AI, Anxiety, and the Human Cost of Acceleration

Session type: Keynote / Talk / Thought Leadership Talk

Employee engagement is in decline, burnout is accelerating, and leaders are under more pressure than ever to navigate constant disruption from all angels. While AI is positioned as the solution to these challenges, for many employees it has become another source of anxiety, fear, and, in turn, creates distance which then lean to further disruption.

This session explores the growing human toll of rapid AI adoption in a world already strained by geopolitical instability, financial uncertainty, and relentless technological change. Employees are being asked to adapt continuously — often without clarity, context, or a sense of agency — while leaders struggle to keep pace with innovation and performance demands, leaving little time to tend to the human needs of their teams.

Rather than framing AI as the problem or the cure-all, this talk presents a more nuanced truth: AI itself is not the root issue — unmanaged acceleration is. When AI is introduced without transparency, governance, or respect for human limits, it amplifies disengagement and erodes trust. But when curated thoughtfully — with diligence, security, and a human-centered approach — AI can become one of the most powerful stabilizers organizations have.

Attendees will gain a clear framework for responsible AI adoption that reduces cognitive overload, restores leadership capacity, and re-centers dignity and trust at work. This session challenges leaders to rethink not just how fast they move, but how they care for the people moving with them.

The future of work with be shaped with AI — but the future of our workforce will be determined by the intentions behind it.

Human Code: Using the Enneagram to Optimize Team Performance

What if I told you anyone could get the best dynamics and products out of their teams with by discovering the secrets within yourself? What if you knew the vices prone to trigger your ugly side? Or the great parts of your personality that could help your career or your team?

Each of us can do this: We all fall into a particular number on the Enneagram and no number is better than the other. During this session, we will take the Enneagram assessment and break down the results in detail not just for your personal benefit, but for how you interact with others. We walk through each number, the motives, triggers, vices and virtues, and how each number impacts each other.

When people discover these items as a team, and bring the vulnerability to the forefront, something beautiful happens with their team dynamics and a new realm of possibility unlocks. This is only possible when we understand our numbers, and accept each other's.

In this session, I will explain how I used the enneagram to build my professional career, help teams in trouble build better tomorrows. I also dig into the incredible science behind the Enneagram.

Attendees will get a thorough understanding of the Enneagram, an in depth look at each number, create a "go-forward plan" for themselves and learn how to bring this back for themselves to optimize their team's performance in their own organizations.

The information we explore in this session will inevitably lead to MUCH discussion with the attendees. Because I normally do this as a 3 or 5 hour workshop, It would be very easy to break this down into 2 sessions: first session as an individual session then a part two specifically focused to Leaders to HOW they can apply this in becoming better leaders, how to guide and serve their people and focus on their specific needs to create detailed plans of action. I've given this several times and each time, feedback is EXTREMELY positive, always asking for more information.

I will have a presentation, in PowerPoint. And a handout available virtually.

Learning Outcomes:
● What is the Enneagram
● What is your number and how does it naturally react and work with others
● Understand your number’s Vices and Virtues and motivators
● How can the enneagram HELP technical teams and you to be better
● Understand how you can use the knowledge of your number to YOUR benefit!

Presentation History:
● In Spring of 2019, I was hosting talks for my company and giving a talk on the Enneagram self-discovery track.
● I presented this at Music City Tech conference in 2019 in Nashville: https://musiccitytech.com/speakers/
● November 2019, I was invited to facilitate a ½ day workshop for team building retreat for a Fortune 100 company.
● In early 2020, before COVID, I facilitated a team leadership workshop for the Memphis Junior League.
● Summer of 2020, one of the local law firms hired me to host an extended (virtual) lunch and learn for them
● Feb 2021: Guest speaker (virtually) for the Agile2020 group
○ https://youtu.be/NoONM9sIhEI
● March 2021: Guest speaker (virtually) for the Memphis DevOps monthly luncheon from the Memphis Technology
● May 2022 - Speaker for Agile and Beyond Conference in Detroit, MI
● Nov 2024 - Speaker at TechBash 2024 - Presented 2 talks
● March 2025 - Speaker at MiTechCon 2025 - Presented 1 talk
● Nov 2025 - Speaker at TechBash 2025 - Presented 3 talks

The 3 legged stool: AI Won’t Fix Your Agile Problems

Agile frameworks promise adaptability and speed — but even in the AI and digital age, many teams struggle with unclear roles, brittle dependencies, and communication breakdowns that slow delivery and burn people out. The 3‑legged stool is more than a metaphor— it’s a simple systems model for understanding why agile teams succeed or fail. When roles, collaboration, and communication are balanced, teams are stable and productive. When one “leg” is overloaded, ignored, or missing, the system wobbles — no matter how good your AI is or good the tooling or framework looks on paper.

