UK 
United StatesLeadership Labs | Winter Series 2026 · Winter 2026
From Challenge to Action: Practical HR Leadership
Interactive online roundtables for senior HR leaders, built around the barriers that stand between a good idea and real change. Thirty minutes, ten to twelve peers, and one practical thing you can put to work the same week.
- Challenge Owner
- Expert partner
- You and 9 peers
- Dates
- 24–26 Nov 2026Tuesday to Thursday
- Format
- Online roundtableSix Labs across three days
- Length
- 30 minutes08:45 and 09:25 each day
- The room
- 10 to 12 leadersSmall enough for everyone to speak
Why attend
Tackle the challenges holding change back
Explore practical ways to overcome the barriers standing between your people strategy and meaningful progress.
Learn from fellow HR leaders
Share experiences, compare approaches and gain first-hand insight from leaders navigating similar challenges.
Take away practical next steps
Leave each Lab with a framework, checklist, diagnostic or actionable idea to help you move from discussion to action.
A virtual roundtable built for problem-solving.
01
One challenge, set in advance
Each Lab centres on a single barrier to change: making the case for change, choosing the right approach, securing stakeholder support, or demonstrating impact.
02
The Challenge Owner opens the session
An HR leader shares first-hand experience of addressing the issue inside their own organisation, including what did not work.
03
An expert partner adds the wider view
Our partner for the session contributes relevant insight and helps the group explore possible solutions.
04
The room does the work
Ten to twelve leaders compare approaches and pressure-test how the ideas discussed would apply back in their own organisations.
- Challenge Owner
- Expert partner
- You and 9 to 11 peers
What you’ll take away from each session
Chosen to fit the challenge, not the format.
Six Labs across three mornings.
Two Labs a day, before the diary fills up. Request a place on as many as are useful to you.
Tuesday
24 November 2026
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Wednesday
25 November 2026
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Thursday
26 November 2026
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All times are UK (GMT). Expert partners are confirmed on a rolling basis. Request a place now and we will send the detail for your Lab as soon as its partner is announced.
Request your placeBuilt for the people who own the change.
- Chief HR Officers and Chief People Officers
- HR Directors and People Directors
- Heads of People, Talent, Reward and Learning
- Senior HR Business Partners leading a change programme
About HR Grapevine
300,000+
Senior HR professionals across the UK and USA read HR Grapevine.
40+ years
Reporting on the profession, and convening the people who lead it.
10 to 12
The size of a Lab, so the conversation stays a conversation.
HR Grapevine is part of Executive Grapevine International Ltd.
Sit in the room with the leaders you want to reach.
Each Lab is delivered with one expert partner, who contributes insight and helps the group work towards a practical answer. It is a seat at the table with ten to twelve senior HR leaders, not a slot on a webinar.
One partner per Lab. Six Labs this season.
Partner slots for the November Labs are confirmed on a rolling basis.
The essentials.
The things leaders ask before they say yes.
Is this a webinar or a product demonstration?
Neither. Leadership Labs are collaborative working sessions. The expert partner joins to add insight and help the group explore solutions, not to pitch.
How long is each Lab?
Thirty minutes, start to finish. Labs run at 08:45 and 09:25 UK time on each of the three days.
How many people are in the room?
Between 10 and 12 HR leaders. The group is kept deliberately small so everyone can contribute.
Do I have to speak?
You are encouraged to. Attendees are invited to join the conversation, compare approaches and consider how the ideas discussed could apply within their own organisation. That is where the value is.
What do I take away?
Each Lab concludes with a practical framework, checklist, diagnostic or next step that you can implement.
Can I attend more than one Lab?
Yes. Tell us which sessions you are interested in when you request your place, and we will confirm what is available.
As spaces are limited and demand is high, we recommend requesting your place today.
Tell us which session you would like and we will come back to you with the joining detail. Expert partners are confirmed on a rolling basis.
- No pitch, and no product demonstrations
- Joining details sent once your place is confirmed
- Requests reviewed to keep the group senior and balanced
