Stop fixing people.
It’s the water—not the fish.
Most organizations try to improve wellbeing, engagement and performance by fixing the people inside the system.
But what if the real problem isn’t the people? What if it’s the environment shaping them?
Just as a fish’s health is shaped by the quality of the water around it, employees’ wellbeing, engagement and performance are shaped by the conditions that surround them. Laura doesn’t just give audiences a new lens; she empowers them to create ecosystems where people—and performance—thrive.
“Laura’s work advanced our company culture by two years.”
Crockett Dale
CEO, Healthstat
Clients
Hi, I’m
Laura.
From Division I gymnast at Stanford to public high school teacher to working with 500+ organizations, I’ve helped 50,000+ leaders build teams & organizations that thrive.
All of this derives from a simple system I developed called The Multiplier Method, a proven framework that equips leaders, especially managers, to build high-performing teams that are sustainable.
My work challenges the prevailing narrative that engagement, performance and wellbeing begin with the individual. Instead, the work begins with changing the conditions that surround the individual.
Stop fixing people. Fix the workplace.
It’s the water—not the fish.
“Laura has a knack for taking a topic we think we know and reframing it so that we see it through fresh eyes.”
LuAnn Heinen
Vice President, Business Group on Health
The
Multiplier
Method
Building Teams That Are Resilient, High-Performing & Sustainable
Do
Lead by example.
Speak
Talk about it.
Create
Build a culture.
A proven leadership framework that increases team productivity, enhances employee engagement, and advances a company’s culture.
In today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace, the most important resource any organization has is the wellbeing of its people.
Keynote Topics
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But what if the real issue isn't the people? What if it's the environment shaping them?
Culture is the water we swim in. And just as fish need healthy water to thrive, people flourish in environments rooted in trust, belonging, and genuine care.
Whether you're building a team, leading a company-wide initiative, or just trying to make it through the day without burning out, the culture you are “swimming in” shape your ability to navigate tomorrow's uncertainty. The key is to focus on shaping the water—not the fish.
Drawing on her experience working with more than 500 organizations and over 50,000 leaders, Laura explains why we're more "creatures of culture" than creatures of habit, why the everyday experiences of employees matter far more than any wellness program ever could, and how everyone has a role to play in building an organization that is resilient, adaptable, and built to thrive.
Audiences Walk Away With:
See the Water. A new mental model—the water, not the fish—that reveals why culture, not individual behavior, is the foundation of resilient companies.
Study the Currents. Learn to recognize the everyday experiences that shape culture long before they become turnover, burnout, stalled growth or crisis.
Shape the Water. Apply the four pillars—Civility, Stability, Significance and Hope—to build a culture that supports innovation, resilience, and long-term success.
Start the Ripple. Leave with practical actions anyone can implement immediately—whether you're building a team, scaling your organization, or strengthening an established company.
Pass It On. Hear real-world stories demonstrating how culture can accelerate innovation, strengthen performance, and become a lasting competitive advantage—or quietly undermine even the best business strategy.
Why We’re Not Thriving—And How We Can
It’s the Water, Not the Fish
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They have more impact on employee wellbeing and mental health than doctors or therapists.
The most powerful lever in your organization isn’t strategy, technology, or benefits. It’s your managers.
Yet managers are too often left out of the conversation—expected to drive results without ever being equipped to shape the conditions their teams actually work in.
A pioneer in building manager-driven movements of wellbeing, engagement and performance, Laura Putnam makes the case that the manager isn't just part of the system. For their team, they are the system.
Through memorable stories, actionable leadership insights, and her simple Multiplier Method™—Do, Speak, Create—Laura offers a practical framework for every manager so their team feels supported, connected, and equipped to do their best work.
Audiences Will Walk Away With:
Own the Effect. A new understanding of why the manager isn't just part of the system—for their team, they are the system.
Feel the Stakes. A visceral sense of what's at stake—not just for organizations, but for the people on every team and the families depending on them.
Master the Multiplier Method™. Three specific, immediately applicable practices—Do, Speak, Create—that turn any team leader into a force for wellbeing and performance.
Reframe the Role. Clarity on why wellbeing and mental health are not just up to HR, but are foundational to how every manager needs to lead.
Make the Case for Managers. A clear business case for why investing in managers is the highest-leverage decision an organization can make.
Why The Person In The Middle Changes Everything
The Manager Effect
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A healthier, happier workforce is good for people, good for the bottom line, and essential for building winning teams.
And yet, most workplace wellbeing efforts don’t work. Employees opt out, and even if they do opt in, they’re not necessarily any better off because of them. So, how did we get something so good so wrong? And how do we make it right?
Derived from Laura's bestselling book Workplace Wellness That Works, this keynote will show you how you can level up your company's performance, profitability, and sustainability by elevating the impact of your workplace wellbeing efforts.
What Audiences Walk Away With:
Make the Case for Wellbeing. A definitive understanding of how wellbeing tied directly to the metrics leaders already track—retention, profitability, safety, and productivity.
Define Why We Keep Getting It Wrong. An easy-to-understand breakdown on why most wellness programs fail—not for lack of effort, but because most solve for the individual instead of the system that shapes their behavior.
Make It Right. A proven framework for making workplace wellness actually work, from shifting into an agent-of-change mindset to designing everyday nudges and cues.
What The Best Organizations Do Differently
The Future of Work Is Wellbeing
Going Upstream
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Mental wellbeing at work is a leadership responsibility.
Today’s teams are absorbing more stress with fewer resources and are caught between rising demands and shrinking bandwidth. The cost isn't just personal. Disengaged, mentally exhausted teams are driving billions in lost productivity every year.
This keynote gives leaders three concrete calls to action: begin the conversation around mental health and break the outdated instinct to leave emotions at the door; reflect on the leadership style they default to under pressure, and how it shapes their team's wellbeing for better or worse; and focus on the daily touchpoints—the hundreds of small, everyday interactions that quietly determine whether people feel lifted up or pushed down.
While HR can build the programs, only the leader in the room can shape what happens in the moments in between.
Audiences Will Walk Away With:
Reframe Mental Health. Clarify why it is a leadership responsibility, not just an HR program.
Take Concrete Actions. Open the conversation around mental health, reflect on one’s own default leadership style under pressure, and pay attention to daily touchpoints.
Small Moments Have Big Impact. An understanding of the "hundreds of small interactions" that quietly shape whether a team feels lifted up or pushed down—and how to start shifting them.
What Every Leader Can Do To Solve For Mental Health
Featured In
The
ultimate
wellness guide.
Since its release, Laura’s groundbreaking book continues to appear on bestseller lists. A go-to resource that is packed with actionable tips to help leaders, managers, and employees spark wellbeing in every workplace.