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Keynote SpeakerSmita Tharoor

Award winning Global Diversity Leadership speaker, TEDx Speaker, Broadcaster, who helps you shape your narrative and make your own story

Topics

Popular Talks

Are you conscious of your Unconscious Bias?
Be Brilliant and Resilient
Assertiveness-Building Confidence using NLP
Empowering Women in the Workplace
Success with Change

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Biography

Smita Tharoor is a Global Motivational Keynote Speaker. She is a Thought-Leader on the Unconscious Bias and how it influences us all. She has spoken at conferences globally, from Berlin to Philadelphia, Bangalore to Penang. Smita is an entertaining, erudite, dynamic, story teller who shows us how our personal narratives influence all the decisions we make. Among her topics are Emotional Resilience, Change Management, Leadership in times of uncertainty, Empowerment of Women in the workplace, as well as other similar topics all embedded by our unconscious bias.

She is a co-founder of Culturelytics, a company that uses Artificial Intelligence to understand culture in an organisation. She is the founder of Tharoor Associates, a Training, Coaching and Organisational Development company. A TEDx speaker, Smita is a broadcaster, trainer, coach, mentor, Mindfulness practitioner and Associate Lecturer.

In her podcast Stories Seldom Told, she has interviewed people around the world, sharing their stories and life-lessons on how they manage their unconscious biases. The stories include a transgender man in New Zealand, someone with 4th stage cancer in Delhi, a black man who is mistaken for white over the phone in London, a practising Iranian Muslim sharing stories of Islam and Jihad, our unconscious biases about the Kama Sutra, a gay dad in California, someone who lost 3 limbs in a landmine in Afghanistan and more. It is heard in 107 countries and currently has a global ranking in the top 5% of podcasts.

Smita is an associate lecturer at the University of Arts, London and at Jindal University, India. She is the recipient of the “Global Diversity Leadership” Award at the World HRD Congress. Smita is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Practitioner, Coach, Mentor and Mindfulness Practitioner.

Growing up in pluralistic India taught her the value of tolerance and the appreciation of accepting differences. She is passionate about the unconscious bias and how it impacts on all aspects of leadership development. Her experience working in the UK, India, Europe, Asia and the USA gives her a unique advantage in understanding the expectations and needs of different cultures.

"Smita Tharoor is an expert in the unconscious-bias field. At the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), we have worked with Smita in delivering unique programming across the globe. What I appreciate the most is that she targets each keynote, presentation and discussion to the audience and adds in meaningful local content (no matter on the audience size) " Vice President, Society of Women Engineers

"Our audience really enjoyed our event on Unconscious Bias, where Smita led a very candid one-to-one with one of our senior leaders. From the feedback, the comments were very positive, with some commenting that it had had a profound and personal impact on their worldview. We found the introspective approach of exploring one’s personal experiences with curiosity to be a really impactful way of talking about the topic of Unconscious Bias. We thought Smita’s way of leading the conversation and providing critical questions was very bold yet approachable, and we think it provided a great example for participants to see that these conversations are nothing to fear. Smita had a delicate way of unpacking personal experiences to reveal the underlying thoughts, to empower us to challenge those thoughts and through this, change our worldview. A highly recommended speaker and presenter from our experience." FSenior Legal Counsel, Funds and Distribution, Axa Investment Managers

“Smita is an excellent speaker. Insightful, engaging, brilliant. I booked her to speak at a conference on Emotional Resilience a couple of years ago and we have continued to work together since. Highly recommended as a keynote speaker.” Senior Business Manager, The Institiute of Leadership

"It was a true pleasure working with Smita from Tharoor Associates. She was responsible for delivering Unconscious Bias training to our managers. Smita’s expertise was effective in creating a trusting environment where managers felt comfortable to share their experiences. Through her training techniques, our mangers learned how to become aware of their unconscious bias and how it could impact their decisions while at work. As a result, her efforts have help to foster an inclusive culture within our company. Thank you Smita for your work!" - Programme Manager, CISCO

