Business Summit 2026
The Cost of Culture
Keynote Speaker
What would you learn about reflective leadership if you mopped the floors, stocked the shelves or delivered the orders yourself?
Many of us carry titles like Leader, Manager, Director, Vice President, Owner or Executive. Those titles shape expectations and can quietly pull us away from the front lines where our culture is actually lived.
That distance shows up in Us vs. Them thinking, rigid org charts and cultures where people feel managed, not led—and organizations pay the price in weak talent pipelines, poor engagement and high turnover.
The Undercover Employee™
As a Fortune 200 executive, Nora Burns saw this disconnect up close and became determined to bridge the gap between titled leaders and the people who make the work real every day.
Growing up in the rural Midwest, she learned early that leadership is measured less by your title and more by how you show up for your community. Through years as The Undercover Employee™ for major brands, she gathered stories and patterns that reveal what truly resonant leadership looks like on the ground.
In this keynote, Nora shares the four key attributes that create ECHOs (Experience, Communication, Humanization, Own It) of leadership—from the boardroom to the waiting room and every touchpoint in between—so your culture supports better decisions, stronger teams and more committed employees.
Key Takeaways
Bridge the Gap
Learn to reconnect titled leaders with the front-line reality to eliminate "Us vs. Them" silos.
Reduce Turnover
Identify how poor culture drives away talent and gain actionable strategies to attract and retain high-quality employees.
Hear Undercover Insights
Gain unique perspectives from research involving 250+ undercover job interviews and front-line roles.
Align Your Organization
Master four key attributes that ensure leadership values resonate from the boardroom to the breakroom.
BONUS WEBINAR
Register by April 1 and attend a Bonus Webinar with Nora!
AI Arms Race:
Candidates vs. Hiring Teams
April 7
9-10:15 AM
Virtual Live
Session Dates & Registration
Early Bird Rate
- Keynote by Nora Burns
- Learning Objects & Key Takeaways
Peosta, IA
Northeast Iowa Community College
8342 NICC Drive
Peosta, IA 52068
Keynote Speaker
Nora Burns, Keynote Speaker
Nora Burns is the founder and Chief Curiosity Officer of The Leadership Experts. A former Fortune 200 executive, she has navigated the complex dynamics of multi-site workplace leadership for decades. As the highest-ranking woman in a male-dominated industry, Nora successfully transitioned her organization from labor unrest to a collaborative, team-based culture. She founded The Undercover Project™, where she went on more than 250 job interviews and spent 15 months working undercover on the front lines to gain fresh insight into the employee experience and uncover the strategies that truly build—or break—workplace culture.
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