Biography of Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE

Since beginning her consulting and training practice in 1980, Eileen has become noted for her ability to speak the truth with clarity, wisdom, humor and compassion. Long-standing clients and repeat engagements attest to her commitment to make a difference in minds, hearts and spirits of organizations and individuals.

She draws upon practical business know-how, life's experiences and years of consulting to major national and international organizations that have ranged from global pharmaceuticals to the US Armed Forces, from health care associations to religious institutions. Executive Excellence magazine selected her as one of the top 100 thought leaders in leadership and among the top ten consultant providers of leadership development.

She authored Work for a Living & Still Be Free to Live, the first book on work/life balance—a topic that placed her as a futurist in this issue and continues to be published in revised editions. Her second book, The Resilient Spirit, is found from South Africa to California. Her newest book, Gifts from the Mountain: Simple Truths for Life's Complexities, is a featured title with award-winning publisher, Berrett Koehler.

She's been a guest on CNN as well as other television and radio programs and has created an exciting Chicago-based radio commentary, Celebrating the Human Spirit. She is a featured author in A Women's Way to Incredible Success: Real Life Lessons from 20 Prominent Business Women and a contributing author in Meditations for the Road Warrior. Her three-part video training program, Engaging the Spirit of Nurse Leadership is in constant demand within the healthcare arena.

Clients have ranged from American Airlines to Xerox, from 3M to IBM, from drill foremen in the Arctic to juvenile offenders in prison. She served as one of ten faculty members in a business television series, Reclaiming Business Excellence and has headlined with speakers like NBA Coach Pat Riley, Notre Dame's former coach Lou Holtz, Dr. Ken Blanchard, executive strategist Marshall Goldsmith, William Bridges, and boardroom poet, David Whyte.

Eileen is a certified speaking professional (CSP) and her election into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame places her among the top 3% of the 4000-member National Speakers Association. She's served two three-year terms on the Board of Directors of NSA and also currently on the national board for Take Back Your Time, an international initiative for work/life integration practices.

TOPICS

CHANGE; INSPIRATION
Resiliency: Staying Rightside Up in an Upside Down World.  KEYNOTE  60-75 minutes
Discover the characteristics of resilient people and how to grow the five connections of sustainability that allow individuals and organizations to thrive in a constantly changing world. Eileen’s book The Resilient Spirit is an ideal gift that can be personalized as a take-home reminder of powerful lessons.

LEADERSHIP; COMMUNICATION
Talk Ain't Cheap-- It's Priceless!—KEYNOTE  45-75 minutes
As connected as we are in our technology, we're becoming more and more disconnected in our workplaces and home fronts. Explore the forgotten skill of human conversation as the new/old way to forge relationships with all your stakeholders.  Her book, Talk Ain’t Cheap, serves as a great handout for reinforcement.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE
Work for a Living and Still be Free to Live    KEYNOTE, BREAKOUT—anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes.  Can also be a 3-hour with JOURNEYWORK
Balance is baloney! Discover a better metaphor for the realities of living in a 24/7 world. Learn the power of choice and how to conduct a C.A.T. scan of your life. Develop strategies to create a life by YOUR design and not by default. A critical topic for all walks of life and one Eileen has followed since authoring the first book ever written on this topic.

LEADERSHIP
The Leadership Connection: The Power of Engagement—KEYNOTE 60-90 minutes
Getting and keeping good people has never been more crucial. In a free-agent world, we’ve moved beyond the organizational charts into the sphere of relationships, powerful work, and potent performance.  Learn how to create a climate of engagement. Discover the role of feedback, trust, and meaningful work in business today.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE; INSPIRATION
My Get-Up-and-Go Just Got up and Went—The Energy Connection.  KEYNOTE 60-90 minutes
Human energy is a priceless commodity. Learn a new formula for E=MC2 . When it comes to energy and the capacity to do work, discover how to get it, renew it and stop giving it away.  Discover five critical energy connection points.

LEADERSHIP; INSPIRATION
Mountain-High Wisdom for Every Day Living
From backpacking in the High Sierras to trekking remote regions of the western Himalayas, Eileen takes audiences on the adventure of discovering what lessons can be learned from the world of nature. Her latest book, Gifts from the Mountain: Simple Truths for Life’s Complexities, helps participants drive the lessons deeper as leaders, coaches, or community members.

LEADERSHIP/ INSPIRATION
Women to Women: Remaking Our lives Remarkable—KEYNOTE- 60-90 minutes.
A presentation for reliving and laughing about our foibles, for celebrating our uniqueness, for renewing our passion and commitment to life, and for establishing the common traits which allow all of us to bloom where we are planted.  We can learn to be heroines of our own story and leaders shaping tomorrow for all our children.This is your time to refreshed, realign, reawaken; reflect; refuel, regenerate, rejoice, release, remember, and renew.