Your audience doesn't need another motivational speaker
What Happens When a Presidential Advisor Takes Your Stage?
Cicely Simpson doesn't deliver motivation.
She delivers the implementation framework
your team uses Monday morning
What Happens When a Presidential Advisor
Takes Your Stage?
Cicely Simpson doesn't deliver motivation.
She delivers the implementation framework
your team uses Monday morning.
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What Happens When a Presidential Advisor Takes Your Stage?
Cicely Simpson doesn't deliver motivation.
She delivers the implementation framework your team uses Monday morning
What Happens When a Presidential Advisor
Takes Your Stage?
Cicely Simpson doesn't deliver motivation.
She delivers the implementation framework
your team uses Monday morning.
ORGANIZATIONS WHO BOOKED CICELY
Trusted By Fortune 500 Companies, National Industry Conferences, Global Organizations, And The Offices Of 5 U.S. Presidents
She Didn't Study Leadership. She Survived It.
THEN MASTERED IT.
Here's who you're putting on your stage:
Raised by a Vietnam Marine who ran his household like a barracks. No excuses. No shortcuts. Every choice is yours to own.
Born with sickle cell anemia, a disease that dropped her to her knees mid-class, gasping for air.
Her doctor said: your health or law school.
She chose law school.
Didn't have the grades for Pepperdine. Convinced them to give her six months to prove herself.
Three years later, she walked out with the highest award a Pepperdine law student can receive.
Youngest VP at Dunkin' Brands, the only woman and person of color in the executive ranks.
Led eight national teams to unprecedented results. Got fired by a boss who saw her as a threat. Called it the best thing that ever happened to her.
Then Forbes reached out to her, not the other way around, to write the book on leadership.
Most keynotes fire up the room for 45 minutes and leave nothing behind.
Cicely delivers what comes after the standing ovation: a framework your audience implements the next day.
Here's who you're putting on your stage:
Raised by a Vietnam Marine who ran his household like a barracks. No excuses. No shortcuts. Every choice is yours to own.
Born with sickle cell anemia, a disease that dropped her to her knees mid-class, gasping for air.
Her doctor said: your health or law school.
She chose law school.
Didn't have the grades for Pepperdine. Convinced them to give her six months to prove herself.
Three years later, she walked out with the highest award a Pepperdine law student can receive.
Youngest VP at Dunkin' Brands, the only woman and person of color in the executive ranks.
Led eight national teams to unprecedented results. Got fired by a boss who saw her as a threat. Called it the best thing that ever happened to her.
Then Forbes reached out to her, not the other way around, to write the book on leadership.
Most keynotes fire up the room for 45 minutes and leave nothing behind.
Cicely delivers what comes after the standing ovation: a framework your audience implements the next day.
Keynotes & Workshops
The Impact Leadership Series
One philosophy: Leadership is not influence. Leadership is impact.
Five keynotes, each built for a different leadership moment. Every session ends with tools your audience uses the next day.
The Signature Keynote
"Pull Up Your C.H.A.I.R."
Your seat at the table was never going to be handed to you. This is how you claim it.
The full C.H.A.I.R. framework — five leadership operating systems that separate leaders who plateau from leaders who break through.
This is not a pep talk. It is a working session disguised as a keynote.
Best for: Annual conferences, leadership summits, all-company/organozation events where your audience needs more than applause.
Your audience leaves with: A personal leadership diagnostic and the implementation framework to act on it, not next quarter, the next work day.
Leadership Visibility & Self-Advocacy
"The Leadership Ceiling"
The skills that got you here are the same ones holding you back.
This keynote names the ceiling and shows your audience how to break through it — with a system, not a slogan.
Most leaders in the room will recognize themselves within the first five minutes.
That is the point.
Best for: Executive development programs, leadership events, company and senior leader retreats.
Your audience leaves with: A clear diagnosis of what is keeping them stuck, and the operating system to move past it starting the next day.
The Communication Keynote
"Language Is Leadership”
The way your leaders communicate is either building their credibility or quietly undermining it.
Most don't know which.
Cicely gives your audience the communication framework that changes how they show up in every room, from boardroom presentations to the conversations they avoid.
Best for: All audiences: industry conferences and events, organization events and conferences, workshops, leadership summits, retreats, etc..
Your audience leaves with: A framework for communicating with authority and precision, without performing, posturing, or becoming someone they are not.
The Impact Keynote
"Driving Impact At Every Level"
Influence changes minds. Impact changes outcomes — and every leader in this room, regardless of title, is capable of driving the second one.
Most leaders spend their careers building influence. This keynote challenges them to build something harder and more lasting: impact that scales beyond their presence and outlasts their title.
Cicely shows your audience how to move from producing results to driving outcomes using the I.M.P.A.C.T. framework to build the six behaviors that create measurable, lasting change at every level of the organization, from the front desk to the boardroom.
Best for: All-employee events, leadership conferences, culture transformation initiatives, and any audience that spans emerging talent to senior leadership.
