The Leadership Series - Conference Two: Challenge

Name: The Leadership Series - Conference Two: Challenge
Start: 2026-09-23T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-09-23T10:00:00+01:00
Location: Ps & Gs (St Paul's & St George's) Church

About

For many years, our annual conference has been a flagship moment in the Charity Leadership Scotland calendar. It has brought energy, connection, and visibility to our leadership community.

But leadership does not happen in one moment. And the context we are navigating does not stand still long enough to wait for one. So in 2026, we are introducing something different. Instead of a single annual conference, we will host three mini-conferences across Scotland, each shaped around one of our strategic pillars: Voice, Challenge, and Change.

Together, they form our new Leadership Series. We continue the journey in Edinburgh on 23 September with Challenge.

Challenge is about facing difficult realities and leading through them together.

Across Scotland, demand is increasing while resources become more constrained. Leaders in every sector are being asked to make difficult choices in increasingly complex circumstances. These realities cannot be ignored. But equally, they cannot be addressed by any one leader acting alone.

This year’s Challenge conference will create space for honest investigation and meaningful interrogation of the most pressing and complex obstacles facing leaders today. We'll explore how the voluntary sector and the Scottish Government can work together to navigate the changing landscape, strengthen relationships, and shape a shared path forward.

We're delighted to have the First Minister, John Swinney, as the keynote speaker. More than a keynote address, Mr. Swinney's participation provides an opportunity for meaningful dialogue with Scottish Government and leaders who are navigating change, responding to community need, and helping to build a more resilient and connected Scotland.

A cross-sector panel of leaders will then bring different perspectives to some of the most challenging issues facing organisations today. The panel will cover leading in an increasingly culturally charged environment, accessing philanthropic funding opportunities, and the toll that balancing legal compliance with people-centred leadership can take on decision-makers in a sector under growing pressure.

Through keynote input, discussion, and shared learning, Challenge will examine what it takes to lead when there are no easy answers. Together, we'll consider how to hold difficult conversations with confidence and integrity, respond to uncertainty with purpose and composure, and build the relationships needed to support Scotland's communities.

The event is for leaders who recognise that challenge is not something to be avoided, but something to be faced openly, thoughtfully, and together.

We will gather again in Glasgow for Change on 11 February 2027.

We strongly encourage leaders to consider engaging with more than one event. Each room will feel different. Each conversation will build a different leadership muscle. They are designed to be distinct, focused, and responsive to the current leadership landscape. Attending more than one conference gives you access to broader networks, deeper learning, and wider sector insight across Scotland. Together, they form a connected journey, rather than a single moment. Commit to this leadership journey and purchase a Leadership Series pass for more than one conference now, with savings when you book multiple.

This is not three separate events. It is a leadership journey across the year.

The Leadership Circle

Delegates who have engaged across the leadership series journey will receive exclusive access to The Leadership Circle, a complimentary, invite only networking drinks reception following our final conference in Glasgow on 11 February 2027.