Thanks so much for speaking for us Sarah! We received tons of positive comments after your talk (and your energy, how the content tied together many things for people in our organisation, how tactical/immediately useful it was)

Lindsay Lackner, Planning Advisor – Culture & Plan – Imperial Oil

Sarah McVanel

International Recognition, Retention & Culture Expert

Sarah McVanel is a recognition expert, a professional speaker, a coach, an author, a recovering perfectionist and a movement maker. She has created F.R.O.G. Forever Recognise Others’ Greatness™ to invigorate companies, enabling them to recognise their people as exceptional and collectively create a scrumptious and thriving company culture where everyone feels included.

Sarah has 25+ years of experience training, coaching, and leading teams. From her senior leadership role, she founded her boutique firm Greatness Magnified. Proclaimed as the “Frog Lady,” she can be found freaking out perfect strangers (in a good way) by handing out squishy frogs and asking them, “Have you been frogged lately?” and then acknowledging their greatness.

She’s a Certified Senior Organizational Development Professional (CSODP), Professional Certified Coach (PCC), and Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL). Sarah McVanel is one of 700 Certified Speaking Professionals (CSP) worldwide. She has a BA in Psychology, MSc in Family Relations, and Diplomas in Human Resources and Healthcare Administration.

You can catch Sarah McVanel kayaking in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter with her husband or cooking a feast (while listening to an audiobook on double speed). She’s a die-hard carb-ivour, amateur hip-hopper, and TikTok embarrasser to her two kids.

Videos

Topics

The Exponential Power of Recognition

Superglue your culture through meaningful connection and abundant appreciation

If you had the easiest, fastest, simplest, and no-cost strategy to engage, unite, and retain everyone in your organization, would you want to know about it?

Many passionate, brilliant, hard-working people want to do their best yet feel unappreciated and overworked. Similarly, some well-intentioned leaders wish to show appreciation to their people, but they’re busy and unsure if their efforts will make a difference.

Add to that a stale and misaligned corporate recognition program, and what you have is the perfect recipe for disengagement and turnover!

How do we bridge the gap between what employees need and what organizations are prepared to do?

Recognition is the answer. And it’s easy! All you need to know are the 3 universal strategies that work instantaneously. As a result, you’re going to raise trust, boost satisfaction, deepen a sense of belonging, and you will go down in history as the best boss and colleague – ever!

This work is magical. And it creates a ripple effect. It gets leaders, employees, and everyone in between excited again. It gives people hope that they can LOVE work again.

This session will introduce you to a proven process for self, team, and organizational recognition called F.R.O.G. Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness™. You will walk away ready to take action to shift your culture right away.

Tap into this universal need that everyone has and isn’t getting enough. Join Canada’s Recognition Expert, Sarah McVanel, in creating a recognition movement that will be so contagious it will cascade through your event and beyond.

Flip Side of Failing: How unconditional recognition ignites resilience, relationships and retention

Failure is a tough nut. Either we treat it like the other “f-word,” or we’re espousing its virtues for learning. Let’s face it. We don’t have much resilience when failure comes crashing into our lives and careers.

Most often, we play it safe. We avoid it or feel shame or blame when failure inevitably happens. We’ve had plenty of experiences that tell us to avoid failing at all costs.

Before you think this is your “unmotivational” speech, trust me when I say that this is empowerment personified. We will be challenging the very definitions of success and failure that we’ve blindly accepted, and it’s sabotaging our well-being, performance, and satisfaction.

What does failure mean to you? Does it define you? Can you give yourself permission to fail?

In this session, you will truly experience and absorb the F.L.I.P. framework: Fail, Learn, Ignite, Praise. Each dimension of FLIP allows you to harness the power that comes from failure and let go of ego or judgment.

Learning from your failures creates your path to greatness. These lessons will forever change you and help you become more decisive, confident, and action-oriented.

The question is … where’s your FLIP? How can you become more failure resilient?

If you’re ready to explore how unconditional recognition of yourself and others can ignite passion and performance, this session is for you.

In this energizing and entertaining session (with a few fun twists), you will awaken possibilities, deepen connections, source solutions, and improve individual and organizational performance by recognizing greatness in a whole new light. Rather than kryptonite, let failure be your superpower.

