Wichita keynote speaker for aviation, healthcare, and association events.
Chris Sund is a keynote speaker, Maxwell Leadership Certified Coach, and sitting executive who leads national healthcare staffing organizations. He speaks on workforce motivation, leadership, retention, and human potential for Kansas associations, aviation and manufacturing employers, health systems, and organizations across south central Kansas.
Response within one business day.
Some of your people have been let go and asked back. They are not going to hand you everything again right away.
Wichita has built aircraft for a century, and the shape of that industry has taught this workforce something that shows up in every meeting a leader runs.
This has been the Air Capital of the World since 1925. Spirit AeroSystems is the largest employer in the region and the world’s largest independent producer of commercial aircraft structures. Textron Aviation builds Cessna and Beechcraft, and together those two employ more than twenty thousand people locally, with Bombardier Learjet and over four hundred aerospace suppliers around them. Koch Industries is headquartered here, Cargill Protein operates here, Ascension Via Christi is the largest health care provider in Kansas, Wesley Healthcare runs a major medical center, and Wichita State and its National Institute for Aviation Research anchor the technical pipeline.
Aviation demand does not move gently. When the 737 MAX program halted, thousands of Wichita workers were let go at once, with more reductions following. When inspection changes slowed delivery rates later, hundreds more were cut. Then programs recover and the company hires back, often the same people, into the same buildings.
Consider what that teaches somebody. A person who gave an employer everything, and was released anyway because of a decision made in another state, learns a lesson that no amount of encouragement erases. When they come back, most of them do the job well and hold something in reserve. Not out of bitterness, but because full investment was punished once and they are being sensible.
Leaders frequently misread that reserve. They see it as disengagement or a bad attitude and try to fix it with enthusiasm, which fails, because the employee is not confused. They are protecting themselves accurately based on evidence.
What actually works is slower and more honest. Acknowledge the history out loud instead of treating a rehire as a clean slate. Be specific about what the cycle looks like and what you will tell people when it turns. Give them real control over the things that are controllable, since that is where trust gets rebuilt. Discretionary effort in a workforce like this has to be earned back rather than requested, and leaders who understand that get it back faster than leaders who take it personally.
Chris runs national healthcare staffing organizations and has keynoted state association conferences in eleven states, including LeadingAge Illinois and health care associations in Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and Colorado.
Operator, Not Consultant
President and COO of national healthcare staffing organizations, still making the hiring and retention calls he speaks about.
Regional Neighbor
Based in Nebraska with keynote work across the midwest, and a straightforward trip to Wichita.
Plant, Clinical, and Association Rooms
Works for a manufacturing crew session, a hospital leadership day, or a statewide association general session.
Groups Chris speaks for.
Wichita pairs the country’s densest general aviation manufacturing base with the largest health system in Kansas.
- Spirit AeroSystems, the region’s largest employer, and Textron Aviation, together employing over twenty thousand locally, for shift-repeated crew and supervisor sessions
- Bombardier Learjet and the region’s aerospace supplier network of several hundred companies
- Ascension Via Christi, the largest health care provider in Kansas, and Wesley Healthcare, for nurse leadership, all-staff, and recognition events
- Koch Industries, headquartered in Wichita, and Cargill Protein
- Wichita State University and its National Institute for Aviation Research, for campus and staff programming
- The City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, and area school districts
- Kansas statewide associations meeting in Wichita, the format Chris works in most often, and long-term care providers across the region
Wichita employers living inside a cycle.
Healthcare is where Chris operates, and the cyclical pressure runs through most of this region’s largest employers.
Aerospace Manufacturing
Production teams whose staffing rises and falls with customer programs decided elsewhere.
Suppliers and Machine Shops
Smaller firms that feel every change in build rate immediately.
Healthcare
Clinical teams absorbing the community effects of layoffs while facing their own staffing pressure.
Agriculture and Food Processing
Operations tied to commodity conditions no local leader controls.
Wichita and regional venues.
- Century II and downtown hotel ballrooms for statewide association annual meetings
- Aerospace manufacturing facilities for shift-repeated crew and supervisor sessions
- Ascension Via Christi and Wesley campuses for nurse leadership and all-staff days
- Corporate offices and headquarters across the metro for all-hands meetings
- Wichita State University for campus and staff programming
- Derby, Newton, Hutchinson, and communities across south central Kansas
Wichita events Chris speaks at.
Association Conferences
Statewide association annual meetings and general sessions, the format Chris works in most often.
Plant and Operations Meetings
Crew sessions, safety kickoffs, and supervisor development across aerospace and manufacturing.
Hospital and Health System Events
Leadership days, nurse recognition events, and all-staff meetings.
Engagement and Trust
Sessions for organizations rebuilding commitment after a difficult stretch.
Retention and Frontline Leadership
Supervisor development for teams that have been through the cycle before.
HR and SHRM Chapter Events
Human resources conferences and chapter meetings on recognition and retention.
Keynote topics for your Wichita event.
Every session is customized for the audience, the format, and what you are actually trying to change.
See what conference organizers and HR leaders have said after booking Chris.
Booking a keynote speaker in Wichita
Has Chris spoken in Kansas and the midwest?
Does Chris travel to Wichita?
We have been through layoffs. Will a motivational keynote go over badly?
How do you rebuild trust with people we had to let go and rehire?
Can the session run for multiple shifts?
What does a Wichita keynote cost?
Can Chris speak virtually to a Kansas audience?
Bring Chris to your Wichita event.
Send your date, location, and audience. You will get availability and a quote back within one business day.
info@chrissund.com · 402-212-5771 · Kansas speaking · All locations
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