Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?

What does it actually take to build a team that wins?

Not a team that performs well when everything’s going smoothly. A team that holds itself to a standard, speaks up when something’s off, backs each other without waiting to be asked — and genuinely believes that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

The Speakers The Awards The Conference

Keynote Session – Will It Make The Boat Go Faster?

Harriet Beveridge has spent 20 years in corporate performance, written a bestselling book, delivered four solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, spoken at TEDx and the BBC, and is currently completing an MSc in psychology and neuroscience. She brings all of that to one of the most compelling sessions on the Bureau Management Conference programme.

Her keynote – Will It Make The Boat Go Faster? – is built around the true story of how the GB men’s rowing eight went from mediocrity to Olympic gold. Not because they found a superstar. Because they changed how they operated as a team.

This session is for everyone in the room. It’s about the unsung hero. The person who keeps things moving quietly, without recognition. The peer-to-peer conversation that nobody wants to have but everyone knows needs to happen. The marginal gain that looks insignificant on its own but shifts everything when it compounds. And the moment someone asks… wouldn’t it be amazing if…? and means it.

You will leave with:

A new way of thinking about their own contribution, and everyone else’s
The confidence to speak up when something isn’t right, before it costs the team
Practical marginal gains thinking they can apply immediately, on track and off it
Evidence-based belief in what their team is genuinely capable of
The understanding that high-performing teams aren’t built from exceptional people… they’re built from committed ones

What our members say

It was a fantastic day meeting like-minded people and the keynote speakers were inspirational and motivating as well as emotional at points! Whereas yesterday, the guest speakers were all great, motivating and had no ulterior motive in what they were talking about. Shelley Burgess, EPM Ltd.