Speaking
"I help people develop the characteristics to achieve the lives they want by busting the myth that personality is set in stone"
ssz@personality-compass.com
Global Speaker, Author, Scientist, Practicing Psychologist
Watch My Speaker Reel on the Power of Personality Change
Watch My Speaker Reel on the Power of Personality Change
Dr. Sauer-Zavala's research has been featured in prestigious academic journals and she regularly contributes to media coverage on mental health and personality. She has given keynotes on personality change all over the world.
Recent Audiences Include:
Your personality is set in stone, right? Wrong!
Countless research studies show that traits can and do change over time and that you can facilitate this process by taking intentional action. So, what if instead of telling yourself “I can’t do [insert activity] because I’m not [insert characteristic] enough, you imagined the life of your dreams and purposefully developed the traits that would help get you there.
Shannon Sauer-Zavala, PhD, a clinical psychologist and personality change researcher, uses her own journey from messy and lazy to off the charts in conscientiousness to illustrate the science-based principles of personality change. She will challenge the notion that you’re stuck with the personality you’re born with and empower you to use your dreams to determine the traits you develop.
Audience Take Aways
- How to start moving forward even if you don't know exactly where you're headed
- How self-limiting believes can you keep you stuck in a personality-type box
- How to embrace the person you want to be by ACTING like the person you want to be
- How to celebrate strong wins to keep yourself motivated
Past Audiences:
- University of Kentucky Women’s Forum 2023
- University of Kentucky Women’s Forum 2024 (invited back!)
- Faith & Mental Health Conference 2025
1: KEYNOTE
Be Who You Want: Using Personality Science to Build the Traits for Success
ssz@personality-compass.com
What if your team’s greatest strengths haven’t been developed yet?
Think personality is fixed? Think again. Research shows that traits like emotional stability, conscientiousness, and assertiveness can change—especially when people are supported in developing them intentionally.
In this interactive workshop, every participant will complete an exclusive, science-based personality assessment designed by Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala, a clinical psychologist and personality change researcher. The assessment sets the stage for a personalized experience that helps employees understand their current trait profile—and identify areas of growth aligned with their goals.
Rather than slotting people into rigid categories, this workshop empowers teams to see personality as a launchpad for growth. Dr. Sauer-Zavala introduces the latest science of intentional personality change and shows how fostering key traits like resilience, flexibility, and follow-through can boost well-being, collaboration, and performance.
Audience Take Aways
- Why personality isn’t destiny—and how traits can shift in high-performance environments
- Personalized feedback based on a science-backed personality test
- How to align individual traits with role-specific goals and growth opportunities
- How to break through limiting labels like “not a leader” or “bad with stress”
- How to create a culture where growth is expected, supported, and celebrated
Perfect For
- Corporate teams
- Growing Startups
- Professional Development Organizations
2: Workshop
From Stressed to Strategic: Using Personality Science to Build High-Impact Teams
ssz@personality-compass.com
You climbed the ladder. Now it’s time to figure out if it’s leaning against the right wall.
You did everything right. You followed the path, climbed the ladder, and now you’re sitting in the role you once dreamed of… and wondering, Is this it?
This keynote is for high achievers at a turning point—the professionals who checked all the boxes, earned the title, and still feel like something’s missing. Whether it’s a quiet itch for more meaning or a loud longing for reinvention, that unsettled feeling is not a failure—it’s a signal. A sign that it’s time to grow again.
Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala, a clinical psychologist and personality change researcher, guides audiences through the science (and soul) of mid-career transformation. Using both personal stories and cutting-edge research, she explores how your personality traits—like boldness, flexibility, and self-trust—can evolve long after your resume is established.
Participants will even complete a short personality assessment to reflect on which traits they’ve been over-relying on (hello, perfectionism), and which ones they might want to strengthen to step into their next chapter with clarity and courage.
Audience Take Aways
- Why the “mid-career itch” is a normal and healthy signal for growth—not a crisis
- How to align your personality with your evolving values and goals
- How to rewrite the story of success in a way that includes meaning, purpose, and joy
- How to take small, strategic steps toward becoming the person you were always meant to be
Perfect For
- Corporate Leadership Retreats
- Human Resource Teams
- Professional Development Organizations
- Women’s Leadership Summits
- Tech, healthcare, Academic settings
3: Keynote/Workshop
The Mid-Career Itch: Becoming the Person You Were Meant to Be—After You’re Already Successful
ssz@personality-compass.com
Being easy to work with” shouldn’t cost women their ambition.
From a young age, women are praised for being certain traits: agreeable, accommodating, detail-oriented, and selfless. And while those traits can serve us well—promotions, A+ project execution, and being the “glue” on every team—they can also quietly burn us out, hold us back, and keep us invisible in rooms we’ve earned our way into.
In this transformational keynote or workshop, Dr. Shannon Sauer-Zavala, a clinical psychologist and personality change researcher, explores how common traits like people-pleasing, perfectionism, and low assertiveness can limit even the most capable women—and how science shows these traits can change.
Through engaging stories, science-based strategies, and a personalized personality assessment, participants will walk away with a clearer picture of how they’ve been shaped by personality and social norms—and how to intentionally step into a fuller, bolder version of themselves.
Audience Take Aways
- How traits like high agreeableness and perfectionism are both superpowers and stress traps
- The psychology of why women overcommit, under-assert, and quietly burn out
- How to set boundaries without guilt and lead without apologizing
- A fresh, science-backed framework for becoming more direct, decisive, and fulfilled
Perfect For
- Women’s Leadership & Empowerment Events
- Human Resource Teams or Corporate Employee Resource Teams
- Professional Development Organizations
- Tech, healthcare, Academic settings full of high-achieving women
4: Keynote/Workshop
More Than Likable: Outgrowing the Traits That Keep Women Small
ssz@personality-compass.com
