“Conversational Leadership”, a talk by Mr. David Gurteen organized by ASQ Local Member Community (LMC) UAE

“Conversational Leadership”, a talk by Mr. David Gurteen was organized by ASQ Local Member Community (LMC) UAE as part of their regular Knowledge Sharing Sessions and effort to raise the Voice of Quality in the Emirates. Held on the 4th of March at Middlesex University, the seminar was attended by over 40 Quality Professionals from various industries and students, an overwhelming response providing a clear evidence that “Conversations are an important form of work”-Weber.

Mr. Sunil Thawani, ASQ Country Counsellor and Fellow, opened the meeting with a brief update on UAE Local Members Community plans for 2015, ASQ MENA conference and World Quality Day in November. Mr. Sunil briefed the attendees also on ASQ UAE Quality Professional Award expected to be launched next month, open to self or peer nomination from Quality Professionals in the Emirates; the award is the first award of its kind to recognize the achievements of individuals in the Quality field.

After, Mr. Gurteen was introduced to the attendees; an international speaker and facilitator in the fields of Knowledge Management, Organizational Learning and Organizational Conversation from UK and best known for his passion for conversation and as the creator of the Gurteen Knowledge Cafe.

Mr. Gurteen started his talk by presenting the concept of knowledge Café, a barrier-free conversational environment where conversations flow horizontally leading to off-topic, out of the box ideas, and smooth knowledge sharing among Café participants. Similarly, in an organization that valorize people development and continuous learning, the transformative power of conversation enhance the way people connect, relate and work with each other.

He also shared in his presentation proven records that Conventional leadership have positive impact on modifying behaviors, building a strong sense of community, and identifying the strategic conversations that need to take place in the organization, hence improving performances at all levels. In addition, few examples on “Randomized Coffee Trials” (RCTs) connecting random people to converse virtually or face to face tested in some companies were presented to attendees as a creative manner to bring people together and support the knowledge sharing process.

After the presentation, attendees were given the opportunity to test the Knowledge Café concept by having two by two conversations. The Q&A session that followed brought interesting topics to the table.

At the end of the session, Mr. Gurteen was thanked by Mrs. Nancy Nouaimeh (Dubai LMC Chairperson) and handed a token of appreciation. Mrs. Nouaimeh thanked all attendees and encouraged them to take active part in UAE Local Members Community future activities.

ASQ LMC UAE extends a warm gratitude to Dr. Cedwyn Fernandes, Middlesex University for the complimentary Venue and Abela &Co. for the complementary catering.