Program

As organisations evolve beyond rigid hierarchies, complexity is no longer a problem to be solved, but a landscape to be navigated. In this new paradigm, the most effective leaders are not those who impose order through codification, but those who cultivate curiosity—leveraging AI to illuminate nuance, surface contradictions, and reveal new possibilities.

The Shift from Authority to Inquiry

In less hierarchical structures, authority is distributed and decision-making is contextual. Here, the leader’s role shifts from providing answers to framing the right questions. The challenge is not to simplify complexity prematurely, but to engage with it—recognizing that ambiguity, diversity of thought, and emergent patterns are sources of value.

AI, in this context, is not a shortcut to certainty. Rather, it is a tool for sense-making: surfacing patterns, highlighting anomalies, and expanding the scope of inquiry. But AI’s utility depends on the quality of the questions we bring to it. The real differentiator is a leader’s ability to interrogate data without bias, resist the urge to codify too soon, and remain open to what complexity has to teach.

A New Leadership Imperative

This approach demands intellectual humility and a commitment to ongoing exploration. Leaders must:

• Embrace ambiguity as a source of insight, not a threat to be eliminated.
• Foster distributed inquiry, empowering teams to challenge assumptions and probe AI-driven insights from multiple perspectives.
• Resist premature closure, allowing solutions to emerge from a more thorough engagement with the problem space.

In a world where complexity is the norm and hierarchy is optional, the leaders who thrive will be those who are most curious—those who can work with AI not as an oracle, but as a partner in exploration. Their legacy will not be the answers they codified, but the questions they dared to ask.

In this interactive session, participants will explore the crucial skills needed to lead in an AI-enhanced world. Through engaging online activities including storytelling, structured reflection, and AI analysis, we will tap into the collective wisdom of the group to develop a practical understanding of leading in complexity. This session will link research with practical application, helping coaches, consultants, and managers sense-make how to navigate complex AI-driven environments effectively.

Does creating change seem like a constant uphill struggle? Are you blocked by relentless resistance? Do you feel lost and alone in your efforts to create positive change?

Change need not be full of pain and suffering. Moreover, the pain can be managed and the suffering is optional. According to child development experts, play is the most effective and efficient way of enabling children to learn, lead, collaborate and be at their best. This also holds true for adults, especially in organisational change, based on Portia’s 20+ years of working and playing with adults in large and small organizations.

In this highly interactive session, you will experience the catalysing power of play and gain an understanding of how play can convert seemingly relentless resistance to change into joyful anticipation of growth instead. You will learn and experience the benefits of play firsthand and, by being re-acquainted with the knowledge of play, explore what it means to be a playful leader.

You will skip, leap or hop away with a pawful of tried and tested tools and techniques from play science, neuroscience, psychology and coaching – what we call Play Alchemy – to develop a greater

In this session we will look at the way generative artificial intelligence works, discuss some of the possibilities that AI can offer in reality, and explore the basics of prompt engineering. Participants will leave equipped to turn ChatGPT into an ultra-keen, curated colleague who never leaves their side! We will experiment with AI prompts and see autonomous agents at work, to get an understanding of what’s possible with AI and leave equipped to make a tangible difference in the workplace.

In English we have a saying “two heads are better than one.” In some cases this is true. It also extends to more than just two heads. In other cases, involving others in decisions can be disastrous. History is full of examples. Social psychology and cognitive neuroscience have informed us that we as individuals suffer from cognitive biases and that when we are a part of a group, we don’t always display wisdom. In Linda’s research and in her work with teams, she brings both science and experience to this presentation to provide useful tips and processes to help you make better decisions.

There’s growing evidence that individual decision making can be flawed, but there’s also evidence that suggests ways to address those flaws. This presentation will examine that research and outline the flaws in individuals and groups. The worst of our cognitive biases is the confirmation bias. One we believe in something we filter any new information to make sure it aligns with our current beliefs. This tendency has been shown repeatedly for individuals and group. The worst part of the news is that the smarter the individuals, the better we are at displaying this bias. However, there are techniques for addressing it, ways of reaching better decisions. The best but most difficult solution is diversity. Diverse teams do a better job of considering evidence and reaching optimal solutions.

At this difficult time, we need to be the best decision makers we can be, both as individuals and in groups. This is a hopeful, science-based, realistic presentation that will provide enough information and tactics so you are sure to find one or two useful tips to try on Monday morning.