Bjarke Ingels
Founder & Creative Director, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group | TED Speaker | Pioneer of Hedonistic Sustainability & Utopian Pragmatism
David Burkus
Organizational Psychologist & Bestselling Author of Best Team Ever | Authority on High-Performing Teams & Collaboration | Columbia University | Thinkers50-Ranked Thinker
Dr. David Burkus is one of the world's leading authorities on teamwork, leadership, and collaboration. An organizational psychologist, Columbia instructor, and bestselling author of Best Team Ever, he's ranked by Thinkers50 among the top business thinkers. His thesis: talent doesn't make the team, the team makes the talent. On stage, he turns rigorous research into practical, high-energy tools leaders can use the next morning.
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David Burkus biography
Dr. David Burkus is one of the world’s leading business thinkers, an organizational psychologist whose forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration. His gift is turning rigorous behavioral science into tools leaders can put to work the very next morning, built on a deceptively simple idea: talent doesn’t make the team, the team makes the talent.
Leadership speaker David Burkus is a professor at Columbia University and the bestselling author of five books on business and leadership, works that have won multiple awards and been translated into dozens of languages. He is best known for decoding what actually separates high-performing teams from mediocre ones, arguing that it is not the raw ability of the individuals but the habits, culture, and trust that either amplify or suppress the talent already in the room. His most recent book, Best Team Ever, distills that science into a clear blueprint any leader can follow to build a team that consistently performs at its best.
Talent Doesn’t Make the Team, the Team Makes the Talent
Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked multiple times among the world’s top business thought leaders, and his insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings. Alongside Best Team Ever, his books include Leading from Anywhere, a definitive guide to remote and hybrid teams; Friend of a Friend, on networks and relationships; Under New Management, which challenged conventional management wisdom; and The Myths of Creativity. He works with leaders from organizations across virtually every industry, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA, and holds a doctorate in strategic leadership.
As a speaker, David Burkus is known for pairing genuine scientific depth with the energy and storytelling of a natural performer. His keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening, they’re evidence-based and immensely practical, offering leaders at every level a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately. He speaks on building high-performing teams, fast and effective collaboration, trust, purpose, and how teams can thrive alongside artificial intelligence. Audiences leave not with generic motivation but with a clear, practical playbook for transforming how their teams work together.
David Burkus Speaking Videos
How To Hack Networking | David Burkus | TEDxUniversityofNevada
The simple way to inspire your team | David Burkus | TEDxReno
David Burkus Keynote Topics
Every leader wants a high-performing team, and nearly everyone wants to be on one, yet most teams never reach their potential. Recruiting stars, adjusting compensation, and running engagement surveys rarely deliver the results leaders hope for. Drawing on his bestseller, Burkus reveals the real secret: the best teams get that way by building the habits and culture that unlock the talent already present, because the team makes the talent, not the other way around. Leaders leave with a clear understanding of how team culture drives performance, and a simple, practical blueprint they can start applying tomorrow.
Every leader dreams of a team that simply "clicks," collaborating effortlessly and delivering results again and again. So why do some teams break records while others break down? Burkus shows that the answer isn't more talent, more resources, or more meetings, but mastery of the two elements of great collaboration: clarity (understanding roles and responsibilities) and empathy (understanding teammates' personalities and work preferences). In this high-energy, evidence-based keynote, he reveals the science behind why teams thrive or spiral into dysfunction, and gives audiences research-backed tools to establish instant clarity, alignment, and accountability, even in the newest or most complex teams.
Every leader wants a team they can trust, and every teammate wants to know their trust is earned, but trust isn't built in a single moment. It grows over time through every interaction, and it isn't simply given or earned; it's reciprocated. Burkus introduces "The Trust Loop," a feedback cycle in which extended trust must be met with respect to keep it strong. In this research-backed keynote, he reveals why trust erodes faster than leaders expect, how to keep it from slipping away, and how the best teams recover from setbacks and failures without losing it, leaving audiences with a practical blueprint to strengthen trust and drive results.
Most purpose initiatives follow the same playbook, rewrite the mission statement, launch a campaign, and hope it sticks, and most of them fail. Research shows that while the vast majority of employees say purpose matters, fewer than half feel their organization's purpose actually affects their work, and Burkus argues that gap is a leadership problem, not a communications one. People feel purpose not by reading about it, but when they can answer a single question: who is served by the work we do? In this research-backed keynote, he reveals the science of prosocial purpose and the specific leadership behaviors that make it felt at the team level, giving leaders practical tools to build both meaning and impact, and the measurable gains in performance, retention, and motivation that follow.
AI isn't coming, it's already here, and for most leaders that's as overwhelming as it is exciting. But beneath the hype, one question matters most: how will AI and teamwork evolve together? The fundamentals of great teams, clarity, connection, and trust, haven't changed; the context has. Burkus shows that the best teams don't treat AI as just another software rollout, they work with it as a teammate, rethinking how they collaborate and lead. In this fast-paced keynote, he reveals how AI can free people to focus on innovation and strategy, how new tools can sharpen team communication and transparency, and what adaptive leadership looks like in an AI-enabled workplace, so leaders can make their best team even smarter.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking David Burkus
Why David Burkus?
Booking Dr. David Burkus gives audiences something rare: a bona fide organizational psychologist who also knows how to command a room. He has spent nearly two decades turning peer-reviewed research on teams and leadership into tools leaders can use immediately, and his bestselling books, four TED talks, and repeated Thinkers50 recognition have made him one of the most trusted voices in the field. Clients from PepsiCo and Google to NASA and the U.S. Naval Academy praise his talks as both intellectually rigorous and genuinely engaging, evidence-based rather than empty motivation. Warm, funny, and deeply practical, he is an ideal speaker for events on teamwork, leadership, culture, collaboration, and the future of work. To bring David Burkus to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is David Burkus?
Dr. David Burkus is an American organizational psychologist, bestselling author, and keynote speaker whose work focuses on leadership, teamwork, and collaboration. A former business school professor who now teaches at Columbia University, he is the author of five books, including Best Team Ever, Leading from Anywhere, and Under New Management. His four TED and TEDx talks have more than four million views, and he has been ranked among the world's top business thought leaders by Thinkers50 multiple times since 2017. He holds a doctorate in strategic leadership.
What is the idea behind "Best Team Ever"?
Best Team Ever is David Burkus's most recent book and its central idea is that "talent doesn't make the team; the team makes the talent." Rather than trying to build high performance by recruiting star players or perfecting incentives, Burkus shows that the most effective teams get that way by developing the right habits and culture, especially psychological safety, trust, and productive conflict, which unlock the capability already present in the group. His research draws on teams as varied as Navy SEAL units and Pixar to show any leader how to build a stronger team culture.
What topics does leadership speaker David Burkus cover?
David Burkus speaks on building high-performing teams (Best Team Ever), fast and effective collaboration through clarity and empathy (CLICK), building and protecting trust (The Trust Loop), leading with purpose (Growth on Purpose), and helping teams thrive alongside artificial intelligence (Smarter Teams). His keynotes suit events on leadership, teamwork, culture, collaboration, and the future of work. To book David Burkus as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book David Burkus as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book David Burkus as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about David Burkus's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for David Burkus or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is David Burkus speaking fee?
David Burkus speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire David Burkus to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book David Burkus.
How can I contact David Burkus?
We only work with David Burkus on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking David Burkus and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having David Burkus speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact David Burkus for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book David Burkus for a virtual keynote?
Yes, David Burkus is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book David Burkus for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
