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Just as we are beginning to recognise that perfectly manicured lawns can function as ecologically impoverished "green deserts", we might ask whether our organisations have become similarly over-managed, standardised, and disconnected from the diversity needed for genuine flourishing. Through discussion, reflection, and collaborative group activities, participants will explore what it might mean to rewild leadership itself: moving beyond control, optimisation, and homogeneity towards diversity, emergence, resilience, and regeneration.

DATE: Wednesday 16 December 2026

TIME: 11am-2pm

PRICE: £60 per person or Buy 5 Get 1 Free for £300 (6 tickets)

Online via MS Teams

TARGETED AT: Change-makers working in public services, charity and social enterprises with a vision to improve the quality of life for everyone who are interested in new thinking about leadership

Speaker: Dr Gaurish Chawla, Associate Professor (Healthcare Leadership and Commissioning) at Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Metaphors shape how we understand organisations and leadership. As Gareth Morgan famously argued, organisations have been viewed as machines, organisms, cultures, and political systems, each revealing some possibilities while concealing others. This workshop introduces a fresh metaphor: rewilding.

As the world grapples with climate breakdown, burnout, and growing social alienation, rewilding has emerged as a powerful approach to restoring ecological balance. Yet its relevance extends far beyond environmental practice. Drawing on Félix Guattari's concept of The Three Ecologies, this session explores how ecological degradation, psychological distress, and social fragmentation are deeply interconnected challenges.

Just as we are beginning to recognise that perfectly manicured lawns can function as ecologically impoverished "green deserts", we might ask whether our organisations have become similarly over-managed, standardised, and disconnected from the diversity needed for genuine flourishing.

Through discussion, reflection, and collaborative group activities, participants will explore what it might mean to rewild leadership itself: moving beyond control, optimisation, and homogeneity towards diversity, emergence, resilience, and regeneration.

Drawing on Dr Gaurish Chawla's work on rewilding education, recently presented as a special event at the British Sociological Association[1] and previously at the British Psychological Society[2], this interactive workshop invites leaders to imagine more human, ecological, and sustainable ways of organising and leading.

We will email you the access link to this workshop, and instructions on how to join, few days before the workshop scheduled date. All attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the workshop.

If you are booking for multiple attendees, or on behalf of someone else, please email us at socialchangehub@sussex.ac.uk to let us know the names of the attendees.

For enquiries, please contact us at socialchangehub@sussex.ac.uk.

By purchasing the ticket, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and cancellation policy. Please read out terms and conditions and cancellation policy on Sussex Social Change Hub website