Fulcrum

The network for leaders, with influence across health, social care, education, the arts and increasingly business.

Our Gatherings Create Spaces, Connect People, Test Assumptions

Founded by Mitzi Wyman in 2011, with the support of Jim Clifford OBE, Fulcrum is a response to the turbulence and tensions of the times; a community where leaders can come together, speak for themselves as themselves, and connect over issues that really matter.

Fulcrum's gatherings focus on the challenges leaders face and how they can continue to be their authentic selves amidst the maelstrom that is public service.

A space for rare, open dialogue

Our approach is simple: we listen to each other, we speak with thoughtfulness and kindness, and we encourage each other in believing that the challenges and injustices we see can be solved.

Fulcrum's creativity is carried into the world by re-energising its members, their carrying its ideas into their worlds to increase the impact of their caring, the free gift of ideas for the greater good.

Fulcrum Gatherings

Early evening salons

Up to 10 members come together to create a cultural hub, break bread, enjoy rich conversation and share leadership challenges and insights.

Colloquia

These are larger events and opened to guests. Previous events have touched on topics ranging from Betrayal and Forgiveness to Authority and most recently Sustainability. The sessions begin with one or two presentations to prompt reflection and discussion.

Round-table discussions

These are exclusive, invitation-only, events. These are limited to 12 and facilitated by Fulcrum founder Mitzi Wyman. Members are introduced to a form of Dialogue that builds on the latest techniques from neuroscience and systems leadership, in the context of a particular issue. As well as making significant connections, members are able to put these techniques to immediate use to enhance boardroom thinking and decision making.

Reflections by Attendees

  • "How many times are you invited to a meeting with a range of leaders where you’re asked to leave power, wealth and status outside the door?"

    It was a fantastic experience - a safe space to be open and consider a range of views about some fundamental issues impacting on people’s lives today both work based and personal. The dialogic approach provides a new way to do business. The public and private sectors alike should learn from this approach as it could change the dynamics of business and motivate people.

    Gillian Fawcett, former Head of Global, Cipfa

  • "I came away replenished with food for thought"

    I was intrigued to be invited to the Fulcrum Dialogue on 27 September. It was a new experience for me and a privilege to be in conversation with so many sharp minds from a notably diverse range of backgrounds.

    Sir Roderic Lyne, v-c Chatham House

  • "Usually when I meet with other CEOs and leaders, it is to discuss common topics, current issues or forthcoming challenges."

    I rarely have the opportunity to share insights with people from a wide range of backgrounds who are not trying to collectively ‘problem-solve’ and are instead focused on deeply listening to each other. It is what Wordsworth called ‘emotion recollected in tranquility’, and it brings out the poetry in all of us.

    Alistair MaCapra, CE CIPR

  • "Mitzi Wyman hosted one of the most pleasurable and stimulating nights of my year in her Fulcrum conversation circle."

    A group of varied and interesting people were given the opportunity to speak freely on an important topic for our times, and then to comment on each other’s contributions, in an egalitarian atmosphere of warmth and openness. Mitzi held the reins lightly and expertly and was a role model for facilitation. Deeply enjoyable, sociable, educational and potentially world-changing.

    Alison Goldie, Author, Actress, coach

About our members
Headshot of Mitzi Wyman founder of Fulcrum dialogic approach for leaders

Why the Dialogic Approach?

“If attention is the currency of leaders, Time is the Investment” - Mitzi Wyman

An organisational culture where we rarely give quality attention to one another inhibits and diminishes the quality of our thinking.

This results in an addiction to certainty and a focus on the short -term, which keeps us locked in cycles of activity that simply rehash the past.

Generative attention that demonstrates genuine interest in where another person will go next in their thinking, however, allows for truly fresh thinking to evolve.

Leaders who invest time in the giving of respectful attention model the way for others, creating a culture where each person is welcome, appreciated and encouraged to contribute: this ignites thinking.

The result: a powerhouse of fresh, divergent ideas leading to positive, sustainable change.

In Fulcrum Leaders, our approach is therefore dialogic – listening more deeply to understand more fully, another’s point of view: together we test the assumptions that we make about the world, ourselves and each other.

“Engaging in dialogue is a struggle to positively transform our own life as well as that of others. It is the act of breaking out of the shell of our lesser self, surrounding the wall of our callous ego, and creating and expanding positive connections with others. When we have the courage to meet and talk with people about our ideals, we are taking the first and surest step in our human revolution.”

Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist leader