The Sweeney Agency

About Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel - Speaker on Leadership, Change, Teams and Customer Service:

Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel's client list reads like a Global Who's Who of Business, Trade Associations, Education and Government. With over 3,000 presentations to over two million people in 20 countries, she brings a broad view of current trends and relevant issues that maximize human resources, solve people problems and increase bottom line results. Business savvy and people smart, she understands how to help people be their best and what it takes to make a business work. Sheila’s keynotes help organizations improve in the areas of leadership, team building, change and customer service.

Her latest of five books, A New Breed Of leader, 8 Qualities That Matter Most In The Real World, What Works, What Doesn't and Why is published in English and Chinese and is winning global praise.

She has been featured in and written for numerous hard copy and on-line publications: USA Today, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Examiner, Investors Daily, Dallas Morning News, Newsweek Australia, The Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Leadership Excellence, Successful Meetings Magazine, and Incentive Magazine; to name a few.

In addition to wide experience in the profit and non-profit world Dr. Bethel has worked on programs with four U.S. Presidents, Governors, Members of Congress, the Justice Department and the Military. She served on the Board of Advisors of America's Promise with General Colin L. Powel.

Sheila holds a PhD in Philosophy with a major in Communications, and has served on the adjunct faculty of Indiana Purdue University, San Francisco State University, and the University of Southern California. She is currently a member of the Advisory Council for Amsted University based in Malaysia. Working with the Bush White House in 1990, she and her husband Bill founded the first business school in the old Eastern European block, located in Opole, Poland.

What Sheila Murray Bethel talks about:

Sheila Murray Bethel’s presentations immediately engage your audience with an entertaining, authoritative and inviting style that encourages learning and growth. She lays out clear guidelines and essential tools needed to be an effective leader and change master. She helps people discover their strengths and improve their weaknesses. A master storyteller, Sheila weaves real life examples into each learning point. Audiences quickly grasp the important elements of how to define what works for their organization and for themselves personally. Her focus is on how to develop and enhance your individual and organization's leaders; how to attract, retain, engage good people and inspire them to excel and find meaning in both work and life; how to build engaged dynamic teams; how to add a new world-class dimension to your current customer service initiative, and how to increase their ability to accept, handle and thrive on change in an era of unprecedented transformation.

Inspirational Leadership ... Keeps People Engaged and Moving Ahead
Have you ever wondered why people will walk through fire for some leaders or follow them anywhere just to see where the heck they are going? What do Kenneth Chenault, CEO American Express; Oprah Winfrey, CEO of Harpo Productions; and Christopher Cowdray, CEO of the Dorchester Collection hotels, teach us about inspirational leadership? What sets these leaders apart? What gives them that special competitive edge?

The Art and Skill of Creating and Leading Dynamic Teams
Is your organization using all the team-building tools available to chart a course for the future you want? More than any other leadership quality, the art of team building encompasses all of your other talents. It is the catalyst to all you want to accomplish. Times have changes and so has the concept of team building. In a world where people feel increasingly disconnected and isolated, collaboration, trust and camaraderie become more valuable every day.

Lemons into Lemonade ... How to Get – and Stay – Motivated in Tough Times
What are the enduring personal strengths needed to stay motivated and inspired in tough times? Can you really motivate yourself into a better life, satisfying job and fulfilling relationships? In this reassuring and timely presentation Sheila gives you a set of powerful life tools, step-by-step actions to build resilience, staying power and enthusiasm for surviving and thriving even in the worst of times.

Dr. Sheila deepens your understanding of the extraordinary Five Secrets To Happiness. Every day we see examples of people who have embraced these compelling principles to survive and conquer hardships. Michael J. Fox, the late Christopher Reeves, many cancer survivors, and the come-back people of Hurricane Katrina, all discovered these eternal insights and wisdom. You will see that when they are used daily, they can literally turn your life around.

You learn to avoid the negativity trap and turn pessimistic responses and attitudes into positive actions. You will reexamine how to tap into your inner strengths, values, belief systems and commitment so you have a fresh and better perspective on both your business and personal life. The bottom line is that you can live happier, improve your relationships, and be in more control of your surroundings as you design the rich fulfilling life you deserve. Lemons into Lemonade is all about common sense skills that help you do and be your best, especially in tough times.

Leading Others Through the Gauntlet of Change
Making real change is the hardest process any person or organization ever confronts. It is also one of the most rewarding. Yet some people resist productive change. What causes these barriers and why are they so hard to overcome? How can you stay sane, healthy and effective in times of turbulence? What are the indispensible ABCs of personal and organizational change? In her content-rich change program, Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel lays out clear, common sense how-to's designed to help you and your organization keep up with ambiguity and uncertainty as you move forward into a prosperous future.

Unforgettable Customer Service Begins With Great Leadership
What are the shared values and practices of world-class service organizations such as: Costco, Southwest Airlines, FedEx, the Dorchester Collection hotels, and Nordstrom's? Dr. Sheila Murray Bethel has given keynote presentations and conducted seminars for some of the finest service organizations in the world. She carefully explores the compelling evidence of their clear understanding of their reasons for being and their belief in a people-first leadership style. These organizations walk their talk and live an ethic that says we care as much about our employees as our customers. They understand that excellent customer service is always trickle down – leader to employee to customer.

Where the Rubber Hits the Road ... Exceptional Frontline Customer Service
Would you be shocked to learn that 68% of your customers who quit doing business with you do so because they were treated badly? In our increasingly competitive global environment, you cannot afford to be a part of that statistic. Because response matters and caring really does count, it is critical that an emotional connection with your customers is at the very foundation of your service ethic. This connection is often the most underestimated and under-used service quality. The best frontline people – in person, on the phone or on the net – are those with not only the standard skills of: calming upset customers, asking questions and being a good listener; they have that all important emotional connection that says, we do care about you as a customer and what to earn your loyalty. The most successful customer service teams have values and beliefs about serving others that translates into the ability to create loyal customers who become your unpaid ambassadors of goodwill.