In Conversation: #1: What’s exciting for you in Conversational Leadership right now?
In the first episode of the In Conversation Podcast, David and John come together in an unscripted and serendipitous conversation that becomes a live exploration of Conversational Leadership in action. With no script or rehearsed plan, the dialogue begins with a simple question from John to David: “Where is your excitement or learning edge for Conversational Leadership right now?” What unfolds is a rich, meandering, and thought-provoking exchange that bridges science, philosophy, AI, and human connection.
David shares how his recent curiosity has been drawn not directly to conversation, but to religion, the origins of life, and the improbability of proteins forming by chance. He dives deep into conversations with ChatGPT to better understand biochemistry and intelligent design. This seemingly unrelated exploration leads him to the concept of the “adjacent possible,” originally coined by Stuart Kauffman. The adjacent possible describes how systems—whether biological or conversational—evolve by stepping into what is just barely possible next. David and John explore how this idea maps beautifully onto conversations, where each statement opens up new doors for where the dialogue can go.
They reflect on how meaningful conversations don’t always follow a planned path, but instead emerge through mutual curiosity and responsiveness. They draw parallels between the evolution of life and the evolution of dialogue, suggesting that just as random mutations can lead to advantageous traits in biology, surprising conversational turns can lead to new insights and creativity.
ChatGPT becomes part of the conversation, not just as a tool for information but as a partner in reflection. David shares how he once asked the AI what it thought his opinion was on a topic, based on their past interactions. The AI’s response helped him better understand his own position—a fascinating example of using AI to surface and shape human thought. John connects this to the early days of wikis, when people doubted their value because they weren’t authoritative, only to realize that their strength lay in contribution and collaboration.
The discussion also touches on patterns of response in conversation, drawing insights from therapy—how people tend to respond with stories, questions, commands, or reflections, and how each mode opens up a different kind of adjacent possibility. This leads to an inquiry about mapping out these macro-level response types and the micro-level creativity within them.
Through it all, the conversation is a living example of what they’re talking about: emergent, open-ended, and full of unexpected turns. What started as a curious question about protein formation becomes a metaphor for the flow of conversation. What could have been a dead end becomes a creative unfolding, simply because they remained curious and responsive.
They close by acknowledging the rare and refreshing nature of speaking honestly from the present moment, choosing the less obvious conversational “door,” and allowing ideas to build organically. Even the fact that this was recorded adds a ripple effect, extending the conversation beyond the two of them to whoever may be watching, potentially unlocking new adjacent possibilities for others.
This video is an invitation to experience conversational leadership not as a technique or structure, but as a living, evolving practice of curiosity, emergence, and connection.
Tags: David Gurteen (76) | John Hovell (12) | podcast (17)
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