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Melody Wilding

Executive coach, human behavior professor, and author of Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in Charge

  • About Melody Wilding

    In today’s high-pressure work environments, teams struggle to navigate ambiguity, anxiety, and high expectations. Melody Wilding is an expert on mental well-being and high-performance in the workplace and works with managers, executives, and emerging leaders to develop resilience and the confidence to collaborate persuasively.

    Praised as a “world class” speaker by Fortune 500 companies, Wilding’s talks build on science-based insights and are filled with practical and actionable strategies. Resilience and adaptability, leadership development, and stress management are key topics in her keynotes and in-conversation sessions. An empathetic presenter and skilled facilitator, Wilding empowers her audiences to unlock their full potential. Her recent speaking engagements span influential organizations like Amazon, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Walmart, Conde Nast, Rutgers University, Adweek, and others.

    In her upcoming book, Managing Up: How to Get What You Need From the People in ChargeWilding  looks at one of the most important skills in the workplace: managing up. A recent report by the World Economic Forum argued that by 2025, skills related to managing up will be the most valued in the workplace. Wilding’s research on over 12 000 people pinpoints the most common frustration with managers today—and their most effective solutions.

    Wilding’s first book, Trust Yourself: Stop Overthinking and Channel Your Emotions for Success at Work, is a practical guide for high-achievers who tend to be sensitive, empathetic, or prone to overthinking. The book provides tools to manage self-doubt, set boundaries, and build confidence, aiming to help readers develop resilience and succeed without compromising their well-being. By learning to “trust yourself,” readers can transform stress and sensitivity into assets that fuel career growth and personal fulfillment. The book debuted as a #1 New Release in several Amazon categories and was featured by Apple Books as a “Best Book of the Month” in May 2021.

    Wilding is a licensed social worker with a Master’s degree from Columbia University and a former researcher at Rutgers University. She currently teaches Human Behavior at Hunter College and is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review.

    Her work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, NBC News, and numerous other prominent outlets. Recently recognized as one of Business Insider’s “Most Innovative Coaches,” Wilding has advised hundreds of CEOs, executives, and high-achievers from leading companies such as Google, Facebook, IBM, Netflix, and beyond. Over 400 000 people have taken her LinkedIn Learning courses on commanding influence and managing workplace stress.

    Contact us for more information about booking Melody Wilding for your next event. 

  • Speaking Topics

    Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge

    Human behavior professor and award-winning executive career coach Melody Wilding has helped thousands of clients advocate for their needs at work while navigating the minefield of office politics. In this clear and results-oriented talk, Wilding shows audiences how to operate from a position of power—even if they lack formal authority—to build the emotional intelligence, relational capital, and negotiation savvy to succeed in a world of competing stakeholders and remote work. Drawing on real-life client stories and the latest research on trust and persuasion, this talk is for overwhelmed professionals looking to take control of their work lives, strengthen their relationship with their boss, and communicate their ideas and needs with confidence, as well as recent grads and young professionals who want to feel heard at work, find daily fulfillment, and reclaim their lives beyond the office.

    Setting Boundaries and Increasing Efficiency at Work

    According to Harvard Business Review, eighty-five percent of workers feel overwhelmed by their workload. In this empowering and actionable session, Melody Wilding talks to audiences about why setting boundaries in the workplace is less about saying no to work and all about saying yes to priorities, team efficiency, and focus. This session is for teams overcoming their own overwhelm as well as managers working to boost employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention rates.

  • Video

  • Praise for Melody Wilding

    Melody is extensively knowledgeable and presents in a high-value, high-caliber way that balances expertise and relatability. Her insight was actionable and our members left feeling inspired and empowered. The event was our highest attendance to date. The positive feedback keeps pouring in!

    Women in Pensions Network

    Melody is a game changer! Her fireside chat turned into one of our highest attended offerings to date. Melody provided frameworks for our employees to be the best version of themselves, working through ambiguity, anxiety, and high expectations. The positive reviews keep coming in. I can’t recommend her enough!

    Index Exchange

    Melody is a world-class speaker and author. She offered brilliant insights, impactful exercises and cutting edge research on how to build self awareness, tame self sabotage and cultivate resilience. Her style is so engaging and down-to-earth, yet her ideas are literally life-changing. I can’t recommend her enough.

    U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs

    Praise for Managing Up

    Finally, a science-based book that reveals how to influence others regardless of where you sit on the org. chart. It’s a resource you’ll return to again and again!

    Dr. Tasha Eurich, New York Times-bestselling author of Shatterproof, Insight, Bankable Leadership

    A masterclass in the most critical soft skill for career success. Wilding delivers a refreshingly modern, easy-to-follow instruction manual for navigating workplace dynamics with integrity and emotional intelligence.

    Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game and executive education faculty, Columbia Business School

    Praise for Trust Yourself

    Trust Yourself is both an empathetic exploration of the power of sensitivity, specifically in high achievers, and an actionable guide to mastering it.

    McKinsey Company

    Every organization, whether aware of it or not, needs highly sensitive people. Some of them, the "sensitive strivers," really belong in an organization. At the top! Or running their own. Trust Yourself is an exquisite roadmap written just for Sensitive Strivers looking to thrive in the workplace.

    Dr. Elaine Aron, bestselling author of The Highly Sensitive Person

    Groundbreaking and insightful, Trust Yourself is essential reading for every sensitive, introverted professional. Wilding does a brilliant job of giving you tools to regain your confidence and become your most empowered self.

    Susan Cain, author of Quiet and creator of Quiet Revolution
  • Books by Melody Wilding

  • Media About Melody Wilding

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and Availability

  • 212 572-2013
  • Melody Wilding travels from New York, NY

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