WORKHUMAN FORUM LONDON 2026
Lead like a Human.
20 May 2026 | London, UK London Hilton Park Lane
Susan David
Leading Management Thinker, Bestselling Author & Award-Winning Psychologist, Harvard Medical School

Workhuman Forum is a one-day event for leaders committed to building cultures where people thrive and organisations win.
Discover how to retain top talent, prevent burnout, boost engagement, and leverage technology from the voices rewriting the rules – while connecting with HR peers facing the same challenges.
Come curious, leave energised.

You'll walk away with practical, results-focused insights
-Ben R., People & AI Transformation Advisor

Inspirational speakers, thought provoking content, high calibre attendees and great value exchange.
-Ruth O., C-Level

I've attended many conferences in my career but this was truly one of the best!
-Louisa G., C-Level

The event was genuinely packed with high-quality content.
-Beyza G., Co-founder


A conference that's actually worth it
Strategies you can actually apply.
Topics that are actually relevant.
Networking that actually feels human.
Pictured: the human side of HR.


















Full Agenda
A day of inspiration awaits.
Wednesday, May 20, 9:00AM - 4:30PM
Registration
Wednesday, May 20, 9:30AM - 10:00AM
Connections & Coffee
Wednesday, May 20, 10:30AM - 11:10AM
Opening Keynote: Rachel Botsman
Leading with Trust in Uncertain Times
When the world feels complex and fast-moving, trust becomes a powerful source of clarity and confidence. It gives people the courage to take smart risks, collaborate across teams, and lean into change instead of resisting it. Yet despite how often we use the word, trust is still clouded by myths. In this keynote, Rachel deconstructs those misconceptions and invites audiences to rethink trust as something they can actively shape. With her ‘Risk–Trust Lens’ framework, she shows why the balance between risk and trust is the hallmark of adaptive leadership and shares practical tools leaders can use to build cultures where people feel safe, supported, and ready to step into the unknown.
Participants will learn:
Why trust is the foundation of resilience in uncertain times.
How to use the ‘Risk–Trust Lens’ to make smarter decisions under pressure.
The four traits every leader must consistently demonstrate to earn trust.
Why cultures built on trust consistently outperform those built on control.
Wednesday, May 20, 11:45PM - 1:00PM
Lunch
Wednesday, May 20, 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Triple Take Session: Three Voices, One Big Idea
In an era defined by rapid economic and technological change, the leaders who will shape the future are those who meet the moment with human-centred leadership. Triple Takes feature three rapid-fire keynotes from influential thinkers and strategic leaders, each delivering a crisp, story-driven perspective on the human capabilities that strengthen culture, accelerate performance, and build resilient organisations. In just 20 minutes each, speakers will illuminate practical, actionable insight through an authentic narrative that sparks energy, clarity, and bold thinking. Together, these talks explore one essential question: What do leaders need to do right now to build cultures that can adapt, perform, and scale?
Speakers to be announced soon.
Wednesday, May 20, 2:00PM - 3:15PM
Networking
Wednesday, May 20, 3:20PM - 4:00PM
Customer Perspectives Panel
Unlocking Employee Potential: The Future of Recognition Driven Performance
As organisations prepare for the next era of work, leaders are seeking systems that strengthen connection, elevate performance, and offer clearer insight into what drives retention and culture. This conversation brings together Workhuman customers who are pairing human-centred recognition practices with enhanced data and reporting to create workplaces where people and performance thrive.
This future-focused discussion will explore how organisations are modernising recognition, using behavioural signals to spot emerging trends, and giving leaders the insights they need to make more timely, intentional decisions.
Key themes include:
How enhanced recognition data and reporting provide clearer visibility into cultural and performance trends
Strengthening trust, connection, and wellbeing during periods of organisational change
The measurable outcomes organisations are seeing as recognition becomes embedded into organisational practice
More speakers to be announced soon.
Wednesday, May 20, 4:00PM - 4:40PM
Closing Keynote: Susan David
The Real Revolution Isn’t Artificial – It’s Human: Build Irreplaceable Human Skills in the Age of AI
AI will out-compute us. But it will never out-human us.
It cannot look someone in the eye during a difficult conversation. It cannot sit in a silent room, sense what remains unsaid, and give voice to it. It cannot choose courage when tensions rise. It cannot move a culture forward.
Organisations are racing to scale systems, yet neglect the human capabilities those systems depend on: clarity amid complexity, adaptability through ambiguity, and steady leadership under pressure. While technology evolves overnight, people are still expected to keep pace by instinct alone. They cannot, not without the right skills. The cost is evident: burnout, gaps in leadership, erosion of trust, and change that fails to take hold.
Agile organisations require agile people.
Emotional Agility is a research-backed, learnable set of capabilities that strengthens connection, deepens collaboration, and builds adaptability. It equips individuals to respond with composure, navigate competing demands without losing focus, and act with intention. The result is stronger trust, sharper decision-making, and teams that outperform by remaining distinctly human.
Thinkers50 recognised Emotional Agility with the Breakthrough Idea Award, acknowledging its potential to transform how we approach work and leadership. The World Economic Forum describes it as essential to the future of work.
So, while much of the conversation centres on the AI revolution, the real headline is this: knowledge has become commoditised. Across every role and level, capability will be surpassed by agility.
Strategy does not create the future. People do.
The revolution is not artificial. It is human.
Wednesday, May 20, 4:45PM - 6:00PM
Book Signing: Susan David
Don’t miss this chance to meet Susan David and get her #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life signed.
Wednesday, May 20, 4:45PM - 6:00PM
Networking Reception
Leading voices. Real solutions.
Your biggest challenge? They have something to say about it.

Susan David
Leading Management Thinker, Bestselling Author & Award-Winning Psychologist, Harvard Medical School
About Susan
Master the art of emotional agility and resilient leadership from Harvard’s top-ranked management thinker and global psychology powerhouse.

Rachel Botsman
Author & Trust Expert
About Rachel
Rethink the role of trust in a rapidly changing world with a leading authority on human behaviour and modern leadership.
Oisin Lunny
Award-Winning Marketer, Host, MC, Speaker, Virtual Event Consultant, Professor and Journalist
Coming soon
Back by popular demand.
There's a reason why the HR industry keeps coming back.
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FREE

You'll be in good company.
Leaders from these organisations have joined in the past. Will yours be next?






























Humanity makes headlines.
Here’s how the press covered last year’s event.
'You can't have recognition without people': Key learnings from Workhuman Forum 2025
‘Organisations that succeed are the ones that learn’: Takeaways from Workhuman Forum 2025
Participation in the event is free of charge.





