Yes, we can go there.
Talking about things that matter.
“When (Peggy Haymes) shares stories, they land.
Not as performance,
but as precise, timely insights
that shift how you see things”
For corporate, business, motivational, and inspirational
keynotes, seminars and workshops
How Can I Walk if the Ground Keeps Moving?
Navigating personal and professional disruption
Disruption happens.
Business disruptions that affect your customers, patients, clients and your five year plans.
Jobs that change or flat out disappear.
Personal disruptions that come when relationships end, beloved people and pets die, or moves have to be made. Disruptions that come in a doctor’s office listening to a diagnosis or a therapist’s office confronting hard truth.
Disruptions are a given.
How we navigate them is not.
Through her own experience of disruptions that reordered her present, changed her plans for the future, and called her past into question Peggy Haymes tells the messy truth about disruptions and provides helpful guidance for finding our way.
She brings to this reflection not only her own experience but over forty years of walking with other people through their own disruptions.
Attendees will
Discover the variety and scope of disruption and its impact on our lives
Identify how we make disruptions harder for us and what we can do differently
Learn four keys that are essential for navigating disruption
Consider possibilities of life beyond disruption
What you’ll take away
For business and corporate events
keynotes, seminars and workshops
Running on Empty:
Understanding and addressing burnout
Burnout.
It’s spending Sunday dreading Monday.
It’s not enough focus and too much frustration.
It’s feeling disconnected from your work, your colleagues or even why you started this job in the first place.
The best time to address burnout is before it starts. The second best time is now.
With over twenty years of experience as a therapist and over five years as a business coach, Peggy Haymes provides a map for understanding burnout and a path for preventing it.
What you’ll take away
Attendees will
Discover the three streams that feed burnout
Learn the difference between burnout and grief
Begin to develop actionable and realistic self care strategies
Identify the cost of not having boundaries as well as strategies for implementing effective ones
For motivational and inspirational events
keynotes, seminars and workshops
You Can’t Flunk Grief:
Why grief isn’t about getting it right and what you can do instead
Grief is hard enough without grading our work and second guessing our efforts.
You Can’t Flunk Grief challenges the beliefs that grief should have one path, that we should feel one kind of way, or that faith should provide one neat answer to all all of our questions. With both humor and insight, I invite us to remove the expectations of shoulds and step into grief without self judgment.
What you’ll take away
Attendees will
• Move beyond seeing grief as a series of tasks to be done in a particular order
Understand the wide range of grief that goes beyond just death.
• Let go of judging their own feelings as right or wrong
• Discover the freedom to embrace their particular grief journey
What they’re saying about “Running on Empty”
“Peggy Haymes's presentation on mental health and burnout in the architecture industry was incredibly insightful and impactful. She addressed a topic that is both deeply important and too often overlooked within our profession, doing so in a way that was engaging, relatable, and practical.
Her presentation resonated with everyone in the room, offering valuable perspectives and actionable strategies while fostering an open conversation about challenges many architects face but rarely discuss. It was a meaningful reminder of the importance of prioritizing well-being alongside professional success.
I highly recommend Peggy to any architecture or design firm looking to bring this important conversation to their team. Her presentation is one that every firm would benefit from.”
Anna Hendrick, Associate Principal, Integrated Design, PA
Comments taken from evaluations of an online presentation on grief to Sentara Health
“This presentation should be a required learning module; it was very informative.”
“Beautiful soul with much patience and grace, practicing what she is preaching.”
“Peggy did an amazing job. It is evident that she is a subject matter expert.”
“Peggy was an amazing speaker! I wish we had had more time with her.”
“A great presentation on a difficult and sensitive topic.”
“Schedule Peggy again - she was an amazing speaker.”
.
Let’s connect!
Retreats
I’m available to design and lead a custom retreat for your church, women’s group or other organization.
As a leader, I receive consistent positive feedback for my ability to inspire and encourage a group by the sessions I lead, balancing what I share with the group with facilitating rich conversation among participants.
What previous retreat participants have said:
Peggy was… insightful, caring, humorous, and prepared. I cannot imagine anyone better suited.
I loved the flow of Peggy and her sessions were so relevant
Liked that speaker was warm, gentle, truth-telling, good humor…
Peggy was fabulous!
What people are saying about Peggy Haymes
Peggy Haymes is an exceptional speaker with a rare ability to combine deep knowledge, clarity, and calm. Her command of the subject matter is evident, but what truly sets her apart is how she anchors a conversation and brings a measured approach to every exchange. Anyone who listens to our podcast series together can hear this firsthand—by episode four, Peggy had taken my typically boisterous, high-energy style and gently guided it from frenetic to tranquil. That influence speaks volumes about her presence, professionalism, and skill as a communicator.
Tommy Bateman, Host of Mind & Medicine: A Sentara Podcast
Peggy Haymes recently provided a deeply engaging and valuable presentation to our staff about understanding and addressing burnout. While a departure from our typical technical lunch and learns, Peggy made the topic accessible and easy to understand for everyone. She created an inclusive, supportive environment where our diverse group felt completely comfortable discussing mental health in a work setting. I would absolutely recommend Peggy to any organization looking to educate their staff on mental health issues in a comfortable, professional, and impactful way.
Hannah L.C. Atkinson, AIA, Associate Principal, Integrated Design, PA
Peggy brings a calm, grounded presence that immediately puts the room at ease. There’s no long warm-up or over-explaining. You find yourself going straight into the work, and somehow it just works.
What stood out most was how skillfully she held the space while letting the group do the heavy lifting. The breakout sessions weren’t filler. They were where real insight and movement happened, even in the very first session.
She has a strong intuitive sense of what’s needed in the moment. She reads the room effortlessly and offers just the right reflection or question to unlock something deeper. When she shares stories, they land. Not as performance, but as precise, timely insights that shift how you see things.
People opened up quickly. Things surfaced without being forced. That kind of trust doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from real experience, and she clearly has it.
If you’re looking for someone who can guide a group into meaningful, honest work without pressure or theatrics, she does it exceptionally well.
Ellie Clarke, Ardmore United Methodist Church Women's Retreat
Radical Welcoming Committee Member at Ardmore United Methodist Church, Winston-Salem, NC
