The Annual Windsor Leadership Dialogue

The aim

In the annual dialogue around 30 participants are invited from diverse backgrounds to deepen their self-awareness and mutual understanding of leadership at three levels: individual leadership, collective leadership teams, and the organisation as a whole, including what the organisation needs from future leadership and how the system delivers and uses leadership to become better led.

The process

A process of dialogue is used to engage both head and heart, with participants reflecting, challenging and being challenged as they experience rich and deep conversations that draw directly on their own roles, personal frustrations and successes, opportunities and hopes. Through a better understanding of what leadership means and can mean, the aim is to expand participants' choices in how they lead and where best to exploit their enhanced leadership capacity.

Who takes part

The majority of participants are active leaders working in organisations of all kinds, from both public and private sectors. Additionally, a small number of 'thought leaders', academics, writers, and leadership coaches and developers are invited to inject leading-edge theory and practice, and to enhance their own understanding of the vitally important subject of leadership.

Ethos

Following the annual event, the group's ethos is to encourage continuing dialogue, learning and support throughout the year, as participants attempt to ground their learning and achieve tangible outcomes.

The organisation

The dialogue is non-profit making and is self-led and self-managed, reflected in the moderate attendance charge for the annual event. There are opportunities each year for participants to step forward and take a leading role in sessions or in organising, which they do free of charge.

Themes

Each year a particular theme is chosen. This assists appropriate facilitation, concentrates group discussion, and enables a rapid and deep exploration of the subject. It also takes participants into unfamiliar terrain, away from the comfort zone of what they already know.

The 2008 Dialogue

The theme is Leadership - The Missing Link. The vogue of the leader and the development of leadership as an individual-centred activity frequently overlooks the organisational context, its challenges and own needs for improved leadership. The theme targets leadership at this higher, organisational level, exploring how best to make that connection a reality. How can an organisation give to leadership, its development and improvement what it needs to give, and get what it needs to get? Papers for this event are available as a free download and can be viewed in the Resources section.

Cost

£270 per person plus Vat, inclusive of accommodation in St George's House inside Windsor Castle and meals.

Special attractions

A evening guided tour of St George's Chapel.
Meetings in Vicars' Hall, built 1415 -1418