Maria Ross | Keynote Speaker on Empathetic Leadership and Culture

Maria Ross is a keynote speaker, author, and leadership advisor who shows organizations how to lead with empathy and accountability at the same time. Watch her 2026 speaker reel. “The most dangerous leadership myth of our time is that you have to choose between being human and being effective.” Maria’s keynotes and workshops help leaders build high-performing, human-centered cultures. Her approach, the Five Pillars of Empathetic and Effective Leadership (Self-Awareness, Self-Care, Clarity, Decisiveness, and Joy), gives teams practical tools they can use the next day. Her message: cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™. TOPICS Empathetic leadership and the Both/And model: empathy with accountability Leading people through change and AI Human-centered culture and customer experience Staff development and convocation keynotes for education ABOUT MARIA Maria is the founder of Red Slice, a Forbes columnist, a TEDx speaker, and the author of four books, including The Empathy Dilemma (2025 Nautilus Book Award Silver and 2025 Axiom Business Book Award Silver) and The Empathy Edge. She hosts The Empathy Edge podcast. Clients include TBWA Worldwide, CHRISTUS Health, New York Life, Salesforce, Google, Box, Northwestern Medicine, UW Medicine, and Stanford. BOOK MARIA Speaker page: https://red-slice.com/keynote-speaker... Contact for inquiries: https://red-slice.com/contact/ Podcast: https://www.TheEmpathyEdge.com Reel by Outspeak Media. Footage from Outspeak Media, ‪@brettrenville‬ Jesse Garrison of @Shakewell Studios #keynotespeaker #leadershipkeynote #empathy #workplaceculture #futureofwork #AIandleadership