Together • Ensemble 2021 | David Gurteen, Obhi Chatterjee & Julie Guégan
David Gurteen in conversation with Obhi Chatterjee (head of the learning technologies department of the European Commission and Julie Guégan (author and expert in collaboration and systems innovation) as part of the Together-Ensemble workshop with the staff of the European Institutions on 25 February 2021.
In the conversation, David looks at Conversational Leadership and how public organizations can improve their conversational leadership skills.
- 00:00:01 Obhi: Introduction
- 00:02:00 Julie: Introduction
- 00:03:00 Julie/David: Definition of Conversational Leadership
- 00:05:14 Obhi/David: The Knowledge Café
- 00:08:46 Julie/David: Listening and curiosity
- 00:11:29 Obhi/David: Impossible conversations
- 00:15:34 Julie/David: Avoiding over-controlling conversations
- 00:18:01 Obhi/David: Difference between having respect & showing respect
- 00:19:12 Julie/David: Do we need a referee to have a successful conversation
- 00:20:59 Obhi: No strategy to combat online extremism
- 00:21:58 David: Could you have had a conversation with Hitler.
- 00:22:44 Julie/David: Language & Lashon hara
- 00:26:04 Obhi/David: Polarization and moving away from fossil fuels
- 00:30:26 Julie: The key to transformative power is to ask questions.
- 00:30:59 David: The need for conversation in good faith
- 00:31:55 Julie: Otto Scharmer Theory U
- 00:32:55 David/Obhi: Complexity? Street Epistemology
- 00:35:39 Obhi: How do you open the eyes of social media users to critical thinking
- 00:36:26 David: Filter bubble, epistemic bubbles, echo chambers
- 00:38:28 Julie: Know yourself
Image Credits: Midjourney
(Public Domain)In-person, 7–11 September 2026, Warbrook House, Hampshire, UK
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 immersive workshop brings people together to practise Conversational Leadership as a shared, lived experience. It is not a training course but a space to slow down, think together, and explore how leadership emerges through dialogue, responsibility, and real engagement.