Peter Frankopan
Bestselling Author of 'The Silk Roads' | Professor of Global History, University of Oxford | World-Renowned Historian on Geopolitics, Trade & Climate
Jim Detert
World's Leading Expert on Workplace Courage | Colley Professor at UVA's Darden & Batten Schools | Author of Choosing Courage | Expert on Leadership, Voice & Ethics
Jim Detert is an award-winning social scientist and the world's leading expert on workplace courage. The Colley Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden and Batten Schools, he has spent two decades studying why people speak up or stay silent. Author of Choosing Courage, he gives leaders a practical, research-based playbook for building the courage that drives honesty, change, and growth.
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Jim Detert biography
Leadership speaker Jim Detert is an award-winning social scientist and the world’s foremost expert on a quality most organizations say they want but few know how to build: courage. Through two decades of research, he has shown that workplace courage, the willingness to speak up, challenge the status quo, have hard conversations, and take bold action, is not a rare trait reserved for a heroic few. It is a set of skills that anyone can learn, practice, and deploy when it counts.
A professor of business administration and public policy at the University of Virginia, Detert holds the John L. Colley Professorship and teaches in both the Darden School of Business and the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Before joining UVA, he spent nearly a decade at Cornell’s Johnson School of Management. His research on courage, voice, and ethical behavior has won multiple best-paper awards and appears in leading journals, and he is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review.
The Science of Competent Courage
In his book Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work, Detert introduces the concept of “competent courage”, acting bravely in ways that create positive change while managing the risks and consequences. Drawing on real stories of both well-known and ordinary people, he shows how individuals can climb their own “courage ladder” and how leaders can build cultures where honest input is welcomed rather than punished. A professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, he also created The Courage Center to bring this research to a wider audience.
As a speaker, Jim Detert is thoughtful, engaging, and immediately useful, giving audiences concrete tools rather than platitudes about “being brave.” He speaks on building workplace courage and psychological safety, why people stay silent and how leaders can change that, having difficult conversations, and leading with integrity in high-pressure moments. Audiences leave able to recognize the traps that keep them quiet, and equipped with practical strategies to speak and act with competent courage, the next day and every day after.
Jim Detert Speaking Videos
Choosing Courage: Jim Detert on Workplace Courage
LIVE Choosing Courage with Jim Detert
Jim Detert Keynote Topics
Drawing on his book and two decades of research, Jim Detert dismantles the myth that courage is a fixed trait belonging to a heroic few. He shows that the willingness to speak up, challenge the status quo, and take bold action is a skill anyone can build, and that most workplace courage is about everyday acts, not dramatic whistleblowing. Audiences leave with a practical framework for acting bravely in ways that create change while managing the very real risks.
Organizations can't learn, innovate, or fix problems without honest input, yet most people stay silent far more often than leaders realize. Detert reveals why, and gives leaders a research-based blueprint for change. He shows that it's not enough to say "my door is always open": leaders must model the right behaviors and make structural, policy, and symbolic changes that make speaking up genuinely safe. A must for any leader serious about psychological safety and candor.
Courage without competence can backfire, damaging careers and relationships without creating change. In this keynote, Detert teaches the "how" of courage, not just the "why": the physical techniques (like controlled breathing), the mental strategies (like cognitive reframing), and the tactical choices that help people speak and act bravely while improving their odds of a good outcome. A practical, empowering session that turns courage from a gamble into a learnable skill.
The size of a leader's toolkit doesn't matter if they won't use those tools when it counts. Drawing on his research into ethics and decision-making, Detert explores how leaders can live their values in the high-stakes, high-pressure moments that define careers and cultures. He helps audiences recognize the traps and rationalizations that lead good people to stay silent or look away, and offers concrete ways to act with integrity when it's hardest, and matters most.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Jim Detert
Why Jim Detert?
Booking Jim Detert brings audiences the definitive expert on one of the most important, and most neglected, drivers of organizational success: courage. He combines two decades of rigorous research with genuinely practical, research-backed tools, showing leaders and teams not just why courage matters, but exactly how to build it. Thoughtful, credible, and immediately useful, he tackles the real reasons people stay silent and gives audiences concrete strategies they can act on right away. He is ideal for events on leadership, culture, psychological safety, ethics, and change. To bring Jim Detert to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Jim Detert?
Jim Detert, PhD, is an award-winning social scientist and the world's leading expert on workplace courage. He is the John L. Colley Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and a professor at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. His research focuses on workplace courage, improvement-oriented voice (why people speak up or stay silent), and ethical decision-making, and has won multiple best-paper awards and appeared in leading management journals. He is the author of Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work, a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, and earned his PhD at Harvard University after teaching for nearly a decade at Cornell.
What is "competent courage"?
"Competent courage" is the central concept in Jim Detert's book Choosing Courage. It reframes courage not as reckless bravery or a personality trait, but as a learnable skill: acting bravely in ways that create positive change while skillfully managing the risks and consequences. Detert's research shows that people who succeed at speaking up and standing out, and who suffer fewer negative repercussions, tend to prepare, choose their moments, and use specific behavioral techniques rather than simply blurting out what they think. In other words, courage can be practiced and improved like any other competency, allowing individuals to climb their own "courage ladder" and leaders to build cultures where honesty is genuinely welcomed.
What topics does leadership speaker Jim Detert cover?
Jim Detert speaks on building workplace courage and the skill of competent courage, creating cultures where people speak up, psychological safety and candor, and leading with integrity under pressure. His keynotes suit events on leadership, culture, psychological safety, ethics, and change. To book Jim Detert as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Jim Detert as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Jim Detert as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Jim Detert'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 Jim Detert or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Jim Detert speaking fee?
Jim Detert 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 Jim Detert 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 Jim Detert.
How can I contact Jim Detert?
We only work with Jim Detert on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Jim Detert and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Jim Detert 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 Jim Detert for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Jim Detert for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Jim Detert is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Jim Detert for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
