Conversational Keynotes

A keynote series designed to provoke fresh thinking and inspire action towards building a strong conversational climate.

Drawing on groundbreaking research by Dik Veenman and John Higgins, the keynote series invite leaders to examine their role in creating the right conversational climate, one that fosters trust, innovation, and performance.

Keynote 1

The Power of Dialogue

2HRS

We don’t rise to the level of our intentions, we fall to the level of our conversational habits.

What it's about:

Every organisation develops conversational habits, some helpful, others limiting. This keynote invites leaders to reflect on these patterns and explore how to lead with dialogue in mind.

Ideal for:

Kick-starting a wider programme or as a thought-provoking session at leadership off-sites.

What is explored:

Macro Trends

Societal shifts driving the need for better dialogue.

The Rise of Conversational Leadership

Why top-down answers no longer work

Barriers to Dialogue

What holds us back and how to overcome it.

Truth to Power

Societal shifts driving the need for better dialogue.

The Power of Listening

Building trust and unlocking insight.

Empowering Through Conversation

Five core skills to build a stronger conversational microclimate as a leader.

Keynote 2

Speaking Truth to Power

2HRS

What does it take for truth to be heard and different voices to speak up?

What it's about:

This keynote explores the complex dynamics of speaking up and listening up. It challenges the myths around open-door policies and invites leaders to reflect on how power shapes what gets said—and what doesn’t.

Research and publications:

Speak Up (FT Publishing, 2019)
The Problem with Saying My Door is Always Open (HBR, 2017)
Speaking Truth to Power at Work (Hult Research, 2019)

Key themes:

The social nature of truth-telling

The unintended consequences of “just speak up”

The social nature of truth-telling

Keynote 3

Beating Our Addiction
to Busyness

2HRS

What is spaciousness, why do we need it and how do we work with a world that prefers not to pause.

What it's about:

In a world obsessed with doing, this keynote invites leaders to rediscover the value of spaciousness—the reflective space where insight, creativity, and true leadership emerge.

Research and publications:

Permission to Pause (Reitz/Higgins, 2025)
How to Give Yourself More Space to Think (HBR, 2025) The Mindset Shift That Can Make You a Wiser Leader (Sloan, 2025)

What is explored:

Why pausing feels risky—and why it’s essential

How busyness masks deeper issues

What it means to flourish in the “spaces in-between”

Keynote 4

Making Sense of Silence

2HRS

Silence is never neutral; it is always telling us something. Yet we often treat it as compliance or a matter of no importance.

What it's about:

Silence is never neutral—it always communicates something. Yet in many organisations, silence is misinterpreted as agreement, disengagement, or compliance. This keynote explores the nuanced interplay between voice and silence, and how leaders can develop the rare skill of interpreting silence meaningfully.

Research and publications:

The Great Unheard at Work (Routledge, 2023)
Being Silenced and Silencing Others (Hult Research, 2017) Leadership Vertigo (Radical OD Blog, 2024)
The Sound of Silence (Radical OD Blog, 2021)

What is explored:

The different types of silence and what they signal

When silence is generative—and when it’s a warning sign

How silence is shaped by power, fear, and culture

When to accept silence, when to join it, and when to challenge it

Keynote 5

Leading in an Age of
Employee Activism

2HRS

The voices we ignore today may be the ones we need most tomorrow.

What it's about:

In times of uncertainty, it’s tempting to retreat into familiar narratives and shut out dissenting voices. But often, it’s the outsiders—the tempered radicals, the activists, the “woke”—who hold the insights we most need to hear. This keynote challenges leaders to listen differently and to treat power, politics, and conflict as essential ingredients of organisational life.

Ideal for:

Speak Out, Listen Up (FT Publishing, 2024)
A Leader’s Guide to Navigating Employee Activism (HBR, 2024)
Leading in an Age of Employee Activism (Sloan, 2022)
The Do’s and Don’ts of Employee Activism (Hult Research, 2021)

What is explored:

Why some voices are labelled “unspeakable” or “too political”

How to engage with difference without defensiveness

The role of activism in shaping organisational culture

How to create space for voices that challenge the status quo