Tim S. Tabrizi
Keynote Speaker
Resilience & Preventive Mental Health
From the boardroom to the stage – and back: Insights from the day-to-day leadership of a Group CEO. Human in tone, clear in substance.
Group CEO of infoteam Software AG – 28 years of professional experience, including over 20 years in management positions in medical technology, telecommunications and software
350+ keynotes in 17 countries
Best Speaker Awards: BME Symposium 2017 · OptiBuy 2021
Booked by DAX companies and international SMEs
Where resilience in organisations really shows
Resilience does not show in a crisis, but in the time before it.
Those who do not plan breaks are planning breakdowns instead.
A team can bear as much as it is allowed to address openly.
Resilience is not a trait, but a matter of conditions.
Anyone who may never show weakness will not report it in time either.
Constant strain is not a sign of commitment but of a lack of prioritisation.
Why I speak about resilience
I do not speak about resilience as a therapist or as a coach, but as someone who carries responsibility for a company. The question of how much an organisation can withstand is not a theoretical one for me.
Over 20 years of leadership responsibility in medical technology, telecommunications and software, today as Group CEO of infoteam Software AG. In that time I have seen what persistent uncertainty does to people and to organisations – and what can still be achieved at that point. Leadership decides how much.
What follows from this: I do not tell your leaders that they need to become more resilient. I talk about the conditions that make resilience possible in the first place – and the ones that reliably destroy it.
See how I speak before you book
Resilience cannot be prescribed. Conditions, however, can.
Resilience is not a trait but a leadership task
The common approach is that individuals must learn to cope better with pressure. That is convenient, because it shifts the responsibility. And it is half the truth at best.
People can withstand a surprising amount when three things are in place. They know what matters. They can raise strain without it later being used against them. And they see decisions being made instead of things being left in limbo.
If one of these three is missing, no mindfulness training will help. That is why my keynote is aimed at leaders and not at those affected. The most effective levers lie where priorities are set and decisions are made.
This ties the topic directly to my core topic. Where responsibility remains unclear, constant strain arises – not from the amount of work, but from uncertainty about what currently applies.
People can withstand pressure. What wears them down is uncertainty.
What your leaders will take away
No method that would need to be introduced. Instead, four things that will work the following Monday:
- A language for strain, one that makes nobody look weak.
- Three questions, which help a team find out where the strain actually comes from.
- The difference between pressure and uncertainty – and why only one of them is harmful in the long run.
- Permission to drop priorities. That is more uncomfortable than any relaxation exercise, and it lasts longer.
My goal: that the next day there is one task fewer on the list – not one more method.
“His personal stories and experiences showed me that you can draw strength even in difficult times.” – Stefan Moser, Henkel
Three situations in which I am booked
Resilience is rarely the topic a company starts with. Usually something else lies behind it:
- Following a reorganisation, when teams are still struggling with the new set-up and nobody says what has been lost along the way.
- In phases of prolonged uncertainty, when plans change every few weeks and leaders lose their own sense of direction.
- When sick leave and employee turnover increase and nobody in the discussions about it says openly what is behind it.
I speak to executives from DAX companies such as Siemens, SAP, Volkswagen and Henkel, as well as to international mid-sized businesses. About a third of my keynotes are in English, including in Japan, Singapore, Dubai and the USA.
Booking a keynote: how we work together
Beforehand. I speak with you and with two or three leaders from your organisation. Without these conversations, a keynote about strain stays generic – and generic helps nobody here.
On stage. No one-way lecturing. I work with questions, with silent polls in the room and with moments in which participants realise that others are in the same position.
Afterwards. Follow-up material, handouts or an in-depth workshop for management can be provided upon request.
The first step is a 15-minute call, free of charge and without obligation. If resilience is not the topic that will help you, I will tell you.
“The presentation was simply authentic, very clear and impressive.” – Maria Serova, Event Manager, Siemens
What resilience is not
Resilience is not the ability to endure more and more. Those who understand it that way use it as a call to persevere – and thus shift a structural problem onto the individual.
It is also not a personality trait, something some people have and others do not. The same person can be resilient in one organisation and exhausted after six months in the next. The difference rarely lies in the person.
And it is no substitute for decisions. A team that has been waiting for months for a decision on direction doesn't need training in dealing with uncertainty. It needs the decision itself.
That is why my keynote does not end with exercises for the individual, but with three questions for the leadership team.
Answers to your most frequently asked questions:
A keynote with me costs between €5,000 and €9,000, depending on duration, preparation and travel. After a short call, you receive an individual quote – transparent and without hidden costs.
Typically 45 to 60 minutes. On request, as a 90-minute session with audience participation or as a half-day workshop for the leadership team.
Yes, I give about a third of my keynote speeches in English – including for Siemens in Japan, for international teams at Kuraray, and at events in Dubai and Singapore.
No. I talk about the conditions that lead to chronic stress and what leaders can do to change them. Medical and therapeutic issues belong in other hands, and I say so on stage as well.
Of course. A 15-minute introductory call is free of charge and without obligation. It lets us clarify whether my topic fits your event.
Tim S. TabriziKeynote speaker, Group CEO & executive coach.🔗 Connect on LinkedIn