided her teams to success by challenging some of the stereotypical leadership qualities that no longer resonate with today’s workforce, replacing them with often-overlooked — but nonetheless important — traits, most notably, wisdom, inner power, and empathy. In this talk, Deepa shares 12 defining moments in her career, moments where she had to choose courage, honesty, and humor to gain influence, and be seen as a trusted partner and advisor.

She intricately weaves together lessons learned from her experiences rising as a “first and only” in the corporate world with tactics for uncovering new pathways to evolved leadership and demonstrates how anyone can lead while remaining authentic to their core.

Learning Objectives:

• Unpack the key components of modern leadership

• Learn how your personal story can be a superpower

• Be inspired by new archetypes for leadership

• Discover how to take a seat and own your voice

Leading with Inner Wisdom and Power.

Deepa has never been afraid to go against the grain in order to be the most impactful leader. She has led her teams to success by challenging some of the stereotypical leadership qualities that no longer resonate with today’s workforce, replacing them with often-overlooked — but nonetheless important — traits, most notably, wisdom, power, and empathy. In this talk, Deepa offers a counter narrative to traditional viewpoints on what it means to be a “great” leader. She intricately weaves together lessons learned from her experiences in the corporate world with tactics for uncovering new pathways to evolved leadership and demonstrates how anyone can lead while remaining authentic to their core.

Leadership Objectives:

• Understand the four forms of power

• Learn how your leadership style can only be defined by you

• Unpack what it means to be a great leader and how that definition has shifted

• Discover the power of authenticity

Actionable Insights & Inclusive Leadership: Patterns, Permissions and Practice.

While many may want to identify as allies, there’s often some confusion around what allyship in action entails, and what it looks like at the company level. A former senior partner at Deloitte and a deep researcher on topics of belonging and inclusion, Deepa believes that helping leaders of today become the inclusive leaders of the future is about helping them see what they can’t often understand. In this groundbreaking talk, Deepa shares a 3 step process that helps leaders step through their discomfort. She unlocks the power of patterns in the workplace and gives leaders permission to be brave through a methodology of practice. In this pragmatic and actionable talk, Deepa will share stories, scripts and scenarios that develop the muscle memory of allyship.

Leadership Objectives:

• Learn why permission is a key to unlocking courage

• Practice techniques to intervene in challenging moments

• Understand how pattern spotting is the key to acting

• Discover the power of courageous conversations