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Optimal People

From the room

Four recent sessions, as they happened. Culture work is hard to photograph in the abstract. So this is the real thing: cohort days, coaching conversations and the discussions in between.

  • The CPO Accelerate cohort

    CPO Accelerate · 11 June 2026

    Cohort day at Virgin

    The cohort came together for a full day on the commercial side of the CPO role: what the board is really asking for, and how to answer it. A panel session closed the afternoon.

    • The room during the panel session
    • Cohort group photograph
    • A cohort member between sessions
  • Gillian Fox leading a session

    Wallacespace · 20 May 2026

    Leadership day at Wallacespace

    A working day on performance: how leaders are experienced by the people around them, and what to do with that once you know. Flipcharts, not slides.

    • Two participants at the session
    • A participant listening
    • Conversation over coffee
  • A coaching conversation

    Coaching · 20 May 2026

    One-to-one coaching, on the day

    Between the group sessions, individual coaching slots ran all afternoon. Confidential, unhurried, and usually where the real issue surfaces.

    • Participants at a workshop table
    • Two participants in conversation
    • A participant listening
  • A fireside session

    Cohort session

    Fireside: stepping into the CPO seat

    An in-conversation session with the cohort on the move from senior people leader to Chief People Officer: the parts of the job nobody briefs you on.

    • The cohort in discussion
    • A conversation during the session
    • Gillian Fox