Keynote Talks

Rethinking change, wellbeing, and success through behavioral science

Overview

Help leaders and teams understand why people behave the way they do under pressure, uncertainty, and change.
Learn evidence-based insights and practices that actually shape motivation, wellbeing, burnout, and psychological resilience.
Explain why well-intentioned initiatives stall or backfire once they meet the real world.
Show how to design solutions and manage change in ways that work with the human mind, not against it.

Details

What Audiences Gain from These Talks

These talks give audiences something that is often missing in moments of change: clarity about what is actually happening at the human level.

Instead of inspiration that fades by Monday, audiences walk away with:

Clearer thinking about why change efforts stall or trigger resistance, even when they look good on paper.
Practical insight into motivation, wellbeing, burnout, and resilience, grounded in scientific evidence.
Better judgment in moments of uncertainty and complexity.
Language and mental models to name dynamics they already sense, making conversations about change more honest and productive.
Stronger capability to design initiatives, services, and policies that work with the human mind, not against it.

What These Talks Focus On

While each keynote is adapted to the audience and context, common focus areas include:

Burnout, wellbeing, and psychological resilience: why exhaustion persists even in organizations that genuinely care.
Organizational change and resistance: how familiar ways of working become harder to let go of precisely when change is needed.
Employee engagement and motivation: why goals, bonuses, and performance metrics frequently miss what actually drives behavior.
The psychological consequences of technology: why fear spreads faster than facts, how uncertainty stalls adoption, and the impact of AI on people’s sense of meaning and purpose at work.
Behavior change in healthcare and public systems: why information and good intentions are rarely enough to change behavior, from patient adherence to pro-social action.

When behavior looks irrational, something important is being missed.

How I Approach Keynote Talks

My keynotes are designed for both senior leadership audiences and large, mixed groups at industry conferences — especially when organizations need to pause and rethink how change actually works.

Across audiences, I help people see what is overlooked: the psychological, social, and contextual forces that unconsciously shape our behavior. These are not motivational speeches or future predictions. My keynotes are:

grounded in behavioral science and real organizational experience,
evidence-based but accessible to non-experts,
challenging assumptions without putting people on the defensive, and
focused on sense-making rather than telling people what to do.

When the psychological dynamics behind decisions become visible, leaders and teams are better equipped to act and make choices that are more realistic, humane, and more likely to hold up in practice.

See what my clients have to say

Jowita Michalska

Digital European Union Ambassador | Chapter Ambassador at Singularity Group

Julia’s ability to bridge science and strategy is outstanding. She brings academic depth and translates it into engaging, relevant, and immediately applicable content. Her sessions are insightful and refreshing, especially in corporate environments hungry for meaning and clarity.

What stood out most was her style — calm yet impactful, intellectually rich yet deeply human. Participants consistently praised her ability to spark reflection and shift their thinking. Julia doesn’t lecture — she creates space for real transformation.

I see Julia as a go-to expert for projects involving leadership development, culture design, employee experience, and purpose-driven innovation. If you’re building something meant to last — and feel good to be part of — you want her in the room.

Maciej Noga

Co-Founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Grupa Pracuj

I had the pleasure of working with Julia on several occasions. She always exceeded my expectations regarding her diligence in preparation. Whatever she does, she does good. She puts her heart and her mind into her work. She is fueled by passion and always strives for excellence. Her knowledge and understanding of behavioral science come from academia, yet she knows how to transform complex problems into simple but effective and practical business solutions. I highly recommend her services.

Daniel Read

Professor of Behavioral Science at Warwick Business School

Julia Kolodko is an outstanding applied behavioural scientist who can work with people from all industries and backgrounds to understand and diagnose their challenges. She has a deep understanding of science -- of what we know, what we don't know, and how to find out. She is a genuine expert in her field, and that truly sets her apart from the competition.

Julia is also a pleasure to work with. You will enjoy talking to her about the challenges you face, and once you have worked with her you will recognise that you are much closer to overcoming those challenges than you were before.

Get in touch if you'd like to discuss a keynote you're planning.

Send

Global warming is one of the toughest problems to solve if we consider how our irrational minds work. This is why I support World Land Trust, a foundation that does great things to protect ecosystems around the world.