Grace Marshall
Chief Encourager
Grace Marshall is your Chief Encourager and Struggle Strategist. She helps big-hearted leaders and forward-thinking organisations build a future-ready culture to innovate in adversity, lead in uncertainty and build strong relationships in challenging times.
Known for her “refreshingly human” approach to productivity and work culture, Grace’s book How to be REALLY productive was named Best Commuter’s Read in the Management Book of the Year Awards.
Her latest book Struggle: The Surprising Truth, Beauty and Opportunity Hidden in Life’s Sh*ttier Moments has been described as honest, uplifting and “the antidote to fake positivity”.
Biography
Grace Marshall is known for her “refreshingly human” approach to productivity and company culture. Outlined in her powerful book, Struggle, she espouses a practical approach to dealing with - and learning from - ‘life’s sh*ttier moments’.
As a qualified coach, NLP practitioner and DiSC facilitator, Grace brings both a psychological and a practical perspective to productivity. The leaders and organisations she works with say she has a knack for helping them ‘untangle their brain spaghetti’ and get to the heart of what’s getting in their way.
Positioning herself as ‘Chief Encourager and Struggle Strategist’, Grace helps big-hearted leaders and forward-thinking organisations build a future-ready culture to innovate in adversity, lead in uncertainty and build strong relationships in challenging times.
Grace’s workshops and speaking tours have taken her from Norway to New York, with stages ranging from corporate headquarters to a tent in the New Forest, working with clients including Boots, HSBC, NHS, Scottish Government, Teenage Cancer Trust and KFC.
Her practical advice on productivity and work life balance has been featured in The Guardian, Irish Times, Forbes, Huffpost, London Economic Forum, Working Mums, Glamour, Business Matters and BBC Radio.
Speaking
Grace empowers audiences with positivity and practical tips to tackle life and work.
Campaigns
An ideal spokesperson addressing the practical challenges of modern life.
Broadcast
Grace shares wit and wisdom about the realities of modern working lives.
Topics
Grace is very careful to prepare each keynote with the event audience in mind. Even if the talk is closely based on her most recent book, she will ensure it is tailored to appeal to your particular event and that it fits well with the narrative of the agenda.
Currently, Grace’s most popular talk is titled:
Future-Ready: Innovate in Adversity, Lead in Uncertainty, Build Strong Relationships in Shifty Times
This is a fantastic talk for:
● Organisations experiencing high change and uncertainty in the business
● Teams looking to build stronger relationships, agility and innovation
● Anyone looking to survive, thrive and grow in difficult times - not just when things are plain sailing
Example Videos
Publications
Grace’s first book 21 Ways to Manage the Stuff that Sucks Up Your Time was born from her experience coaching clients through (and living herself) the juggle of running a business whilst raising a family.
Her second book, How to be Really Productive: Achieving clarity and getting results in a world where work never ends won The Commuter’s Read category at the CMI 2017 Management Book of the Year Awards, where judges called it "a breath of fresh air."
Grace’s third book Struggle: the surprising truth, beauty and opportunity hidden in life’s sh*ttier moments was shortlisted in the Business Book Awards 2022, and has been described as honest, uplifting and “the antidote to fake positivity”.
What do you get when you book Grace to speak?
Grace is most commonly asked to keynote but she is happy to join a panel while she is at your event. Grace is an experienced speaker with an audience of her own who is happy to work with you to help you promote your event.
This can include:
● Pre-event video
● Co-operation in pre-event PR and media interviews
● Contributed articles for event blogs or programmes
● Promotion on social media
Feedback
“Incredibly thought provoking, engaging and the graphics rocked!”
Soraia Cerqueira, Warner Bros. Discovery
“Brilliant session. Love the 3 S’s. Looking forward to using this with my team.”
Steve Cross, KP Snacks
“A great opportunity for leaders to discuss what they have been through and find the positives, helping them recognise that many opportunities and new ideas can be born in the darkest of tunnels!”
Klare Rufo, Alpsit
“More than just a highly knowledgeable expert, Grace is a warm and witty human being and a great storyteller. Grace empowered us with highly useful and memorable strategies and tactics to reduce overwhelm and effectively prioritize and focus.”
Spencer Heijnen, TOMS
“A perfectly pitched, relaxing, fun, interactive and reflective session to wrap up our two days. You contended with sh*tty tech and tired fundraisers, but what was really lovely were the authentic, raw and personal contributions from people who had not found their voice until that moment.”
Patrick Weaver, Voluntary Income Director, NSPCC
“I find speaking to you so transformative in my confidence and motivation. Driving back from Anglesey this morning, I felt quite flat and full of dread – after speaking to you I feel like I can take on the world (or my world at least) and I can’t wait to get started!“
Sarah Jones, Chief Executive, Mencap Liverpool
“We were thrilled to be able to have Grace as one of our keynote speakers as part of our Global Learning at Work Week at Pearson. Grace was incredibly flexible in her approach to working with us. She listened to the specific challenges we were facing and designed a session that would resonate with our global colleagues.
Grace’s session was one of our most popular sessions for the week, and you could feel the buzz in the Zoom chat as our colleagues listened, learned, and bounced additional ideas around.”
Kim England, Global Employee Communications, Pearson
“Grace was the first presenter of the day at our biannual conference this year. We always find the first talk is crucial to the energy of the day, and Grace proved an inspired choice. Not only did she impart an amazing number of ideas in a short space of time, but did so in such a dynamic, fun and inclusive way that it left the audience buzzing.”
Rebecca Silvester, Co-Director, The Quest Institute
