Event: Conversational Leadership Workshop 2026 7 - 11 September 2026, Warbrook House, Hampshire, England

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We are living and working in conditions of uncertainty, complexity, and rapid change. Many leadership approaches still rely on control, expertise, and tools that no longer fit the realities people face. This week-long, in-person workshop brings people together to practise Conversational Leadership as a shared, lived experience.

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Conversational Leadership Workshop

In-Person, September 7-11, 2026
Venue: Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK

Introduction

Conversational Leadership is not just about having better conversations; it is a powerful personal and collective practice for leading in times of complexity.

Offered as part of the Certified Knowledge Specialist (CKS) curriculum from the Knowledge Management Institute (KMI), this week-long immersive workshop explores and applies the practice of Conversational Leadership—a way of thinking, acting, and engaging that goes far beyond running better meetings or improving team communication.

Learn with David Gurteen and John Hovell, the creators of Conversational Leadership, in a workshop built around reflection, dialogue, and real-world application. This is an opportunity to deepen your leadership capacity at a time when the world calls for something more profound than tools and techniques.

Why Conversational Leadership?

We are living in a time of deep uncertainty that touches every part of our lives—our work, our communities, and the wider world. The systems that sustain us, from the climate to our technologies, organizations, and social bonds, are all under pressure. These intertwined challenges ask us to rethink how we lead, learn, and act together.

In times like these, change does not come from control or top-down plans. It emerges through interaction, shared sensemaking, and meaningful conversation—part of what some call the “Great Conversation”, the ongoing dialogue through which humanity learns, adapts, and evolves. That is the essence of Conversational Leadership.

It rests on a handful of guiding ideas: responsibility, dialogue, complexity, “leadership as practice”, and “communityship” that shape how we can respond more wisely to today’s world.

Not a Conventional Workshop

This is not a short course or a training programme. It is a week of exploratory conversations, time and space to slow down, think together, and examine how we act and relate in a complex world. Rather than being taught about Conversational Leadership, we experience it in practice.

We will explore the following questions together

Over five days, we’ll dive into questions such as:

• How can we respond to the “metacrisis” by navigating complexity rather than chasing quick fixes?
• What does it mean to lead through responsibility and care instead of authority?
• How does real change take shape through relationships and dialogue rather than top-down plans?
• How can conversation become the foundation for trust, insight, and coordinated action?
• How do we balance the promise of AI with the human need for community and accountability?

Beyond these questions, we will also explore the ones that matter most to you—the questions you believe we need to ask and discuss together.

What You Will Learn

There is no fixed curriculum to memorise. The workshop itself is a living example of Conversational Leadership.

What you learn will depend on your context, your questions, and your willingness to engage.

Everyone will take away something different. For some, it will be a shift in perspective; for others, new practices; for others, a deeper sense of responsibility.

That said, by the end of the week, you can expect to leave with:

• A new lens for making sense of complexity
• A clearer sense of what truly matters to you
• A fresh view of leadership as a practice rather than a position
• Deeper awareness of the “use of self”—how your presence, attention, and behaviour shape what happens in conversation
• Recognition that there is no single way to have a meaningful conversation
• An understanding that Conversational Leadership begins with awareness of how conversations unfold and the role you play in them.
• Practical ways to engage in dialogue to spark meaningful change
• Insight into how to work with AI wisely within human conversations

What’s in it for my organization?

This workshop is designed for people operating in complex, uncertain environments where traditional leadership training often falls short. Supporting a participant to attend is an investment in leadership judgement, organizational capacity, and how work actually gets done.

Organizations typically see value in the following ways:

• Stronger leadership judgement in complex, ambiguous, and politically sensitive situations
• Improved quality of decision-making through shared sensemaking rather than escalation
• Greater ability to work productively with uncertainty, disagreement, and competing perspectives
• Reduced dependency on authority, with responsibility held more widely across the organisation
• More effective conversations across functions, disciplines, and seniority levels
• Leadership meetings that enable real thinking and alignment, not just reporting
• Increased organisational resilience through stronger relationships and trust
• More grounded and responsible engagement with AI and emerging technologies
• Leaders who are more aware of how their presence and behaviour shape outcomes
• Conversational practices that can be applied immediately in leadership teams and everyday work

Participants return with a stronger capacity to lead through conversation, judgement, and responsibility. This typically shows up in how they convene others, how they handle complexity, and how they enable better work to happen around them.

Meet Your Conversational Hosts

David Gurteen and John Hovell are not instructors or facilitators in the traditional sense; they are your conversational hosts. As long-time colleagues and close collaborators, they have been co-developing the concept and practice of Conversational Leadership for over five years. Individually and together, they have led numerous workshops, webinars, and Knowledge Cafés around the world, often convening conversations that might not have happened otherwise. They also co-host the weekly podcast In Conversation, where they explore the principles and real-world practice of Conversational Leadership.

David is a writer, blogger, coach, and futurist focused on how we think, learn, and lead together in a world shaped by complexity, uncertainty, and emerging technologies. He created the Gurteen Knowledge Café, a simple yet powerful conversational process that enables groups to explore ideas, share experiences, and make sense of the challenges they face together.

His work on Conversational Leadership invites a shift away from top-down control toward dialogue, reflection, and collective responsibility. Through his online book, podcast, and public Knowledge Cafés, he fosters thoughtful conversation as a practical response to the metacrisis we now face.

John is a practitioner and thought leader working at the intersection of knowledge management, organizational development, and complexity. John helps individuals and organizations navigate uncertainty through learning, dialogue, and participatory change.

John is a co-creator of the C-group methodology, a transformative conversational practice for developing leadership and interpersonal capacity in complex environments. He has worked globally as a facilitator, speaker, and consultant. With a systems lens and deep commitment to human development, John brings warmth, curiosity, and structure to conversations that matter.

Offered as part of the Certified Knowledge Specialist (CKS) Program

Participants who complete the workshop will receive CKS certification in Conversational Leadership from KMI, recognizing both their learning and their commitment to practice.

When and where

Venue: Warbrook House, Warbrook House Heritage Hotel, The Street, Eversley, Hampshire, RG27 0PL (see map below)

Schedule: Monday 7th to Friday 11th September 2026

Warbrook House

Warbrook house

LOCATION

Getting There

Warbrook House is perfectly located and easy to reach. Just one hour from central London by train, it is also only an hour from Heathrow Airport by train or by taxi. Conveniently close to both the M3 and M4 motorways, the venue is also easily accessible by train from Gatwick. For full travel details, please visit the contact page on The Warbrook House website.

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