"Great session. Smita delivered it in a dynamic, accessible way with great anecdotes. Fluid. Allowed people to ask questions which made it open and relevant. Would highly recommend to other organisations." PR Account Director & Insight Lead, Stand Agency PR Firm

"Great webinars on Unconscious Bias by Smita for Energy Eurasia team. Very well structured, engaging and thought provoking. Understanding unconscious biases better is what the world needs right now. Thank you Smita!" Director, Energy Eurasia, European Bank Reconstruction Development

"Smita has been doing some work with our councillors around unconscious bias and emotional resilience. The keynotes and workshops are always professionally run, with plenty of interaction and Smita is happy to share her experiences freely in this area which gives a great personal insight. Smita is clearly passionate about the subject and the message it gives which makes her sessions even more attractive and well received." Head of the Chief Executive’s Office and Democratic Services Manager, Lambeth Council

"Thank you Smita, I learnt a lot from your unconscious bias keynote. I thought I was diverse already until I attended your talk. It made me realise that things that are said in jest can result in someone being hurt. So, it is best to think things through before saying them. Hearing everyone’s personal stories of when they were made fun of or a loved one was made fun of made me realise just how delicate people’s feelings are around the office." Software Developer, UBM

"Very informative, Smita - raised awareness of self and how to effectively lead and manage a team. Very enjoyable. Lots to think about." - Canadian High Commission

"Smita is an eloquent and experienced speaker on areas of Equality and Diversity issues and Cross-Cultural Competence and recently won an award in this area of work. She is charming, witty, and inspirational at every level. It is not just educational to be in her presence; its stimulating and motivating as well. But it is her expertise on the Unconscious Bias that interests and impresses me the most as it is so relevant in everything, we do both at work and home. I highly recommend this and other topics that she offers as everything she does is underpinned by helping us be more aware of our unconscious bias." Operations Director Britannia Petroleum Ltd

Popular Talks by Smita Tharoor

Are you conscious of your Unconscious Bias?
You are a busy and hardworking manager working in the modern world. You often wonder whether you have time to think at all and along comes this fad encouraging you to be aware of your Unconscious Bias. The term may be overly jargonistic for some, but it’s grounded in reality....

You are a busy and hardworking manager working in the modern world. You often wonder whether you have time to think at all and along comes this fad encouraging you to be aware of your Unconscious Bias.

The term may be overly jargonistic for some, but it’s grounded in reality. This keynote is designed to allow participants to explore how they, and others around them, perceive situations and become aware of the need to use lateral thinking – to think outside ones “self-limiting box” and break down preconceived ideas. This interactive and practical talk allows people, in a safe environment, to both understand Unconscious Bias and develop strategies to ensure personal biases are effectively managed.

Aims
– Identifying personal and business reasons to tackle and minimise Unconscious Bias.
– Understanding organisational and individual biases and assessing their impact.
– Identifying strategies to minimise biases on key business decision-making.
Be Brilliant and Resilient
Thepandemic eliminated whatever structures we relied upon, destroying our routines, and attacking our emotional well-being. Naturally social, we humans seek constant touchpoints and hints of recognition and need the approval of fellow creatures. WFH and hybrid-working has heightened stress levels without the reassurance of seeing people with whom we work...

Thepandemic eliminated whatever structures we relied upon, destroying our routines, and attacking our emotional well-being. Naturally social, we humans seek constant touchpoints and hints of recognition and need the approval of fellow creatures. WFH and hybrid-working has heightened stress levels without the reassurance of seeing people with whom we work and trust face to face. Such times call for building strong emotional resilience.

Emotional intelligence is not just a desirable ‘soft skill’. Being emotionally resilient makes a real difference to performance, and ultimately, profit. Research indicates that our emotional quotient (EQ) can be a better indicator of workplace performance than IQ.

Aims:
– Explore Self-Awareness – understanding how self-aware we currently are and providing an opportunity to develop this.
– Explore Self-Management – Learning to manage the voice in our heads, overcoming negative ‘self-talk’.
– Explore Self-Motivation – A look at how personal goals drive our self-motivation, how our beliefs, values and attitudes can affect our motivation and some valuable techniques for personal improvement.

