Interest in Conversational Leadership is growing as people question more traditional models of leadership and learning. Many are unsure where to begin or how to explore it without committing to formal programmes. These resources offer simple, accessible ways to read, listen, and take part in meaningful conversations.
Conversational Leadership is not something you acquire in one step. It grows through reading, reflection, listening, and sustained participation in real conversations. Understanding emerges gradually, through practice and experience, not through formal programmes or tightly structured learning. The resources below offer practical entry points for exploring conversational leadership with minimal commitment.
David Gurteen’s Online Book on Conversational Leadership
David Gurteen’s online book (or blook) is an evolving body of writing that explores conversational leadership as a practice rather than a role. Alongside essays, reflections, and examples, it includes summaries of books, papers, videos, quotations, and the work of others in related fields, making it a rich and practical resource for ongoing learning.
Conversational Leadership resources
Books
- Introductions, summaries, and reflections on books that have shaped thinking about conversation, leadership, knowledge, and sense-making.
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People
- Notes on writers, practitioners, and thinkers whose work connects with Conversational Leadership and related fields.
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Quotations
- Carefully chosen quotations that capture key ideas and invite reflection rather than closure.
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Videos
- Talks, interviews, and recorded conversations exploring Conversational Leadership and adjacent themes.
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Papers and Articles
- Academic and practitioner papers that provide deeper context and alternative perspectives on conversation, leadership, and learning.
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John Hovell’s Book on Conversational Leadership
Creating Conversational Leadership by John Hovell offers a more structured and organisational perspective on Conversational Leadership. It connects conversation with Knowledge Management, inclusion, and organisational development, and provides a coherent framework for thinking about how conversation influences how organisations work.
David Gurteen’s Monthly Knowledge Letter
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a long-running monthly newsletter curated by David Gurteen. It draws together short reflections, selected blog posts, and links that invite readers to pause, think, and stay connected to ongoing conversations about leadership, knowledge, and learning.
David Gurteen’s Blook Membership
Blook membership provides deeper access to David’s online book and related materials. It is intended for readers who want to follow the work more closely and engage with it as an unfolding inquiry rather than a finished text.
David Gurteen’s Substack
David’s Substack is a more informal writing space where he shares shorter reflections, working ideas, and pointers to ongoing thinking. It complements the online book by allowing ideas to be explored in a lighter, more immediate way, often inviting response and dialogue.
David and John’s Podcast
In their podcast conversations, David Gurteen and John Hovell talk together about Conversational Leadership and related themes. The episodes are informal and exploratory, reflecting the practice of thinking together rather than presenting polished conclusions.
John’s Knowledge Café
John’s online Knowledge Café brings people together in a simple, conversational format to share experiences and insights. Short introductions are followed by small-group discussions, with an emphasis on listening, reflection, and collective sense-making.
David’s Conversational Leadership Cafés
David’s Conversational Leadership Cafés are online events that invite participants into structured yet open conversations around a shared question. Rooted in the Knowledge Café tradition, they explore how conversation becomes a way to learn, think, and lead. People can also register for a mailing list to stay informed about upcoming Cafés and other Conversational Leadership events, both online and in person.
Take Part in a Knowledge Café Workshop
David’s Knowledge Café workshop is a practical, hands-on session for people who want to design and run their own Knowledge Cafés. It focuses on the principles behind the format and the practical choices that make Cafés work well, whether face-to-face or online. Participants learn how to frame good questions, host conversations, and create the conditions for open, thoughtful dialogue. The emphasis is on understanding the practice well enough to use it confidently in real organisational settings.
Consider One-to-One Coaching
David also works one-to-one with people who want to explore conversational leadership more deeply in their own context. Coaching conversations provide space to reflect on real situations, challenges, and relationships, and to notice how conversation shapes thinking, action, and leadership in practice. The focus is not on advice or techniques, but on helping people think more clearly, listen more fully, and act with greater awareness in the conversations that matter to them.
Conversational Leadership grows through steady engagement rather than quick mastery. These resources are intended to be dipped into over time, revisited, and lived with. What matters most is not how much is read or attended, but how these ideas find their way into everyday conversations.
We do not learn Conversational Leadership all at once. We learn it by reading a little, listening carefully, and noticing how we show up in everyday conversations. If we stay curious and keep engaging, these ideas gradually shape how we think, relate, and act together.
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Wednesday 11th March 2026, 14:00 to 18:00 London time (GMT)
Learn how to design & run a Gurteen Knowledge Café, both face-to-face and online.
Information and Registration