Solution-Focused Greatness: How to amplify collaboration, resilience, and positivity in others

Sick of people fixating on problems, focusing on issues beyond their control, pointing fingers, and casting blame? Do you feel like you’re constantly firefighting a revolving door that churns negativity?

Isn’t it more productive to identify solutions and, in turn, fuel connection, awaken creativity, and elevate appreciation? And what if you weren’t the only one doing it?

Here’s the secret … everyone has greatness. They just don’t all believe it.

People want to do well and have a desire to contribute. What if we see their greatness even when they’re not operating at their very best? How might you lead differently? How might you show up with greater curiosity? How might you do less telling and do more asking to co-create possibilities?

When you embrace the belief that people are already greatnessTM, it acts as a wedge in that negativity revolving door. You don’t lose hope, your best people, and your most innovative ideas.

Recognition in a Hybrid World: Rebuild connection and deepen engagement across the digital divide

Contrary to popular belief, hybrid workplaces are NOT disconnecting your people. The problem is not employees logging in from different locations, watercooler conversations being moved to keyboards or the tumbleweeds rolling down your office floor like the wild west. The problem is that before the rise of hybrid workplaces, we did not have authentic recognition practices hardwired into the cultural fabric. What we know today is the need for clarity and conviction to make recognition practices strong, authentic, sustainable, and owned by all.

The good news is that recognition is one of the most practical, accessible, and cost-effective ways to fuel healthy working relationships, trust, and retention. It allows your people to connect across the digital divide to participate, voice their opinions, brainstorm, and collaborate.

And guess what? You can do it from anywhere!

Consider recognition to be your cultural glue – whether you’re in-person or online. Let Canada’s Recognition Expert, Sarah McVanel, walk you through her three key remote recognition ingredients: nutritious, delicious, and luscious. Never has recognition been more important and as digestible.

Unleash Your Inner Superhero: Tap into the 5 secrets that will ignite your greatness

What if you were a superhero and you never knew it? You may think you’re just doing your job and it’s “normal.” Whereas, to others, the work that you’re doing is extraordinary.

Let’s uncover and explore your unique gifts, strengths, and talents. Here’s the opportunity to refill your greatness gas tank, recharge your resiliency batteries, and activate your superpowers.

Now, imagine doing this together! Imagine the influence, a shared sense of purpose, and cohesive collaboration that comes from activating your collective superpowers. BOOM!

This session is not a “rah rah,” Instagram filtered, #MotivationalMonday, artificial platitudes, lollipops, and unicorns type session. This session is designed to reveal the truth, facts, hard evidence, and reality about your undeniable greatness.

You know you want to Unleash Your Inner Superhero if:

  • You are a team that is committed to remaining resilient despite struggles

  • You’re a leader who wants staff to be energized and work to their fullest capabilities every day

  • You’re an organization that knows that happy and engaged staff are those who stay

  • You need a delicious and engaging experience at your next recognition event

Stop minimizing your greatness. Start getting inspired and into action so you can make the biggest impact.

ROCKSTAR for Women: Magnify Your Greatness in Times of Change

Change is inevitable, but thriving through it is a choice.

As women, we’re often the steady ROCK in the storm—balancing work, home, and the endless expectations that come our way. We care deeply, strive tirelessly, and yet too often forget to pause and savour our own greatness. The truth is, you can’t fully uplift others until you first recognize the delicious value you bring to the table.

This keynote isn’t just about surviving change—it’s about using recognition to magnify your greatness, amplify your impact, and create a ripple effect of success. Whether you’re managing a team, navigating disruption, or seeking to reignite your spark, this session will guide you to find your foundation, fortify your strength, and inspire greatness in those around you.

Through inspiring stories and practical strategies, you’ll learn how to:

  • Recognize yourself and others to cultivate motivation and scrumptious satisfaction.
  • Organize your priorities to create calm amidst life’s chaos.
  • Communicate authentically to build trust and strengthen relationships.
  • Infuse Kindness into every interaction to foster belonging and inspire contagious positivity.

By grounding yourself in your greatness, you unlock STAR results (Satisfaction, Teamwork, Achievement, and Retention)—not just for those you lead but for yourself as well. This session is your way back to your strongest, truest self—the ROCK your team, family, and community can count on.

Join Sarah McVanel, Canada’s Recognition Expert, to rediscover the joy of recognizing your greatness and leading with boldness, brilliance, and a sprinkle of scrumptiousness. Let’s make your greatness contagious!

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