⬤ SIGNATURE WORKPLACE CONFLICT KEYNOTE
Don’t Let Conflict Drive
How Leaders Navigate Tension Without Losing Direction
Conflict can take the wheel before leaders realize it—narrowing what they notice, hardening their assumptions and shaping what they say and do next.
Dr. Irvine Nugent helps leaders recognize what is driving them, regain choice under pressure and make a more constructive next move.
⬤ THE CHALLENGE
When Conflict Takes the Wheel
Workplace conflict rarely begins with a blowup. More often, it takes hold quietly. Attention narrows. Assumptions harden. Curiosity disappears.
A conversation is avoided, a reaction comes too quickly, or a leader becomes convinced that their view is the only reasonable one.
AS PRESSURE RISES, OTHERWISE CAPABLE LEADERS MAY:
Avoid a conversation they know needs to happen
Become defensive, controlling or withdrawn
Treat assumptions as facts
Lose sight of the relationship or larger purpose
React in ways that make the situation harder to resolve
Pressure doesn’t just test a leader’s conflict skills. It changes their access to them.
Before leaders can choose a more constructive response, they must recognize when conflict has begun choosing for them.
⬤ THE KEYNOTE EXPERIENCE
More Than Advice About What to Say
Difficult conversations rarely unfold according to a script. When pressure rises, even capable leaders can lose access to the clarity, curiosity and intention they hoped to bring to the moment.
Through compelling stories drawn from Northern Ireland and his own leadership experiences, Dr. Irvine Nugent combines thoughtful humor, behavioral insight and practical Conflict EQ tools to help audiences recognize themselves in what is happening.
Audiences laugh, reflect and leave with a practical way to navigate the difficult conversations waiting for them back at work.
Using the Conflict EQ Compass, audiences explore:
01
How to notice the early signals that conflict is beginning to drive them
02
What helps interrupt an automatic reaction before it determines what happens next
03
How to question the assumptions narrowing their perspective
04
How to choose a constructive next move without forcing immediate resolution
⬤ AUDIENCE OUTCOMES
What Leaders Take Back to Work
Audiences leave better prepared to:
Recognize earlier when conflict is beginning to shape their thinking and behavior
Regain enough choice to respond deliberately rather than automatically
Approach difficult conversations with greater clarity and curiosity
Make a constructive next move without avoiding tension or forcing immediate resolution
⬤ BEST-FIT AUDIENCES
Built for Leaders Navigating Real Workplace Pressure
Don’t Let Conflict Drive is designed for people who must remain thoughtful, clear and constructive when tension rises—including:
Executives and senior leaders
Managers and emerging leaders
HR, People and Culture professionals
Learning and Development professionals
Team and project leaders
Association and conference audiences responsible for leading people
It is especially relevant for organizations experiencing difficult conversations, competing perspectives, strained working relationships or change that is placing additional pressure on leaders and teams.
⬤ PROGRAM FORMATS
Designed to Fit Your Event
Don’t Let Conflict Drive can be adapted to your audience, event objectives and available time while preserving the keynote’s central message and experience.
Before the event, Irvine works with your planning team to understand the audience, the pressures they are navigating and what you want them to take away.
Available formats:
45–60-minute keynote
60–75-minute expanded keynote
Keynote with an accompanying breakout session
Leadership-team or conference breakout
Selected virtual presentations
⬤ SPEAKER REEL
Watch Irvine on Stage
See how Dr. Irvine Nugent uses compelling stories, thoughtful humor and practical insight to engage audiences and make complex workplace challenges feel recognizable and relevant.
BRING IRVINE TO YOUR EVENT
Help Your Leaders Take Back the Wheel
If your audience is navigating workplace tension, difficult conversations or the pressure of leading people, Don’t Let Conflict Drive will help them recognize what is shaping their response—and choose a more constructive next move.
Let’s talk about your audience, your event and how this keynote could support what they need.