Smita will use real-life case studies and share some real-life lessons on how we can all be more emotionally resilient.
Assertiveness-Building Confidence using NLP
Conflict is normal in organisational and personal life, so rather than being avoided it should be viewed as the essential ingredient of the organisation’s reason for being. Learning to constructively resolve conflict is clearly and directly linked to productive and sustainable growth in any field. Many of us wish that...

Conflict is normal in organisational and personal life, so rather than being avoided it should be viewed as the essential ingredient of the organisation’s reason for being. Learning to constructively resolve conflict is clearly and directly linked to productive and sustainable growth in any field.

Many of us wish that we had more confidence or feel intimidated by others and wish they would change. There’s something rather wonderful we can do. Instead of waiting for someone else to change to make things right, we can decide to take charge of most situations and make them right for ourselves.
Sharing personal stories, Smita will share simple lessons on how to be more assertive.

Aims:
– To understand how individual perceptions about a group conflict can influence the end result.
– To say No without using the word No.
– To use Persuasion as a Leadership skill.
Empowering Women in the Workplace
Speaking up and acting on your own behalf is critical to personal and professional advancement. What gets in our way of asking, and how do we address it? What can we learn across generations that will help us advocate more successfully? What actions can we take to help pave the...

Speaking up and acting on your own behalf is critical to personal and professional advancement.
What gets in our way of asking, and how do we address it?
What can we learn across generations that will help us advocate more successfully?
What actions can we take to help pave the way for future female leaders?

Gender bias today has gone underground. Often referred to as ‘second generation’ gender bias, it involves subtle and often invisible barriers for women due to cultural assumptions and patterns of behaviour that benefit men and put women at a disadvantage. These biases manifest themselves in the lack of role models, gendered jobs and career paths, lack of access to sponsorship programs and informal power circles. It also includes the double-standard of assertive behaviour being admired in men but chastised in women.

However, not all barriers facing women can be attributed to the glass-ceiling imposed by the traditional workplace. Women often hold themselves back from advancement with self-imposed barriers.
Does this occur through a conscious or unconscious bias? Are women and organisations aware of biases such as “maternal wall bias”, “prove it again bias “and “tight- rope bias” and the impact they have on women in the workplace?

Aims:
In this keynote, Smitawill explore individual and cultural biases that impact women in their working & personal relationships.
Success with Change
Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Change is a given in our professional and personal lives — it’s unavoidable and often out of our control. However, our response to change has a...

Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Change is a given in our professional and personal lives — it’s unavoidable and often out of our control. However, our response to change has a large impact on our emotional well-being.

For example, how would you feel if you went into work and were told, “We’re going to have a major structural change?” You might feel resistance, anxiety, fear or even anger depending on the context and details.

We all experience resistance to change in some capacity. Some common resistances you or your team may experience are fear of the unknown, fear of failure or false beliefs.

Many leaders are responsible for leading or implementing these changes, which adds another layer of complexity.

Aims:
In this keynote, Smita talks through the seven stages of change and discusses the most effective ways to manage it.
Cross Cultural Competence
The world is smaller than ever before, and employees are as likely to find themselves working alongside someone who grew up halfway around the world as they are to work with colleagues born and brought up locally. This has a direct impact on everything they do. This keynote introduces the...

The world is smaller than ever before, and employees are as likely to find themselves working alongside someone who grew up halfway around the world as they are to work with colleagues born and brought up locally. This has a direct impact on everything they do.

This keynote introduces the concept of cultural intelligence and offers practical advice on understanding cultural diversity. The key is to boost their cultural awareness – in other words to transcend mere etiquette. When should we adopt a “transactional” or business-like approach & when do we cultivate relationships?

Aims:
Through stories, Smita discusses:
– High-Context and Low- context Communication.
– Discuss Individualism and Communitarianism.
– Understand Cultural congruence vs Cultural differentiation.
– Discuss Organisational culture vs Individual culture.