Speaking ENGAGEMENTS

Change Your Shoes: Stepping Into The Life You Desire

Keynote

In this empowering keynote, Tradara McLaurine inspires audiences to embrace confident leadership across diverse roles while staying authentic to themselves. Using her signature "Change Your Shoes" metaphor, she illustrates how transitioning between roles—whether in heels, flats, or boots—doesn’t diminish the power of being a boss. Tradara shares practical strategies for adapting to change, seeking support, overcoming failures, and balancing leadership with life’s demands.

Through her own journey as an executive, entrepreneur, mother, and full-time professional, Tradara equips attendees with actionable insights and tools to navigate challenges and lead with grace and resilience.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Power of No: Master the art of setting boundaries to protect your time and energy.

  • Unplug Your Way: Develop personalized strategies for self-care and recharging.

  • D.A.R.E to Fail: Embrace failure as a stepping stone to growth and success.

  • Learn Your Team: Build stronger connections by understanding and leveraging your team’s strengths.

Attendees leave this presentation feeling motivated and equipped to lead boldly, adapt confidently, and step into the life they desire.

Ideal Audience
Women Conferences
Leadership Conferences
New Professionals
Small Businesses
Parents

How Many Doors Are You Locking? The Keys to Intern Development

Keynote

Supervisors hold the keys to unlocking the potential of their interns, shaping the future workforce while driving organizational success. In this impactful keynote, Tradara McLaurine explores the rewarding yet challenging role of supervisors in fostering intern development. Drawing from her experiences as both a student employee and supervisor, Tradara shares practical strategies for intentionally investing in interns and entry-level employees, boosting their success while enhancing department productivity.

Attendees will leave feeling empowered and less overwhelmed by the demands of intern development, equipped with tools to create meaningful growth opportunities that benefit both individuals and organizations.

Key Takeaways:

  • Benefits to Hiring Those with Limited Experience: Discover how investing in untapped talent can yield surprising returns.

  • More Time Spent at the Beginning, Less Time Spent at the End: Learn how upfront development efforts save time and resources in the long run.

  • Incorporation of Professional Development: Integrate growth opportunities into everyday work to maximize employee potential.

  • Supporting Supervisors: Empower supervisors with resources and support to foster impactful employee relationships.

Tradara’s insights inspire supervisors to see intern development not as a burden, but as a transformative opportunity to open doors for their teams and themselves.

Ideal Audience
Universities
Leadership Conferences
New Professionals
Small Businesses

Testimonials

  • Change Your Shoes: Finding Comfort in Your Leadership Roles was an awesome presentation!

    A. Allen, Indiana State University

  • I loved it! I appreciate Tradara's transparency during her presentation.

    C.Knight, Indiana State University

  • Tradara was great with our classes.

    Principal, Teranga Academy

  • You were terrific, Tradara! Heartfelt sharing of some of your early life, as well as lesson on how children as well as other "diamond and pearls" in our lives should be appreciated! Highly recommend!

    T. Ortega, Indiana State University

  • Your speech was excellent, and touched many in the audience! Any nonprofit would greatly benefit from you as a speaker!

    J. Edwards, Ryves Hall Youth Center

  • The University of Kentucky Women's Forum was thrilled to have Ms. McLaurine present "Change Your Shoes: Finding Comfort in Your Leadership Roles" at our annual conference. As a new to midcareer professional, I found this presentation especially helpful for thinking through how I can approach different aspects of my work without neglecting the rest of my life. Her presentation was straightforward and engaging with bits of advice that would be helpful to people at all stages of their careers.

    C. Barrett, University of Kentucky

  • Change Your Shoes: Finding Comfort in Your Leadership Roles is awesome and the most memorable presentation I have ever witnessed! Tradara illustrates, by changing into different styles or shoes, how to adapt, be flexible, to feel comfortable leading throughout different "walks of life", and to appreciate what energizes while assuming various roles simultaneously in life phases.

    M. Kelly, Indiana State University

  • Shoes were only made for walking, right? Not according to the shoe diva, herself, Tradara McLaurine. Let her (shoes) do the talking as she takes you on a wonderful fresh-eyed outlook on how meaningful that footwear can be. She keeps it real but adds some magic, a soleful of inspiration, and hope as she takes you through her journey from slippers to heels. It will leave you running for your own shoespiration!

    M. Reed, Saint Mary of the Woods College

  • We appreciated Ms. McLaurine's time with our students and the way they related to her book "I Want a Nickname" as many of them have names that are difficult to pronounce. Her willingness to stay with us all day to ensure each student experienced an author's visit was a valuable learning. Many commented that they too could be published author. That's a very powerful lesson.

    E. Brown, Bowling Green Kentucky Schools

  • Tradara McLaurine is a speaker like no other. She brings the age-old conversation of how to balance everything into a new perspective with her "Change Your Shoes: Finding Comfort in Your Leadership Roles" presentation. She uses her different shoes to show how you can adapt to multiple situations throughout the day to be successful. She brings real life experiences and connects with her audience regardless of background.

    K. Harris, Indiana State University

  • Tradara is a captivating presenter! I found her presentation leveraging my favorite, shoes, as the topic. It was engaging, smart, and provided the perfect opportunity for reflection during the Leadership Insititute. Her transparency in sharing her experiences was authentic and relatable. Highly recommend Tradara for presentations as well as to lead conversations for any age group.

    S. Sellers, Indiana State University

  • Tradara is such a beacon of light and an inspiring presenter! Her smile and happiness are contagious, her words motivating and her message enlightening! What a fantastic evening!

    E. Hubbard, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College

  • Tradara was motivational in her presentation and hit home the importance of how valuable our time is. If we are putting time into something, that means we are giving time somewhere else. Make sure it's worth it and that what you're saying 'yes' to adds value to your life and overall goals.

    E. Roberts, FSA Counseling Center

  • Tradara’s talk on being a dynamic leader was framed in a fresh way – with a shoe analogy – to keep us engaged, and she wove strong positive messages into her genuine and honest telling of her story.

    J. Clark, St. Mary-of-the-Woods College

  • Tradara knows how to help motivate and empower a group! Her leadership development sessions are inspiring and remind me that I can lead with my own style and personality while making a positive change.

    K. Lugar, Indiana State University

  • Tradara brings her high-energy and real, raw experiences to the table when inspiring growing leaders. Whether they’ve been in the workforce for years or are in elementary school, she uses relatable stories as a mother and curious leader to empower and inspire others. I particularly liked her storytelling through music!

    C. Lutz, Indiana State University

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