With a surprising blend of deadpan humor, infectious passion, captivating stories, and eye-opening participant interaction, David Shar is anything but your typical academic.
As a behavioral scientist and subject matter expert, David makes the latest psychological research, best practices, and ready-to-implement tactics understandable and relatable to the entire audience.
David combines decades of firsthand leadership experience with his extensive academic training and research to help his audiences improve their leadership and culture, combat burnout, and reignite their passion for work.
As a young restauranteur of an ice cream franchise in the heart of Baltimore City, David thought he had business and leadership all figured out... until the day that a young frontline employee showed up to work shortly after learning that her boyfriend had been shot multiple times and left for dead.
“As soon as she told me what had happened, I insisted that she go be with her family, her friends, or anywhere but work, as she grieved. But, she refused to leave. My employee explained that she ‘needed to be here... I can only be here... this is my happy place.’ Her words were forever ingrained in me… that's where my journey began.”
While so many of David's friends and colleagues: nurses, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and HR professionals dreaded going to their objectively meaningful jobs on Monday morning, David's employees saw work as a refuge... a place where they were trusted, empowered, valued, and where they could have a positive impact on the world…
They found meaning in scooping ice cream.
“Ever since that day I've been on a journey to learn as much as I can about employee motivation, passion, meaningful work, and burnout prevention. A journey to learn and to share the art and science behind these things with leaders across industries, because when leaders can build strong passionate cultures, everyone wins.”
David has worked with organizations and leaders from a large variety of industries as the president and founder of Illuminate PMC. In addition to David’s work within industry, David is also a popular adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s rigorous Industrial/Organizational Psychology Master’s Program. He teaches a diverse set of courses including Talent Development, Performance Management, and Organizational Change.
David is a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional. He holds his master's in industrial/organizational psychology and is a current doctoral candidate in business psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where he is researching the interaction between meaningful work, burnout, and the changing nature of passion for work.
