Susan David

Author of the #1 WSJ bestselling book Emotional Agility, TED Speaker, and award-winning Harvard Psychologist

Susan David, Ph.D. is one of the world’s leading management thinkers and an award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist. Her TED Talk on the topic of emotional agility has been seen by more than 10 million people. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal and often appears on national radio and television.

Full Profile

About Susan David

Susan David, PhD, is an award-winning psychologist at Harvard Medical School and one of the world’s most influential management thinkers. As creator of the concept of Emotional Agility, her recent work has focused on the urgent need to meet the challenges and emotional complexities of this time with action and impact.

Emotional agility is more important today than at any other moment in recent history. It is central to engagement, culture, Leadership, innovation, adaptability and wellbeing. The World Economic Forum calls Emotional Agility a key skill for the future, and Thinkers50 recognized Susan with the Breakthrough Idea of the Year Award, noting, “Emotional Agility is the new currency for leading successfully.”

Susan David, Ph.D. is the visionary who developed the concept of Emotional Agility.

An award-winning Harvard Medical School psychologist.
Named one of the world’s most influential management thinkers.
Recipient of the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award for “insights that have the potential to forever change the way we do business.”
An Inc.com Top Speaker.
Author of Emotional Agility, the #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller: Emotional Agility has been translated into 30 languages and extensively profiled on national and international media including in the New York Times, TIME, and on the TODAY show. Harvard Business Review named Emotional Agility a Management Idea of the Year.
The recipient of a standing ovation at TED for a talk that went viral, with more than 60 million unique views on social media and 9 million at TED.com, making it one of the most popular TED talks of the year.

Talks

Emotional Agility

Emotional Agility is a tool for everyone – now more than ever. Susan inspires audiences to think, feel, and act differently with deeply impactful and positive outcomes for themselves, their colleagues, and their organizations.

Emotionally agile people are dynamic. They demonstrate flexibility in dealing with a fast-changing, complex world. They face stress and setbacks with curiosity, compassion and courage, and make choices that are values-connected and serve who they most want to be in life and work.

Build your Emotional Agility in turbulent times.

Explore the critical emotional agility habits that enable people to engage, drive culture,
team, be resilient, and flourish.
Understand how being hooked by thoughts, emotions, and stories hinders thriving.
Learn how emotional agility enables people to remain curious, courageous and valuescommitted even in times of challenge and bring their best selves to work.
Leave with a set of essential practical steps to cultivate emotional agility.

Available for

Languages

English

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Videos

Testimonials

Susan's deep understanding of psychology is matched with clear, real-world steps to more effective leadership.

Helen Clark

37th Prime Minister, New Zealand

Honestly, I have never seen anyone embrace our challenges and help to explain solutions in such a precise and beautiful way as you did today. You exceeded my expectations (and the expectations of our CEO and HREVP X 100.) They (and I) were absolutely riveted. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Christina Woodwick

Sabic Leadership Conference

You were exceptional. Your ability to hold space for so many hundreds of people over a broadcast is beyond the typical reach of humans I’ve met. It was awe-inspiring to watch that and to feel throughout the experience.

Phill Nosworthy

Github Annual Leadership Conference

This is exactly what people need. An inspired choice! I have never actually experienced a session like this with someone who is able to be so authentic and talk so beautifully about compassion, courage and connectedness during these complex times. Obviously, her intelligence is there for all to see, but her authenticity and emotions radiated from her! I wish I knew more people like her.

Goldman Sachs

The session with Dr. Susan David was remarkable. Thank you for bringing that to me. It was incredibly powerful and practical.

Google

An amazing event. In my opinion, one of the best investments that Ancestry has made in it’s staff. It was absolutely brilliant and I loved it all! A lot to absorb and learn. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Loved it!

Ancestry

This is exactly what I needed to hear right now. Amazing keynote! I think I’d like to listen to this talk every morning!

Microsoft

Susan's deep understanding of psychology is matched with clear, real-world steps to more effective leadership.

Helen Clark

37th Prime Minister of New Zealand, Github

Susan was fantastic. She showed great empathy for the audience and guided our leaders on how to become more agile in the face of our daily challenges. Her talk was the perfect blend of inspiring and practical, and the audience loved it!

Guilherme Soarez

CEO, HSM

We had such an amazing experience! Thank you. I had high expectations about your involvement from the beginning, and the outcome was better than I could have hoped for. You really reached our participants ‘in their hearts’.

Mike Vierow

McKinsey & Company

Susan reminded us of how critical it is to recognize our feelings and to be emotionally agile. Susan connected with the audience in a powerful way with her ideas and personal stories. It meaningful to us to know that so many others around the world will have an opportunity to be informed and to be inspired.

Pat Mitchell

TEDWomen