Samantha S. Woo
Top talent is leaving, those who stay are disengaged, and workplace morale feels stagnant. Samantha S. Woo understands these frustrations and knows what’s missing.As a bestselling author, licensed Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist, and leadership consultant, Samantha uncovers the deeper emotional and systemic barriers that hold teams back. She helps leaders use emotional intelligence to create meaningful connections, foster engagement, and turn struggling teams into thriving ones.
Organizations spend significant resources on leadership development and executive coaching, yet the results don’t seem to stick.
About Samantha
Samantha S. Woo is a bestselling author and leadership consultant who helps organizations solve performance and retention challenges by working at the human layer of leadership and team dynamics. A licensed Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist, she began her career helping corporate leaders navigate career inflection points and transform difficult workplace relationships.
Through her work with individual leaders, Samantha has helped create healthier dynamics, clearer communication, and more engaged teams inside complex workplaces. Now, she brings this experience to the stage, delivering practical, research‑informed talks that help leaders reduce disengagement and turnover. Her approach equips organizations with concrete tools to build collaborative, resilient teams and cultures where engagement thrives and top talent chooses to stay
Samantha's Talks
Empowering leaders to build engaged teams and retain top talent through emotional intelligence
Under Pressure: Emotional Intelligence That Removes Bottlenecks and Fire Drills
In this talk, Samantha S. Woo shows how emotionally intelligent leadership under pressure creates sustainable, high‑performing workplace cultures. By addressing both individual behaviors and systemic dynamics, she shares practical strategies from a proprietary 7‑step method to help leaders build environments where teams feel genuinely connected, engaged, and supported.
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Lead by being able to "prescribe" emotional intelligence, not just "describe" it.
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Build resilience through 3-steps in real-time high pressure challenges and adapt to change effectively.
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Shift this one perspective to foster collaboration, long-term success and organizational growth in an evolving business landscape.
Human Leadership in the Age of AI
As artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, Samantha S. Woo shows leaders how to keep trust, connection, and culture at the center of AI adoption. This talk equips decision‑makers to lead human‑centered AI transformation -- balancing powerful new tools with clear communication, ethical judgment, and grounded leadership so change actually sticks.
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Turn AI from something people fear into a tool they understand and trust.
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Strengthen collaboration so teams and AI tools actually help each other do better work.
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Increase adaptability with a simple way for teams to test, learn, and adjust without burning out.
What AI Can’t Fix: The Human Layer Underneath Performance and Retention
As organizations rush to solve performance and retention problems with new tools and dashboards, this talk brings leaders back to the human patterns AI can’t see or repair—trust, communication, and day‑to‑day management behavior. Samantha S. Woo gives leaders a clear, practical way to spot those patterns early and make targeted shifts that actually move the needle on performance and help key people stay.
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See why AI can flag risk but can’t rebuild trust, accountability, or engagement inside team -- and what leaders must do instead.
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Identify three everyday leadership habits that quietly drive burnout, disengagement, and turnover -- even in high‑performing teams.
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Leave with simple, repeatable practices that strengthen performance and make it more likely your best people stay, grow, and lead the next wave of change.
I was so impressed with her engagement with the audience, expertise, and her passion about trauma in daily work-life, I invited her ... as a keynote guest speaker at Fordham... A big thank you to Samantha for inspiring us!
Jun Ishiyoda-Wang, LMHC
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Empowering leaders to build engaged teams and retain top talent through emotional intelligence