Bio

Debbie Peterson is a leadership readiness expert who helps organizations keep and grow the leaders they’re counting on next. Her signature keynote, The Readiness Reset™, delivers clarity-driven strategies that cut through noise, fuel engagement, and drive leadership that lasts at every level.

As a keynote speaker, consultant, and creator of The Clarity Compass™, Debbie guides rising and established leaders to navigate change, trust their decisions, and lead with conviction without burning out or checking out. From packed ballrooms to closed-door executive sessions, she brings a powerful blend of mindset, strategic frameworks, and lived experience to every engagement.

Her work is trusted by organizations across industries to prepare the leaders they’re counting on next, especially in moments of growth, transition, and succession pressure.

She is the author of Clarity: How Smart Professionals Create Career Success on Their Terms, host of the Getting to Clarity podcast, and recipient of the ATHENA Global Leadership Award and SMART Keynote Speaker Award. Debbie holds the CSP™ designation, the highest earned credential for professional speakers worldwide.

When she’s not helping leaders be ready and take action, Debbie chases sunshine between Florida and Pennsylvania with her husband Tom, and starting conversations that spark someone’s next clear move.

Speaking Topics:

The Readiness Reset

Not another keynote. A leadership reset that sticks.

When leaders feel stuck, stalled, or scattered, The Readiness Reset™ gets them back in action.

It’s not about doing more. It’s about reconnecting to what matters, recommitting to how they lead, and taking action that creates real momentum.

This experience isn’t just inspiring. It’s activating. Every moment is designed to help your leaders leave the room with renewed energy, strategic focus, and a clear next move they’re ready to take.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:

• Refocus on What Matters Most: Identify where they’re spending energy that doesn’t move the needle.

• Lead from Intention, Not Reaction: Shift from autopilot to intentional decision-making, even under pressure.

• Reconnect to the People and Purpose That Fuel You:Strengthen the relationships and values that make leadership sustainable, not exhausting.

• Identify Your Next Clear Move: Walk away with a customized, clear next step they’ll take within 48 hours to regain momentum and direction.

 

Communicate Like You Mean It! A Reset for how you connect, influence, and Communicate

Let’s be honest, most communication at work isn’t broken. It’s just noisy, misaligned, and full of good intentions that never land.

This keynote is a reset. Not a tips-and-tricks talk. A realignment with what communication actually is: an act of clarity, connection, and care. When we lose sight of that—and treat people like positions, not people, we create friction we never meant to.

Debbie Peterson brings it back to the basics. She helps audiences understand that clarity starts inside, knowing what you want to say, why it matters, and how to meet others where they are. Because not everyone thinks, listens, or communicates like you do; and that’s the point.

In this interactive program, participants will discover how to:

• Build trust, connection, and credibility by understanding how others receive communicate, not just how they speak.
• Use a practical tool to connect with anyone; across communication styles, personalities, and roles.
• Communicate with more intention, more ease, and less second-guessing.

When professionals stop performing and start connecting, everything shifts; conversations open up, trust deepens, and influence expands.

This session doesn’t just change how people talk. It reminds them why it matters.

 

You First – Lead From Who You Are, Not Who You Think You Should Be.

Authenticity isn’t a buzzword; it’s a decision point. And if you’ve been trying to “figure out” how to lead, grow, or move forward by being everything to everyone… you’re not alone. But you’re also not helping yourself.

This keynote is a reset. A moment to stop performing and start aligning with who you are, because that’s where real momentum begins.

Debbie Peterson unpacks three mindset patterns that quietly derail progress: confusion, when you’re unclear about who you are or what really matters; chameleon mode, when you shape-shift to fit in and lose yourself in the process; and chaos, when you’re chasing everything and prioritizing nothing.

In this interactive program, participants will discover how to:

• What’s holding them back from showing up fully.
• How to reconnect with the values and voice that guide authentic leadership.
• How to build the clarity and confidence to own their role—without apology or pretense.

This keynote isn’t about fixing what’s wrong. It’s about returning to what’s real.

Because the fastest way forward… is back to yourself.