Change Leadership Collective – THAMES VALLEY
Date:
Wednesday 21st October 2026 | Sessions 1-5pm, and optional drinks 5-7pm
Location:
Dorney Lakes - Dorney Lake, Court Lane, Off Lake End Road, Dorney, Windsor, SL4 6FJ
Agenda:
3 sessions followed by networking with drinks and nibbles
This is an exclusive invitation only event which you have been selected for.
Register to save your seat as there will be limited numbers via Eventbrite.
A Thames Valley community for leaders who want to do change better
The world of work is changing quickly. The way we lead change needs to improve with it.
The Change Leadership Collective brings together leaders, practitioners and future leaders for practical insight, honest conversation and useful local connection.
You do not need change in your job title. You simply need to care about people, outcomes and helping change land well.
The afternoon’s format
- What Makes a Great Change Leader?
- Insight and research led session by Paul Major exploring the behaviours and styles that engage organisations in change ( and the ones that don’t!). Focussed on the behaviour, style and approach of leaders and how these impact the success of change programmes
- The Change Challenge Clinic
- A round table discussion for attendees to discuss the biggest challenges they are seeing in delivering and supporting change. An opportunity to share experiences, find out that you are not alone and learn how others are addressing similar issues.
- Leading Change in the Real World
- Sharing a real story of the highs and lows of leading change in a blue chip organisation followed by a panel led discussion and audience Q&A
Evening discussion, networking and social with drinks and nibbles
In short
The Change Leadership Collective is for people who lead, influence or support change.
Each event will bring together practical thinking across change design, human change and change delivery. You will hear different perspectives, meet useful people and leave with ideas you can apply in your own organisation.
This is not a conference, recruitment fair or sales presentation.
It is a useful space for people who care about leading change well.
More information below…
Why we are creating it
At changemaker, our mission is simple. We want to help businesses do change better for the benefit of individuals, teams organisations and society. We want to help create a world where we thrive in change , not simply try to survive it!
As leaders we are working in an increasingly unpredictable environment. Budgets are tighter. Timelines are shorter. AI and technology are reshaping organisations. Expectations are rising, while many teams are already stretched.
And across all that we have to create, manage and deliver change!
When this pressure increases, organisations often fall back into the same ingrained patterns:
- Push harder.
- Move faster.
- Expect people to keep up .
We believe there is a better way.
Change still needs pace, structure and accountability. But it also needs people to understand what is happening, why it matters and what it means for them.
Better change starts with clear design, strong delivery and a deeper understanding of the impact on the people experiencing it.
The Collective gives leaders a place to explore those challenges together.
Who it is for
The Change Leadership Collective is for anyone who influences how change is understood, experienced or delivered.
That may include people working across:
- Human resources and people leadership
- Technology and digital transformation
- Operations and service delivery
- Projects, programmes and PMOs
- Organisational change and transformation
- Consulting and independent delivery
You may lead one person or thousands. You may be an experienced executive, a senior manager, an independent practitioner or someone building towards their next leadership role.
What matters is your willingness to learn, contribute and help change happen in a better way.
What to expect
We aim to explore what it means to be a change leader in an ever-changing world.
The afternoons will bring together three connected areas.
Human Change
Change Design
How leaders create clarity, direction and alignment before change begins
Change Delivery
How leaders turn intent into progress.
These subjects are designed to be thought starters and bring an initial conversation that attendees can then develop and contribute to as they wish.
You do not need to arrive with all the answers.
A community looks different depending on where you stand within it. Some people will already know changemaker well, others may be attending one of our events for the first time. Some will want to contribute actively, others may prefer to listen, reflect and meet one or two useful people.
We are all different and interact with each other in different ways. There is, therefore, no expected level of participation. You can:
- Listen and learn
- Ask questions
- Share an experience
- Meet people facing similar challenges
- Introduce someone who may benefit
- Contribute to a future session
- Stay connected until a topic feels relevant to you
We believe strong communities are not built by the loudest people in the room. They grow when different people can contribute in ways that feel natural, useful and worthwhile.
Register via EventBrite below;
What we want the room to feel like
How people feel is as important (and probably more important to us) than what they say and do. So we want to be very focussed on how this event makes you feel.
- High value.
- Low ego.
- Open to different perspectives.
- Warm, but professionally credible.
- Challenging without becoming combative.
- Commercially relevant without becoming a sales pitch.
- A place where people can ask honest questions, compare experiences and leave with clearer thinking.
- That was useful.
- I met good people.
- I heard something I can apply.
- I would come back.
- I would bring someone else.
Why Thames Valley
Thames Valley is part of changemaker’s history.
The business has roots in Maidenhead, alongside longstanding relationships across the local business and associate community.
The region has significant influence across technology, automotive, financial services, telecommunications, operations and professional services.
It is also home to experienced leaders, independent practitioners and future leaders who influence organisations across London and the wider UK.
Whilst change is everywhere and our work takes us across a wide geography, local still matters.
More than a networking event
Networking is part of the value, but it is not the whole purpose. The Collective is intended to create:
- Conversation
- Connection
- Collaboration
- Community
- Confidence
It should give people access to useful thinking and useful relationships.
It should also create a space where leaders feel supported, practitioners feel connected and people can share what is really happening inside their organisations.
The aim is not to collect business cards, it is to build relationships that become more valuable over time.
What is in it for changemaker
We are always transparent. The Change Leadership Collective is part of how changemaker builds relationships and creates awareness of what we do but we choose lead with usefulness first.
- Some attendees may later become clients.
- Some may join our associate network.
- Some may become speakers, partners, referrers or advocates.
- Others may simply attend, learn something useful and return for another conversation.
All of that has value.
When organisations need help designing, delivering or resourcing change, we hope they will know who we are, understand what we do and feel comfortable speaking with us.
We are not trying to turn the room into a sales funnel.
We are trying to earn trust by creating something worthwhile.
This is intended to continue
The first event is a starting point, not the finished model.
We want the Collective to grow through repeated sessions, useful conversations and feedback from the people taking part. We will:
- learn from the first event and seek feedback from those attending.
- understand which topics matter.
- improve the format.
- continue where the community sees value.
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