Empower your people to be the best version of themselves!

World-class keynote speaker delivers powerful ‘Gear-shift’ methodology.

Discover 3rd GearMeet Dave

Meet Dave

International speaker Dave Howlett has spent the last 20 years transforming people, workplaces and communities through empathic behavior change. Dave works closely with clients to understand their issues and reflect their vision. He then customizes each engagement to deliver a transformational ‘gear-shift’ mindset that leads to lasting behavior change. Dave has delivered thousands of presentations across three continents.

Discover 3rd Gear

The 3rd Gear Methodology was created to inspire diverse organizations and teams of all sizes to succeed in improving servant-leadership, networking, employee engagement, sales, innovation, change management and mental health.

1st Gear

Narrow Self-Interest

Behavior driven by narrow self-interest behavior (eg. theft, ego, bullying, arrogance, selfishness, pride, insecurity)

2nd Gear

Extrinsic Rewards

Behavior driven by extrinsic rewards (eg. transactional, reward and punishment, incentive system, conditional)

3rd Gear

Intrinsic Rewards

Behavior driven by intrinsic reward (eg. integrity, servant leadership, ‘do the right thing’, ‘good-guy’, values-based, character)

What Dave’s Clients Are Saying

“Canada’s capital city has a workforce of over 17,000 people, representing a wide variety of skills and responsibilities. As City Manager, my vision is to develop a one city/one team culture of servant leadership. We hired Dave Howlett to deliver a series of keynotes and workshops for leaders and employees. His powerful 3-gear method reinforced a servant leader mindset that was well received.”

“We poll our people every year on the quality of the speaker. The 2015 top speaker earned a 8.2, Dave came in at a 9.1. Leadership and culture can be a dry topic. Any company or association who wants an entertaining and humorous speaker who creates behavior change should consider hiring Dave Howlett.”

“NAV CANADA was seeking a speaker to help staff become more self-aware of their interactions and behaviors and to increase employee engagement. Dave customized his presentation to reflect our goals and was very effective in the manner he was able to communicate with our staff. 90% of our employees ranked it as one of the top three presentations they had ever seen and 92% agreed that employees shifting to 3rd gear behavior would improve the effectiveness of our organization. I would recommend Dave Howlett to anyone who is seeking to both inspire and influence their employees.”

“I would recommend Dave Howlett to any multi-national interested in knocking down silos and improving employee cooperation and communication.”

“Our staff work in a variety of settings, including office, roads crew, water treatment services, building inspection, fire services, and parks and recreation. Staff, comprised mainly of men, were somewhat apprehensive to attend customer service/culture training prior to the talk but found that Dave Howlett’s RHB ‘good guy/amazing woman’ concept really resonated with them. I would recommend Dave and RHB to any City Manager who wants to get a diverse workforce to shift gears.”

“The simple and powerful 3-gear concept was easily taken up at all levels and reflected my vision in an entertaining and powerful manner.”

Benefits of a 3rd Gear Mindset

  • Establish Trust and Collaboration

    Trust comes from consistency in behavior, delivery of expected results, and shared norms and beliefs. As companies embrace social technologies, processes and business models, a 3rd gear culture plays a pivotal role.

  • Build Strong, Diverse, Cross-Functional Teams

    Cross-functional collaboration occurs when people from different operational areas join forces to solve problems or implement process improvements. Operating in 3rd gear intrinsic- reward supersedes 2nd gear transaction.

  • Break Down Silos

    In a 2016 McKinsey survey executives categorize silo mentality as the number one stumbling block to a functional digital culture. A 3rd gear methodology reflects the vision of senior management while addressing internal divisions and turf-wars.

  • Promote Mental Health

    Mental health experts have been warning that a mental health pandemic will follow as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. 3rd gear promotes a kinder, more empathic culture, overcomes the stigma, promotes awareness and helps create an accessible and positive workplace, one that fosters engagement and attracts talent.

Ready to get started? Contact Dave today to discuss bringing 3rd Gear to your organization or event!

Connect Like a Real Human Being

Read Dave’s Book – Now Available on Amazon!

The Real Human Being model creates a simple, memorable and – most importantly – non-confrontational language for examining our behaviors and those of others, and getting people to connect, collaborate and create value for the organization, its customers and stakeholders.