Leaders in Conversation
Leadership doesn’t come with a single roadmap. People take different paths into leadership. They face setbacks, uncertainty, difficult decisions and moments when they aren’t sure what to do next.
Leaders in Conversation gives participants the opportunity to hear directly from people who have navigated those experiences.
We bring local and national leaders, experienced practitioners, coaches and trainers into conversation with participants to share what they have learned along the way.
Sometimes the focus is on a leadership experience or challenge. Sometimes it is a particular skill or technique that participants can learn and practise.
The common thread is simple: Hear from people who have done it. Learn from their experience. Take something useful away.
It’s a conversation, not a presentation
These sessions aren’t designed to be a traditional leadership lecture. The guest brings their experience, knowledge and perspective. Participants have the opportunity to ask questions, explore the challenges they have faced and talk about the things that don’t always make it into a leadership textbook.
Conversations might explore:
- how they found their own leadership style
- decisions that shaped their career
- challenges they have faced
- mistakes and what they learned from them
- moments when things didn’t go as expected
- difficult conversations
- building confidence
- working with uncertainty
- leading others
- managing competing demands
- finding their own path
The aim is to make leadership feel more real and accessible.
Learn from experience
Participants hear how others approached situations, what they would do differently and what they have learned over time. They can ask questions they might not otherwise have the opportunity to ask and consider how someone else’s experience relates to their own.
Develop practical skills
Some sessions have a specific practical focus. A leader, coach or trainer might introduce a skill, technique or approach that participants can use in their own work. Participants have the opportunity to:
- learn the approach
- discuss how it might be useful
- practise it
- ask questions
- consider where they could apply it
This means participants don’t just hear about leadership. They have an opportunity to develop their own capability.
Build confidence
Leadership can sometimes look very different from the inside than it does from the outside. Hearing the real stories behind someone’s career can help participants recognise that confidence develops over time, that people take different paths and that there isn’t one particular way to become a good leader.
The aim is to help participants consider:
- What might I try differently?
- What could my path look like?
- What can I learn from other people’s experiences?
- What strengths can I build on?
Build connections
The sessions also create an opportunity to connect people with leaders and with each other. Participants hear different perspectives, share experiences and build relationships with people working across their organisation, industry or region.
Over time, these connections can become an important part of a broader professional network.
How can they work?
We set up a series based on the needs of an organisation, industry or group. These can be relatively specific to the area (targeting experts and leaders from a particular industry or region) or a broader arrangement in which leaders from a diverse range of areas are selected to expand and extend thinking.
Leaders in Conversation can be designed for:
- emerging leaders
- people considering their next step
- managers and supervisors
- experienced professionals
- technical specialists moving into leadership
- people working in regional and remote environments
- industry and government professionals
Sessions can be tailored to the experience and needs of the group.
Flexible by design
Sessions can be delivered:
- online
- face to face
- as a one-off session
- as a regular series
- around a particular leadership theme
- with a guest leader
- with a coach or facilitator
- with a combination of experience-sharing and practical skill development
The guest and format are selected according to what the organisation or group wants participants to gain from the session.