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.
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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.
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We Will Explore the Following Questions Together

This is not a short course or a lecture series. It is a week of exploratory conversations, time and space to slow down, think together, and experience Conversational Leadership in practice.

Over 5 days, we'll dive into questions such as:
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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.
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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:

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• A new lense 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 — noticing the dynamics of how conversations unfold and the part 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