In this session, we’ll explore how the 3‑legged stool analogy can be used as a practical diagnostic and alignment tool across modern agile environments. Drawing on real-world experience working with teams navigating today’s increased complexity — remote work, hybrid structures, and constant delivery pressure — you’ll see how this model helps surface hidden constraints, clarify ownership, and manage dependencies more effectively.

Rather than prescribing yet another framework, this talk focuses on how to create shared understanding between engineers, product, and leadership — so teams can make better decisions inside the frameworks they already use.

Whether you’re building software, coaching teams, or leading transformation efforts, you’ll leave with a lightweight model you can immediately apply to improve team health, delivery flow, and long-term sustainability.

I never give the same talk twice and this has quickly turned into my most requested presentation. It's turned into a "state of the employee" in the workplace since AI has been pushed by leaders across the board.

Attendees will takeaway understanding of what employees are facing on dev teams, how to have productive conversations with leaders and how to make positive and sustaining change to help the longevity of their org and teams.

Each time I present this, I update it with the latest and best information available.

Previous online presentation: (not this talk) https://youtu.be/NoONM9sIhEI

Trust Is a Feature: Psychological Safety in Engineering Teams

Most engineering teams don’t struggle because of a lack of technical skill. They struggle because critical information never surfaces—unspoken concerns, hidden uncertainty, ideas left unshared, and risks discovered too late in the delivery cycle.
High‑performing engineering teams share a less‑discussed technical advantage: psychological safety.

Psychological safety enables engineers to challenge assumptions, admit when they’re unsure, raise flags early, and collaborate effectively across roles. Without it, teams optimize locally, stay silent in reviews, and allow small issues to turn into costly failures.

As an Agile Transformation Coach working with startups through Fortune 50 organizations, I’ve consistently seen the same turning point: the moment an engineer feels safe enough to speak honestly—and the team realizes they can too. These “AHA moments” change how teams operate. Discussions get sharper. Trade‑offs become explicit. Delivery and reliability improve.

In this session, you’ll learn practical, engineer‑friendly techniques to intentionally create these moments on your teams. Attendees will leave with concrete tools to improve technical conversations, surface risk earlier, strengthen collaboration, and influence culture at the team and organizational level.

Learning Outcomes
After attending this session, participants will be able to:
Understand why psychological safety is a critical factor in engineering team performance
Identify common cultural barriers that prevent engineers from speaking openly
Apply practical facilitation techniques that encourage honest discussion and constructive disagreement
Create environments where risks, ideas, and concerns surface earlier, improving decision-making
Build momentum for meaningful team and organizational change

Session Outline
1. The Hidden Barrier in Engineering Teams
Why smart teams stay silent
The cost of unspoken concerns

2. What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like
Misconceptions about psychological safety
Research and real-world observations from enterprise teams

3. The “AHA Moment” in Team Transformation
Recognizing breakthrough moments in team dynamics
Real examples from working with technical teams

4. Techniques to Build Psychological Safety
Practical methods leaders and facilitators can use, including:
Structured team conversations
Facilitating productive disagreement
Encouraging vulnerability in technical discussions
Creating environments where engineers can safely raise concerns

5. Turning Breakthrough Moments into Lasting Culture
Sustaining trust and openness over time
Reinforcing positive team behaviors
Having hard conversations with leadership

Target Audience
Engineering managers
Tech leads and architects
Agile coaches and Scrum Masters
Product leaders working with technical teams
Organizational change leaders

Session Type
Interactive talk with practical techniques and real-world examples
Experience Level
Beginner to Intermediate

How to Modernize Without Burning Down the House

Sometimes engineering teams are stuck between two bad options: maintain aging systems that can’t keep up with modern demands, or attempt risky, expensive “rip‑and‑replace” rewrites that rarely deliver as promised. Whether you’re supporting 25‑year‑old legacy code, scaling a startup built on its original architecture, or navigating a hybrid environment where new services collide with monoliths, the result is often the same—growing tech debt, slower delivery, and constant friction between product goals and engineering reality.

