Looking around and listening to the conversations that are bubbling up, it feels like there is a strong sense of transition in the air. This includes a lot of questions around what living with Covid will be like in a post-vaccination era and a lot of deeper reflection about the things that have felt important over the last year and a half, and how it might be possible to hang on to these as the pull back to our old ways gets ever stronger.
As the possibilities quite rapidly open up to move around and engage with people more, I feel that I value these interactions much more, taking time and care to space them out and spend time in places and environments that have the potential to lift my spirit.
Through this transition, there also seems to be a growing focus and recognition of the importance of a more collective response to pandemic recovery and an appetite to more actively explore what a collective approach can offer for the future. Amidst the intense and competing pressures, however, it can feel extraordinarily difficult to know where to start with new approaches and to embrace the practices of Collective Leadership.
One of the benefits that we have experienced in our work over the pandemic has been the opportunities that have opened up for collaborative working with colleagues all over the world. We have been delighted by the new possibilities that have emerged from this, now extending to our Global Leadership Campfire Series online on 1 and 2 September 2021. The Leadership Campfires build from our Colloquium events in January this year, co-hosted with Professor Joe Raelin and drawing together a wide network of academic colleagues from the field of Leadership-as-Practice alongside our own Collective Leadership networks.
Through the Leadership Campfires, we will create welcoming spaces to continue to explore themes and issues around Collective Leadership and Leadership-As-Practice, as well as opportunities to connect, reflect and engage with colleagues through the Sanctuary sessions and Collaboration Cafes on offer throughout the two days.
I look forward to seeing a wide range of colleagues at the various campfires, working together on what kind of leadership practices are most likely to serve us well for the times we are living in and to learn a bit more about Collective Leadership and Leadership-as-Practice, and where these fit together in our contemporary world.
These promise to be a lively series of events and I always really enjoy the new connections that can be made, the innovative examples of practice that are shared and the new ways of thinking about things that can be provoked through interaction and conversation.
You can find out more about the Global Leadership Campfires here, or go straight to the online festival calendar through which you can sign up to events. All events are free and open to all.
I hope you can take the time to have a look through, see what catches your attention and sign up to get involved.
Janet Whitley