On November 12, Women Leading in Technology hosted their final session of the year with a special keynote presentation from Cindra Kamphoff, Ph.D. designed to help attendees perform at their best. Kamphoff is an award-winning keynote speaker and certified professional coach for leaders, professional athletes, and championship teams. Her clients range from Verizon Wireless, Target, Bobcat, the Minnesota Vikings, and the United States Olympic Track and Field team. She is the founder of The Mentally Strong Institute which provides one-on-one coaching services to purpose-driven leaders and athletes multiply their confidence, increase their influence, and get to their goals quicker.

Kamphoff’s presentation covered several of her 10 Practices of High Performance that attendees can implement in their daily lives to help them be more resilient and achieve their goals. During her keynote, Kamphoff shared her techniques in action after working with Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen. In 2020, after a botched play in front of millions, viewers saw Thielen make a flushing motion with his arm. He was reminding himself of a tactic that Kamphoff had taught him while he was playing at Minnesota State Mankato. Thielen was “flushing away” his mistake and moving on. According to Kamphoff, being able to move past failures and mistakes is a critical piece of grit and mental toughness. The Vikings receiver demonstrated that mental toughness by going on to notch his second highest receiving total of that season and helping the Vikings advance in the playoffs.

Kamphoff’s techniques work for professional athletes but can work equally as well for professionals in the business world. She shared insights on small strategies you can implement into your daily life to create big changes. Kamphoff advocates for understanding your “why”, controlling negative thoughts, having a short term memory of failures, and mastering inner dialogue.

Kamphoff’s keynote presentation to a full house at the Metropolitan Ballroom ended the 2024 year of programming for Women Leading in Technology. The community will return in 2025 with a slate of educational, motivational, and community-oriented events. You can relive the event from November 12 with a selection of photos below.