This session focuses on a third path.

Drawing on real-world consulting experience helping teams modernize under tight constraints, this talk presents practical, incremental strategies for evolving software systems without massive rewrites or blank‑check transformations. You’ll learn how successful teams stabilize legacy platforms, introduce modern practices, and create forward momentum—while still shipping features.

Rather than abstract theory, this talk emphasizes decision-making frameworks, architectural patterns, and sequencing strategies you can apply immediately, regardless of company size or tech stack. Attendees will walk away with concrete approaches to modernize safely, reduce risk, and regain engineering velocity—right where they are today.

After this session, attendees will be able to:
Identify which tech debt is worth paying down vs. which can be strategically contained
Apply incremental modernization patterns that coexist with legacy systems
Balance short‑term delivery pressure with long‑term architectural health
Avoid common failure modes of large-scale rewrites
Create a pragmatic modernization roadmap aligned with business constraints

Note: This talk can also be tailored into an interactive workshop where attendees will work through actionable plans for their next steps.

Target Audience
Engineering leaders
Agile coaches & Scrum Masters
Product leaders
Organizational transformation leaders
People leaders managing remote or hybrid teams

404: Motivation Not Found - Troubleshooting a 'Case of the 'Mondays' in the AI Age

Across industries, leaders are facing a new kind of workforce fatigue.

Digital acceleration, AI integration, and constant context-switching have created an environment where attention is fragmented, cognitive load is high, and motivation is harder to sustain than ever. What used to feel like a simple “Case of the Mondays” has evolved into a persistent cycle of digital exhaustion and declining engagement.

This isn’t a motivation problem.
It’s a systems design problem.

Modern teams now operate inside Anthro-Complex systems—dynamic human-technology ecosystems where performance emerges from the interaction between people, AI tools, workflows, and organizational culture. When these systems fall out of alignment, teams experience tool fatigue, collaboration breakdowns, and diminishing momentum.

In this session, we’ll explore why motivation breaks down in AI-mediated workplaces—and what leaders can do to fix it.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience working with remote, hybrid, and distributed teams, this talk introduces a human-centered framework for diagnosing and improving motivation within complex work systems.

Participants will learn practical strategies to reduce cognitive friction, improve collaboration across digital environments, and design team practices that sustain energy and performance—even in AI-heavy workflows.

Rather than focusing on theory alone, this session translates complexity into actionable leadership practices that can be applied immediately in modern technical organizations.

Takeaways
Attendees will walk away with:
A framework for diagnosing team dysfunction in complex systems
Motivation strategies that work in AI-mediated environments
Practical tools for reducing cognitive overload
Techniques for building healthy human-AI collaboration
Conversation frameworks to help leaders advocate for sustainable team performance

By the End of This Session:
You’ll walk away with actionable, tech-forward methods to energize your teams, elevate performance, and build healthier human-AI ecosystems. You’ll gain the tools to re-activate even your most disengaged employees and bring renewed momentum, clarity, and capability into your workplace.

What Participants Will Learn
Participants will leave with practical techniques to:
Reignite motivation in digitally overloaded teams
Identify systemic blockers that drain energy and engagement
Reduce cognitive friction caused by tools, automation, and workflow design
Build effective human-AI collaboration models
Design team practices that work across remote, hybrid, and distributed environments

Key Topics Covered
1. Why Motivation Is Breaking Down in present day
Digital overload and context switching
AI integration and workflow complexity
The hidden cognitive costs of modern work

2. Understanding Anthro-Complex Systems
How human and technological systems interact
Why motivation emerges from system design—not personality

3. Diagnosing Dysfunction in Team Systems
Practical methods for identifying:
Toxic micro-cultures
Misaligned incentives
Collaboration breakdowns
Tool fatigue and AI misuse

4. Designing AI-Enabled Team Systems That Work
Strategies including:
AI-supported workflow optimization
Digital rituals that strengthen collaboration
Automation practices that reduce cognitive load
Team structures that sustain focus and momentum

5. Leading System-Level Change
How to engage leadership in productive conversations about:
team wellbeing
sustainable performance
responsible AI adoption
long-term organizational resilience

Target Audience
Engineering leaders
Agile coaches & Scrum Masters
Product leaders
Organizational transformation leaders
People leaders managing remote or hybrid teams