Simon T. Bailey
Workforces are exhausted. Engagement scores have stalled, attrition is expensive, and the people meant to deliver the customer experience are running on empty. Leaders need a credible read on what restores commitment, energy, and service quality in a workforce that has been asked to do more for longer.
Simon T. Bailey is a leadership and customer experience author who helps organisations rebuild workforce resilience, engagement, and service culture, drawing on two decades of research and his tenure at Disney Institute.
Full Profile
Why organisations work with Simon T. Bailey
- Original research on workforce resilience. His State of Working America: Thriving in Resilience and Brilliance study surveyed over 1,000 US workers and underpins his keynotes with current data rather than received wisdom.
- A customer experience playbook rooted in operational reality. His SPARK methodology distils what he learned as Sales Director of the Disney Institute into practices that frontline teams can apply.
- Award-winning published work. Resilience@Work won both the Next Generation Indie Book Award and the Independent Press Award, signalling editorial credibility beyond bureau-circuit hype.
- Reach that translates into recognition inside client organisations. His 14 LinkedIn Learning courses have reached more than 400,000 professionals, so audiences often arrive already familiar with the material.
Biography highlights
- Founder and CEO, Brilliance Institute, Inc.
- Former Sales Director, Disney Institute (seven years as a Disney cast member).
- Author of 11 books, including Release Your Brilliance (HarperCollins), ranked No. 17 by 800-CEO-Read among the top 100 books being read by corporate America.
- Resilience@Work recipient of the Next Generation Indie Book Award and the Independent Press Award.
- Named to Success magazine’s Top 25 thought leaders alongside Brené Brown, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey.
- 14 LinkedIn Learning courses with a combined audience of 400,000+ professionals.
- Executive MBA, University of East London; three honorary doctorates, most recently a Doctorate of Science in Business Administration from Cleary University.
Biography
Disney spent decades teaching the world that service is a system, not a personality trait. Bailey was inside that system as Sales Director of the Disney Institute, and his work since has carried that operating discipline into the wider corporate world.
The premise of his current research is straightforward. Engagement scores plateaued during the pandemic and have not recovered. His State of Working America: Thriving in Resilience and Brilliance report, drawn from over 1,000 US workers, gives leaders an evidence base for why and what to do about it. Resilience@Work, the book built on that research, won the Next Generation Indie Book Award and the Independent Press Award.
The intellectual through-line across his 11 books is the connection between how people feel about their work and what customers experience at the other end. Release Your Brilliance, published by HarperCollins, was ranked among the top 100 books being read by corporate America. His SPARK methodology turns that thesis into operating practice for frontline teams.
His reach inside organisations is unusual for a keynote author. 14 LinkedIn Learning courses have placed his material in front of 400,000+ professionals, which is why Success magazine listed him among its Top 25 thought leaders, in the company of Brené Brown, Tony Robbins, and Oprah Winfrey.
Key speaking topics
- Workforce resilience
- Employee engagement and retention
- Customer experience and service culture
- Leadership development
- Personal and professional brilliance
- Inclusive and values-based leadership
Ideal for
- CHROs and chief people officers rebuilding engagement after sustained workforce fatigue
- Customer experience and service leaders translating brand promise into frontline behaviour
- Sales and commercial leadership teams looking to renew energy and conviction
- HR and L&D summits, organisational town halls, and customer-facing field events
Audience outcomes
- A current evidence base, drawn from Bailey’s State of Working America research, on what is driving disengagement and what restores it.
- The SPARK service framework, translated into specific behaviours frontline teams can adopt the following week.
- Renewed conviction in the link between how employees feel and what customers experience.
- A vocabulary leaders can use to talk about resilience and brilliance without slipping into wellness platitudes.
Talks
A research-backed case for hope as a measurable leadership variable, drawing on Bailey’s State of Working America study and his Velcro Leadership framework.
Key takeaways:
- How hope shows up in engagement, retention, and discretionary effort data
- A leadership practice for rebuilding commitment after sustained change
- A framework leaders can apply to their own teams the same week
A keynote on personal and professional growth grounded in Bailey’s three “Brilliance” books and the 12 Shapes behavioural assessment.
Key takeaways:
- A language for individual contribution and growth that managers can use
- The behavioural patterns that separate stalled performers from thriving ones
- A practical method for shifting from average to brilliant performance
The SPARK methodology, distilled from Bailey’s Disney Institute tenure, applied to organisations competing on service quality.
Key takeaways:
- The operating principles behind sustained service cultures
- How frontline behaviour translates brand promise into customer loyalty
- The link between employee experience and customer experience as a measurable system