Elke Geraerts – Human capital expert, Future of Work

Doctor in psychology building the bridge between science and practice

CEO of Better Minds at Work

Bestselling author

Elke Geraerts is someone with boundless curiosity and passion for people.

These characteristics, together with her Ph.D. in psychology, resulted in a flourishing academic career.

She held various positions at the universities of St. Andres, Rotterdam, Maastricht, and Harvard.

Her time in academia attracted international attention due to her solid research work.

Drawn to the business world and due to her scientific insights into mental resilience, Elke Geraerts started Better Minds at Work.

This international consultancy company focuses on increasing employee mental resilience, energy, and productivity and currently includes approximately fifty psychologists, doctors, and consultants.

Due to her ability to translate new psychological insights into fresh and accessible daily applications, Elke Geraerts inspires both individuals and organisations to hone their mental resilience and become the best version of themselves.

Her big breakthrough was when her book, Better Minds, became a bestseller. Another of her publications, The Mental Reset, sees her inspire people to move towards a post-pandemic era with healthier, more successful habits.

As a conference speaker, Elke Geraerts has addressed audiences across the globe, from Kyoto to Cape Town, Sydney, San Francisco, Lima, and Dubai.

She captivates her audiences with her unique blend of expertise, humour, enthusiasm, and academic insights.

She lives in The Netherlands and presents in both English and Dutch.

Speaker Topics

The Mental Reset

How hybrid work and life strengthen resilience: 2020 and 2021 represented one of the greatest resilience experiments in our lives.

What if we embrace this crisis as an opportunity for true transformation?

What if we reset our habits so we can face challenges stronger than we ever did before?

What if we take this momentum as a head start for ourselves, our teams, and our organisations?

In this talk, Elke Geraerts inspires you with insights that you need to prepare for a post-pandemic era.

She shows you how hybrid work and life may render you more productivity, energy, and inner peace at the same time.

She takes the time with you to reflect on how this hybrid context strengthens resilience for yourself, your teams, and your company.

And on top of that, she shares her ideas about what you can exactly do to advance (self) leadership, foster connection within your team, focus on what really matters, and touch the right future-proof chords.

A must-experience if you want to get ready for the post-pandemic reset!

Hybrid Working

Optimizing the integration between work and life: Those who are making the transition to hybrid working, are experiencing many challenges.

In addition to your organization’s interests, employees also have their individual needs.

There is no one-size-fits-all plan. Designing an optimal hybrid work plan that blends seamlessly with one’s personal life requires reflection, open communication, clear expectations, clear agreements (at home and work), and last but not least, psychological safety.

In this session, you will gain insights into the crucial drivers of productivity: energy, focus, coordination, and collaboration.

You will discuss with colleagues your needs to experience maximal fulfillment and happiness at work and develop an action plan.

Mental Capital

A brain gym to deal with stress and change: The COVID crisis has challenged us in our mental resilience and luckily most of us are still standing.

Yet, another resilience experiment is about to happen as we transition to new ways of (hybrid) working.

This double challenge on our resilience requires a proactive strengthening of our brain.

During this session, we will share all our insights on mental resilience and how you can deal swiftly with the challenges imposed on us by the pandemic and the new ways of working.

Expect an eye-opener that makes it crystal clear that investing in your own brain leads to more agility, energy, and happiness and less stress and anxiety.

With the bestseller Better Minds (initially published as Mentaal Kapitaal) as a common thread, you learn how your brain exactly works and you discover techniques to strengthen your energy and focus and to get through this change with sufficient motivation. In a 48-hour challenge, we will
push you to apply a number of tips and tricks in practice straight away.

A must-see to thrive in these challenging times!

Authentic Intelligence – How to future-proof yourself and your team: The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digital revolution and is creating an earlier-than-expected tipping point that is likely to transform business forever.

Hence the voices asking whether we humans can still compete against robots and artificial intelligence are getting louder. In this highly topical speech, Elke points out that it is time to demystify technology and shift the focus back onto human beings.

She examines which uniquely human qualities can be used to secure our professional future, and which assets you really should embed in your organization’s DNA if you want to ensure your viability in this disruptive world.

An inspiring presentation for organizations that already have both feet firmly planted in the future and want to use this pandemic as a transformational momentum.

Testimonial

Together with my global team I had the opportunity to experience one of Elke’s sessions on Resilience. This was the best 90 mins I have spent in years!
Elke’s approach is fabulous.
She captures her listeners with her authenticity and passion for the topic.
While clearly grounded in science the use of metaphors and practical frameworks makes it easy to access.
As a global team we have started our 48 hour sprint to put at least 3 tips in to practice. Her talk is a must for all in the challenging times we live in!

Yvonne Malone, Director EMEA Talent and Organization, Abbott