Speaking
Build stronger teams, increase follow-through, and create trust where it feels impossible
Ellen Patnaude works with leaders and teams who are navigating pressure, unclear expectations, and conversations no one wants to start but everyone feels.
For more than two decades, she has spoken to groups ranging from 25 to 1,500, helping organizations strengthen communication, increase accountability, and build trust that holds under pressure. Her style is grounded, practical, and immediately usable. People leave knowing exactly what to do differently.
Ideal audiences
Associations • Leadership conferences • Corporate Offsites • Executive and Leadership Teams
“What I loved most about listening to you speak is that these are things that come up every single day in life, both at work and not. I was able to identify things I can do starting right now that will make a difference. Thank you for being so normal and not like so many speakers who seem so canned.”
—Keynote Attendee, Amway
“Specific. Actionable. Truth bombs. Real. Loved it so much!”
—Flint Genesee Chamber of Commerce Member
“You helped me understand myself and my teammates in ways I honestly thought I already knew. I’ve worked with some of these guys for 20 years and did not understand how they really were. I still can’t believe you were able to pull all of that information out of such a simple test. Amazing. I can’t wait for the next session. Thank you!”
—SunOpta Team Member
Signature Keynotes & Workshops
Bring Ellen to facilitate or speak at your next in-house training session or conference. Ellen would be happy to present either in person or via video conference.
- Tailored to your organization or association
- Available as a one-time event or ongoing program.
Trust at Work
How to build stronger teams, increase follow-through, and strengthen connections where it feels impossible
Leaders assume teams will execute based on their communication. Yet teams often feel pressure to interpret priorities, timelines, and ownership on their own.
Attendees learn to clarify expectations to improve trust and morale, adapt language to create shared agreement, hold people accountable without shame or defensiveness, and build trust through consistency, not personality. Participants leave with practical tools they can use immediately to foster trust, improve follow-through, and invest in a more confident, connected team culture that gets results.
Assumptions That Undermine Teams
Learn about the way unexamined assumptions disrupt communication, meetings, conflict, and day-to-day collaboration, as well as how to fix them and build trust in action.
Most workplace breakdowns are not caused by effort or intent. They happen because people are operating from assumptions they haven’t named or questioned. Attendees learn to recognize hidden assumptions, ask questions that create clarity, replace interpretation with curiosity, and create environments where people feel safe asking for what they need. Participants leave with a practical way to surface assumptions before they create friction, misalignment, or avoidable tension.
De-Weaponizing Accountability
Creating systems that reduce shame, boost morale, and build highly confident teams
From the leader’s perspective, accountability causes people to disengage. From the team’s perspective, it often feels like something that happens to them instead of something they’ve agreed to. Participants gain a framework for setting clear expectations that includes timelines, ownership, and support; practical ways to get agreement to execute; language that keeps accountability neutral and direct; and tools for addressing missed expectations without blame or escalation. Leaders and teams leave operating with more clarity, more confidence, and far less tension around performance conversations.
Productive Conflict
A framework for leaning into hard conversations that deliver confident outcomes
Many teams either vent to everyone except the person involved, or confront issues in ways that trigger defensiveness. Most have never been given a structure for productive conflict.
Participants learn the difference between call-ins and call-outs, how avoidance quietly erodes trust, a clear pathway for resolution and mutual respect, and language that keeps conversations direct without becoming aggressive. Teams leave able to handle difficult conversations with clarity, confidence, and respect instead of hesitation or escalation.
Elder Caregiving and Work: Supporting Leaders Carrying Two Full-Time Roles
Optional Add-On Topic Based on Ellen’s Book
More employees than ever are balancing professional leadership with the realities of caring for aging loved ones. This candid, practical session helps audiences challenge common assumptions about caregiving, capacity, and what “holding it together” is supposed to look like.
Participants will gain insight into how caregiving impacts communication, expectations, and performance at work—along with language and strategies to create more supportive, realistic workplace cultures. Grounded in lived experience, this session equips participants with tools to reduce shame, foster healthier conversations, and retain talented professionals navigating one of life’s most demanding seasons.
Why Do Event Planners Love Ellen?
- She surfaces issues people feel but haven’t been able to articulate
- She addresses sensitive topics without shaming anyone in the room
- She gives language leaders can use immediately
- She balances honesty with psychological safety
- Her methods are research-backed and use tools that will help your team accelerate their success.
Ellen is Available for
- Keynotes
- Leadership sessions
- Conference presentations
- Corporate offsites
- Workshops
- Executive intensives
Audience sizes: 25–1,500
Location: U.S. and regional travel
Speaking fee range: available upon request
Booking Information
To check availability or discuss your event:
“Ellen connects with people where they are at and adjusts her approach based on feedback and her observations. She is not afraid to ask the difficult questions and navigate tense conversations.”