With bookings already flooding in for our leadership and collaboration conference – Create 26 – leadership and training manager, Mike Hickman, reflects on why we all need a chance to lift our eyes from the day‑to‑day. He writes:

Every so often in the VCSE world, you feel a shift in the air. It’s subtle at first – a conversation here, a concern there, the growing realisation that everyone is carrying more weight than they used to. Over the last year, in every training room, meeting room and community space I’ve been in, that feeling has grown to be all-consuming.

People aren’t just stretched. They’re navigating complexity that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Finances are tighter, needs are sharper and the pace of change shows no sign of slowing. And yet – and this is the bit that never fails to inspire me – the determination of everyone I meet never fails.

A moment the sector needs

That’s really how Create 26 was born. Not as a conference for the sake of having one, but as a moment we felt the sector genuinely needed: a pause, a breath, a chance to lift our eyes from the day‑to‑day and ask, “What could the future look like if we dared to imagine it together?”

When we invited Kate Lee OBE, CEO of NCVO, to join us as keynote speaker (with more to follow!), it wasn’t just because she’s a respected national voice. It’s because she understands something vital: leadership and collaboration isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about asking better questions – and creating spaces where others feel safe to do the same – no matter whether they’re leading a small team, a micro-charity or a larger organisation.

Conversations and creativity

That’s the spirit of Create 26. Workshops that stretch thinking. Conversations that unsettle and energise in equal measure. Creativity that reconnects us with the reason we started this work in the first place. And, perhaps most importantly, people who understand that collaboration isn’t a luxury in our sector – it’s our superpower.

My hope? That everyone leaves us on 21 May not just with new tools, but with renewed confidence. A sense that the future isn’t something happening to us, but something we can shape – boldly, collectively and with hope.

Find out more and book your place here.