Sessions and fees
Every fee below is published by Karen. Custom quote means Karen prices that session for your event.
Leading Through Tension: Navigating Organizational Transitions at Human Speed
For entrepreneurs and business owners, CEOs and senior executives, executive peer groups, next-generation leaders, general corporate audiences, and boards and nonprofit leaders.
Participants learn to recognize the tensions that affect team performance and respond before they become conflict. As a keynote or talk, the session uses relatable examples and audience reflection to help leaders examine their responses to tension. In a workshop, guided exercises and group discussion give participants time to apply the ideas to workplace situations and develop working principles for better collaboration.
- A practical framework for approaching and managing working relationships with tools for balancing candor, accountability, and relationships
- Greater confidence navigating disagreement and competing needs
- Stronger judgment about when to coach, challenge, negotiate, or intervene
Session details and terms
Promotion: None proposed. Required purchases: None. Attendee follow-up: None.
From Good Intentions to Good Governance
For CEOs and senior executives, executive peer groups, and boards and nonprofit leaders.
Karen explores how mission-driven boards turn commitment into effective governance, from defining responsibilities to exercising sound judgment. Through practical examples and guided reflection, participants consider when to challenge, support or step back, and identify changes they can bring to their next board meeting.
- A practical way to distinguish board decisions from management responsibilities.
- Questions to assess whether board roles, committees, and accountability match the organization’s needs.
- An approach to questioning and challenging constructively while strengthening the board–CEO/ED relationship.
Session details and terms
Promotion: None proposed. Required purchases: None. Attendee follow-up: None.
Your Marketing Isn't Working On Purpose
For entrepreneurs and business owners.
Karen examines where purpose gets lost between strategy and execution, and how organizational choices shape what customers believe about a brand. Through practical examples and guided reflection, participants assess the connection between their mission, marketing and customer experience, and identify a gap they can address.
- A framework for evaluating whether marketing reflects what the organization says it stands for.
- Questions to identify gaps between brand promises and the customer experience.
- A way to assess marketing decisions against organizational purpose before putting them into practice.
Session details and terms
Promotion: None proposed. Required purchases: None. Attendee follow-up: None.
About Karen
Karen McFarlane helps leaders build brands, boards, and ventures that endure through change. As Founder & CEO of Kaye Media Partners, she advises founders and executives on business growth and the leadership capacity to sustain it.
She brings over 25 years of executive and entrepreneurial experience, including 15 years as a fractional CMO and strategic advisor to more than 45 companies. An NACD Certified Board Director, she has more than 12 years of governance experience and is Vice Chair of Hudson Valley Credit Union, an institution with approximately $8 billion in assets.
A speaker and leadership educator, Karen helps leaders work through difficult decisions and the tensions that affect performance. She publishes Better on Purpose and co-hosts The E Word podcast. Her belief: Better doesn’t happen by accident. It takes purposeful action to turn good intentions into better outcomes.
Find Karen onlineInstagram (opens in a new tab)
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