It has everything to do with teaching them how to double-down on their humanness. Where they're inspired to reclaim their focus, learn the art and science of connection, and more present to their work and life. It's building a culture where your people are coherent — where who they "say" they are and how they show up are the same thing. Where there is reclaimed attention, real presence, and people belong without having to abandon themselves to do it. This is the competitive advantage.
trusted by:
I've spent 25 years studying what keeps people from making the changes they say they want and how to facilitate the connection point between humans and their presence, integrity, and performance.
We are living through the most significant attention crisis in human history. Loneliness is at an all-time high. Burnout is endemic. Teams are connected to every device and disconnected from each other. And most organizations are trying to solve a human problem with a systems solution.
The research is unambiguous: the most relationally-skilled teams outperform. The most coherent leaders build the most resilient cultures. And the greatest predictor of whether someone gives their best at work has less to do with their salary or their title and has everything to do with whether they feel seen, like they belong,
Mark really knew how to engage our audience. Our conferences were global, leadership-level events, which made his ability to connect with such a diverse audience even more impactful. People continued to talk about his keynote long after the event. What made it particularly impactful was the way he brought together both the art and science of connection, using real-life examples that resonated with the different profiles and perspectives in our audience.
- NENAD K.STARWOOD HOTELS CORP
Mark brings something truly special to the stage. He is down to earth, funny, deeply relatable, and incredibly engaging, making even complex and important conversations feel like an honest, meaningful dialogue. His session at our recent Summer Festival Finale on digital overwhelm gave our audience plenty to think about, along with practical wisdom that has stayed with me personally. His ability to blend storytelling, humor, vulnerability, and real-life relationship wisdom is what sets him apart. It is always a pleasure to work with Mark, and an honor to learn from him.
- SHERI V. Integretive INSTITUTE OF NUTRITION
Mark really knew how to engage our audience. Our conferences were global, leadership-level events, which made his ability to connect with such a diverse audience even more impactful. People continued to talk about his keynote long after the event. What made it particularly impactful was the way he brought together both the art and science of connection, using real-life examples that resonated with the different profiles and perspectives in our audience.
- NENAD K.STARWOOD HOTELS CORP
We are more connected than any time in history and lonelier than ever. This keynote explores what’s actually driving the disconnection crisis — biologically, relationally, culturally — and what organizations and individuals can do to reclaim the presence, coherence, and human connection that makes everything else possible.
BEST FOR: Leadership conferences, culture events, HR summits, association conferences, hospitality brands.
The next competitive advantage isn't a better strategy or a smarter AI. It's the ability to focus, think deeply, and be genuinely present. This keynote goes inside the science of what chronic distraction is doing to your people's brains, biology, and performance — and delivers the specific tools to take it back without going off-grid.
BEST FOR: Tech companies, healthcare organizations, productivity conferences, employee wellbeing programs.
The most expensive problem in any organization
isn't inefficiency or turnover. It's leaders performing a version of themselves that isn't true — and teams who follow their lead. This keynote names the gap between who your leaders are and how they're actually showing up, and builds the case for why coherence is the ultimate performance edge.
BEST FOR: Executive leadership programs, founder retreats, organizational culture events, professional services firms.
I do bring research and the science, but I don’t lead with it. I lead with what always facilitates growth and change: truth, presence, and connection. Across industries and demographics, the data earns trust, but the honesty is where we get things in motion.
I get mad for people. I fight for their humanity. And I hold a lot of love for them at the same time.
Whether helping humans relate better one-on-one or helping your organization move into greater connection, integrity, and vision, it's that combination of truth and love that has created results and consistently drawn a crowd.
I work best with organizations that are already asking the right questions and thinking about burnout, belonging, disconnection, and what it actually takes to build a culture that makes people want to show up. I book leadership conferences, HR summits, association events, healthcare organizations, tech companies, post-secondary institutions, and corporate offsites where the goal isn't just to fill a slot in the schedule, but to stir up something that grows people as well as profits.
Mark Groves is a human connection specialist, keynote speaker, writer, and host of The Mark Groves Podcast. His work explores the forces shaping how we relate — to ourselves, to one another, to technology, and to the lives we’re building.
For more than a decade, Mark has helped people understand the patterns that shape their relationships and make more conscious choices about how they love, communicate, and show up. Through Create The Love, his writing, podcast, coaching, and live work, that conversation has grown into a wider exploration of what it means to remain fully human in a culture increasingly shaped by distraction, polarization, performance, and technology.
Today, Mark speaks at leadership conferences, corporate events, and association summits around the world, bringing his work on human connection into conversations about culture, attention, leadership, and the future of work. His approach combines candid storytelling, practical insight, humor, and a willingness to have the conversations most people avoid.
At the center of Mark’s work is a deceptively simple question: How do we use the tools, opportunities, and systems of modern life without abandoning ourselves in the process?
He writes about these questions through Humaning on Substack and continues to explore them with thinkers, researchers, creators, and cultural leaders on The Mark Groves Podcast.
The most resilient organizations are built on people who aren't abandoning themselves to show up. I help close the gap between performance and presence, because when individuals are living in alignment with who they are, the whole culture shifts. That's not a soft outcome; it’s your competitive edge. Let's talk about your next event.
A free 7-day Digital Detox Protocol to help you change your relationship with technology, reclaim your attention, and make more room for your actual life.