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Dr. Ivan Joseph

Award-Winning Performance Coach, Leadership and Cultural Transformation Expert

TEDx Talk has more than 21 million views and was named by Forbes as “One of The Top TED Talks About the Meaning of Life”
Speaks with credibility based on experience as an Olympic and National Champion coach and leader
Blends story-telling and PhD research with audiences sharing actionable strategies for building unstoppable teams, unlocking potential, and leading with resilience
Inspires, challenges, and entertains – all while providing tangible techniques for people to apply in their lives and work

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Ivan is an internationally renowned speaker, bestselling author, award-winning performance coach, in-demand consultant, prominent educator and accomplished leader. His TEDx talk, “The Skill of Self-Confidence,” has over 29 million views and was named by Forbes as one of the 10 Best TED Talks for Graduates on the Meaning of Life. Dr. Joseph holds a PhD in Psychology and has served as Vice President, Director of Athletics and faculty at four North American universities. During his 25-year career in academia, Ivan led cultural transformation, inspired people to believe in themselves and created cohesive teams.

While serving as a professor and coach at Graceland University, Ivan developed the soccer program from the ground up, leading both the men’s and women’s teams to #1 national rankings. He also guided the men’s team to the first national championship in Graceland’s history—in just five years. For this accomplishment, he was chosen by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to be named National Coach of the Year. Ivan spent a decade as Director of Athletics at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he helped lead his department—and the university—to national prominence. Among his many accomplishments at TMU, Ivan spearheaded the landmark $100M renovation of the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. Under his leadership, TMU teams won the first provincial and national championships in the university’s history.

Ivan has coached World Champions and Olympians. His research and leadership have focused on understanding how self-confidence and cohesion drive performance. Ivan now uses these skills to lead high-performing businesses, organization and individuals from around the world.

Speaker Video

The skill of self confidence | Dr. Ivan Joseph | TEDxRyersonU

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Building a High-Performance Team. When teams thrive, they elevate everyone to a level they didn’t know was possible. When teams struggle, they create dynamics and challenges that limit performance.

What does it take for a team to excel? How do you create a culture of excellence? How do you build a high-performing team?

NAIA National Coach of the Year Ivan Joseph cracked the code. He led a tiny college in Iowa to win a national soccer championship. He led a marginal university athletic program to national prominence. And that’s why he’s invited to speak on stages around the world.

Sharing funny and moving stories, and research-based insights, Ivan inspires leaders and teams to achieve even their toughest goals. In this fast-paced, interactive session, leaders gain insights and techniques to:

Articulate common values and a shared sense of purpose.
Create team cohesion, the foundation of elite team performance.
Set higher expectations to achieve new levels of performance.

Self-confidence, cohesion and expectations drive team performance. Ivan’s approach works: Leaders and teams see an immediate impact.

It’s time to amplify your team’s performance!

Success, Self-Confidence and Grit. Success begins and ends with self-confidence. Your belief in yourself is the foundation for thriving, achieving your dreams, and unlocking your potential. With self-confidence, you live the happy, inspired, connected life you deeply desire.

As an award-winning coach and Ph.D. sports psychologist, Ivan Joseph has focused on understanding the skill of self-confidence. He has developed, applied and refined dozens of techniques that lead to high performance and excellence.

In this energizing and motivational talk, you’ll learn the secrets Ivan used to help individuals and teams reach goals they never thought possible. Humor, visualization, and immersive activities keep everyone engaged and create a memorable experience.

Dr. Ivan Joseph shares powerful stories that people take to heart, and research-based insights. You’ll learn practical techniques to:

Develop and sustain self-confidence, especially in times of adversity.
Promote self-confidence in your team and others.
Use the power of positive self-talk and setting higher expectations.

You’ll gain self-confidence and a renewed belief in yourself. You’ll be inspired to overcome your challenges—and learn how to accelerate your performance!

Fueling Success Through Inclusivity and Diversity. Teams and organizations that prioritize diversity and inclusion are stronger, more successful, and have more opportunities to prosper.

Dr. Joseph is uniquely positioned to guide your team with practical and proven strategies to attract, retain and develop talent for the long-run.

He is an acclaimed authority on retention and persistence of underrepresented populations in predominantly white organizations. Dr. Joseph shows you how the Identity Development Model helps drive high performance in teams. In addition to research on this topic, Ivan has a lifetime of first-hand experience: Ivan has continually overcome challenges, broken barriers, and led a transformation toward inclusivity in every organization he’s worked for.

Having moved to Canada at age five from his native Guyana, Ivan knows what it’s like to look different and sound different, to be a black student on a white campus, to be a leader from an equity group. He has lived the range of reactions to being a successful black man. He has experienced the challenges and opportunities of being a designated hire. And he has been immersed in the complexities of creating an inclusive organizational culture.

In this moving and perspective-shifting session, Ivan challenges audiences to think about issues of diversity and inclusion in a new way by embracing a powerful concept:

A culture of inclusivity is a culture of high-performance.

Ivan shares insights and moving experiences from his own remarkable story. Your leaders gain:

Powerful strategies for fueling high performance through inclusivity and diversity
Tactics for successfully navigating the nuances of organizational decisions related to diversity and inclusion
Techniques to foster successful cross-cultural communication

Your leaders will be ready to create a culture where inclusion and high performance go hand in hand.

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Client Testimonials

On behalf of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we want to thank you for an outstanding event! Sharing your life experiences on building a high-performing team during the presentation was funny, inspiring and eye opening. Building high-performing teams in this hybrid setting can and has been difficult as most individuals are working mostly from home which certainly limits social cohesion as you said. However, this is possible if we take the time to collaborate, set clear goals and purpose, and believe in ourselves and one another. After all, we all want to achieve the same outcome. With your Talk, our teams and individuals at Vertex will be inspired to perform their best, be positive, be grateful and then encourage others to do so.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Dr. Joseph delivered above and beyond expectations. We are always blessed to have him with us!

Transamerica

I wanted to thank you on behalf of the entire organizing committee for delivering such an inspiring and powerful presentation on Thursday - it really complimented what we had learned during the other sessions in the meeting.

We received some really positive feedback from the audience, in particular from our leadership team, who felt that the presentation touched on a lot of difficult, but real situations we encounter in our day to day work. They appreciated your perspective and guidance on how to navigate these challenges.

Janssen

THANK YOU very much for your powerful and inspirational talk this morning! The feedback we are receiving is incredible. You brought so much depth and value to all of us today. We have a lot to “unpack” and reflect on after your session!

The California State University

I’m reaching out on behalf of A3iS to thank you again for joining us this year as keynote speaker and enabling a successful conference. From engaging with the planning committee to ensure fluid communication, the flexibility to make contractual changes to accommodate our conference’s scope, to an impactful keynote session from Ivan yesterday, working with you both was enjoyable! Our community enjoyed having you and resonated with your message of grit and confidence.

Intel