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Wendy K. Smith Keynote Speaker and expert on paradox and both/and thinking

Wendy K. Smith

Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management, University of Delaware | Organizational Psychologist & Expert on Paradox | Co-Author of Both/And Thinking | Thinkers50-Ranked

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Wendy K. Smith is one of the world's leading authorities on paradox and "both/and thinking." A University of Delaware professor, Harvard PhD, and co-author of the bestseller Both/And Thinking, she won the 2023 Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award. On stage, she turns 25 years of research into a practical framework, showing leaders how to transform competing demands from a source of conflict into an engine of creativity and growth.

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    Wendy K. Smith biography

    Wendy K. Smith is one of the world’s leading authorities on paradox and the science of “both/and thinking”, how leaders and organizations thrive by embracing competing demands rather than choosing between them. An award-winning organizational psychologist and business school professor, she has spent 25 years proving that the toughest tensions we face, stability and change, mission and profit, work and life, are not problems to be solved once, but paradoxes to be navigated well.

    Leadership speaker Wendy K. Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics. She earned her PhD in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School and is one of the youngest scholars ever named an Academy of Management Fellow. Her research on strategic paradox has earned some of her field’s highest honors, including recognition for one of the most-cited management papers of its decade, and she shares it on stage at organizations such as Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, and Comcast. She explores these ideas further at wendyksmith.com.

    The Power of Paradox

    Smith reached a global audience with Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, co-authored with her longtime collaborator Marianne Lewis and published by Harvard Business Review Press. Named a Top 10 Management Book by Thinkers50 and a #1 Amazon new release, the book distills decades of research into a practical framework, and earned the pair the 2023 Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award. Her TEDx talk, “The Power of Paradox,” captures the core of her message: that our instinct to force either/or choices quietly limits us, and that the most creative, decisive leaders learn to ask instead, “What’s the both/and?” She has taught at the University of Delaware, Harvard, and the Wharton School, and works with executives and teams around the world.

    As a speaker, Wendy K. Smith brings science-based research to life with vivid, real-world stories, leaving audiences both captivated and equipped to act. She speaks on navigating paradox and competing demands, leading change and innovation without sacrificing the core business, decision-making under uncertainty, and unlocking creativity through both/and thinking. Audiences leave with a genuinely new mental model, and practical tools to turn the tensions that once caused conflict into engines of growth.

    Wendy K. Smith Speaking Videos

    The power of paradox: Dr. Wendy Smith at TEDxUD
    Comcast: Keynote by Wendy K Smith - Both/And Thinking

    Wendy K. Smith Speaking Topics

    Drawing on her bestselling book and decades of research, Smith reveals why our instinct to make either/or choices quietly limits us, and how embracing paradox unlocks better decisions. She gives audiences a practical framework for holding competing demands at once, transforming the knotted tensions of work and life into opportunities for creativity, innovation, and growth.

    One of the hardest paradoxes leaders face is managing today's business while innovating for tomorrow. Smith shows how the most effective leaders resist the either/or trap, funding and protecting the new without starving the proven, and build organizations that can execute and reinvent at the same time.

    Leaders are taught to be clear and decisive, but framing every decision as a trade-off narrows the options and can trigger vicious cycles. Smith offers a both/and approach to decision-making that helps leaders and teams surface hidden tensions, ask better questions, and reach more creative, sustainable solutions under uncertainty.

    From individuality versus teamwork to ambition versus well-being, competing demands shape our daily experience of work. Smith brings her research to a deeply human level, helping audiences reframe personal and professional tensions and build the mindset and habits to thrive amid them rather than be worn down by them.

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    FAQs on Booking Wendy K. Smith

    Booking Wendy K. Smith gives audiences one of the world's foremost experts on a challenge every leader faces: how to navigate competing, interdependent demands without being paralyzed by them. A Harvard-trained organizational psychologist, University of Delaware professor, and co-author of the acclaimed Both/And Thinking, she won the Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award for work grounded in 25 years of rigorous research. Yet she is known for making that science vivid and immediately useful, bringing it to life with real-world stories and delivering "a-ha" moments audiences act on. High-energy, credible, and deeply human, she is an ideal speaker for leadership summits, corporate conferences, and organizations navigating change, innovation, and complexity. To bring Wendy K. Smith to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.

    Wendy K. Smith is an American organizational psychologist and the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management at the University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business and Economics, where she also directs the Women's Leadership Initiative. A Harvard PhD and one of the youngest people named an Academy of Management Fellow, she is a world-leading expert on paradox and the co-author, with Marianne Lewis, of the bestseller Both/And Thinking. She has been ranked among the Thinkers50 most influential management thinkers.

    Both/and thinking is an approach, developed through Wendy K. Smith's research with Marianne Lewis, to navigating paradox: the competing yet interdependent demands that fill our work and lives, such as stability and change, or mission and profit. Instead of forcing an either/or choice, both/and thinking helps people hold competing demands at the same time and ask "What's the both/and?", leading to more creative, flexible, and sustainable decisions. It is the subject of their award-winning book of the same name.

    Wendy K. Smith speaks on paradox and both/and thinking, leading change and innovation, decision-making under uncertainty, and navigating the tensions of work, life, and leadership. Her keynotes suit leadership summits, corporate conferences, and organizations facing complexity and competing demands. To book Wendy K. Smith as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.

    Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Wendy K. Smith as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Wendy K. Smith'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 Wendy K. Smith or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.

    Wendy K. Smith 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 Wendy K. Smith 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 Wendy K. Smith.

    We only work with Wendy K. Smith on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Wendy K. Smith and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Wendy K. Smith 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 Wendy K. Smith for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.

    Yes, Wendy K. Smith is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Wendy K. Smith for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.