Your audience leaves with: A six-behavior framework for driving impact regardless of title, a personal self-assessment that identifies their highest-leverage leadership opportunity right now, and a specific 48-hour commitment made before they leave the room.
Your Daily Practice
"The 5-Minute Leader"
The biggest myth in leadership is time. The biggest gap in leadership is consistency. Five minutes a day is enough to address both.
This is C.H.A.I.R. 2.0 — the keynote that takes the leadership identity framework and makes it operational. Where C.H.A.I.R. answers the question who are you choosing to lead as, The 5-Minute Leader answers the question every leader eventually faces: how does that choice show up consistently, when conditions are hard and no one is watching?
Cicely shows your audience how to close the gap between knowing and doing using the M.B.A. framework to install a daily leadership practice that compounds over time and runs on hard days as well as easy ones.
Best for: Leadership development programs, annual leadership conferences, and events where behavior change, not just inspiration, is the measurable outcome.
Your audience leaves with: Five daily five-minute behaviors mapped directly to the C.H.A.I.R. framework, three specific commitments written and shared before leaving the room, and an accountability structure that makes follow-through two to three times more likely than inspiration alone.
Keynotes Built for Your Organization
Custom Keynotes, Workshops & Private Cohorts
Not every leadership challenge fits a pre-built keynote.
Cicely delivers tailored engagements built around your organization's specific situation, from stakeholder management to leading without the title to navigating a merger your team didn't ask for.
Half-day workshops. Full-day intensives. Or a 10-week private cohort where Cicely works directly with your leadership team to install the most critical 10 leaderships systems in your leaders and teams.
Best for: All audiences and events, organizations that want more than a one-time event, and leaders facing challenges too specific for a general keynote.
Your team leaves with: A custom-built leadership framework designed for your situation, not a generic playbook borrowed from someone else's.
Advised 5 U.S. Presidents
Fortune 150 & Fortune 500 C-Suite Leader
Forbes-Published Bestselling Author
Featured on Times Square Billboard
30 Years Professional Speaking, Courtroom-Trained
Watch What Happens When Cicely Takes the Stage
WHAT THEY SAY
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, national industry conferences, global organizations, Non-Profits, Universities, And more.
Cicely Simpson was the keynote speaker for our Leadership Summit. As the favorite Summit speaker, Ms. Simpson delivered in spades. Her passionate and humble style quickly won over even the most skeptical attendees. I highly recommend Ms. Simpson to any group that values authenticity and passion, delivered with humility, clarity, and relevancy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - M. Winegeart, Executive Director
I want to express our deep appreciation for the time you invested with our teams last week. Your presence helped us reach some truly revelatory moments. Our discussion the next day, inspired by your insights, led to some significant breakthrough moments. We are all deeply committed to this new energy and eagerly anticipate how it will positively transform our work and team dynamics.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Theresa Eyet, VP. AHCA
Cicely Simpson has an amazing ability to take deeply complicated policy and political issues and distill them into dynamic and digestible ideas that further the conversation. During her appearance at the Brookings Institution panel on wage growth, her confidence, command of the subject, and keen sense of humor made the discussion both interesting and informative for the audience.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Tracy Schmaler
Thank you so much for your time spent with us at Summit. During this time, you truly modeled for us, time and time again, how to embody every characteristic of exemplary leadership. Thank you for coaching us to be people of impact, to understand that "okay is not okay". You taught us that while okay is comfortable, it's not thrilling, it's not passion, it's not life-changing, fulfilling, and unforgettable.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Alie
Cicely Simpson offers a unique and fresh approach. Her presentations combine a warmth for her audience with a personal charisma that captivates audiences with her honest and relatable stories of overcoming racial and gender barriers through principle centered decisions. Cicely's insights into servant leadership, building trust and forging open and honest communication resonate with aspiring professionals of every age -- and show that things can be done right even in the highest levels of Washington politics and the board rooms of some of America's most successful corporations. Cicely will leave you longing for more and will empower individuals to reinvest in making things better right where they are!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Scott Sager
I have known Cicely Simpson for many years. I have had the opportunity to see her speak on several occasions before various groups of professionals. Cicely is extremely knowledgeable, very engaging, and an outstanding presenter. She is always very well prepared and presents her topics succinctly and in a straightforward manner. It's without hesitation that I recommend Cicely to be a speaker for your organization
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jan
Send Your Audience Home With the Framework in Their Hands
When Forbes reached out to Cicely to write a book about leadership, the result was Pull Up Your C.H.A.I.R., the complete system behind every keynote she delivers.
Bulk book orders mean every person in your audience walks away with a signed copy.
The keynote lands in the room. The book keeps it working for months.
4.8 stars on Amazon. Featured on the Times Square billboard.
Ask about bulk book packages when you inquire.
Put Cicely on Your Stage
Cicely works with a limited number of organizations each quarter to ensure every engagement gets her full preparation and attention.
Whether you are planning a conference keynote, a leadership workshop, or a multi-day executive retreat, the first step is a short conversation about your audience and objectives.
Tell us about your event. We respond to every inquiry within 48 hours.
Every inquiry receives a personal response within 48 hours. No auto-replies.
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