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WGI ONLINE GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM

Leading Authentically, Growing Professionally

William Glasser International invites you to join our Global Symposium, a dynamic learning experience grounded in Choice Theory, Reality Therapy, and Lead Management.

Open to everyone—practitioners, educators, leaders, coaches, counsellors, and curious learners, the symposium offers a space to connect across cultures, explore practical applications, and engage with modern, relevant perspectives that support real-world growth and meaningful relationships.

If you’re looking to strengthen your teaching, support your practice, or simply reconnect with our global community, the Symposium offers practical ideas you can use right away.

We’ll explore questions such as:

How does Lead Management align with current leadership thinking and developments in neuroscience?
How can we support people in practising internal control in today’s complex world?
How do we communicate clearly, give feedback, and set boundaries without using external control?

The Symposium offers space to think together, share what works, and continue building skills that make a real difference in the environments where we teach, lead, and support others.

WGI Online GLOBAL SYMPOSIUM

Leadership Across Differences: Adapting to Generational, Cultural, and Group Diversity

SATURDAY 7 FEBRUARY 2026

Open to All

REGISTER NOW

SYMPOSIUM DATE UPDATE

The WGI Global Symposium has been postponed to 7 February 2026 to ensure a richer, more inclusive experience for our international audience.

This is where the doors open wide. Whether you're a seasoned faculty member or just beginning to explore Lead Management, this global symposium is your chance to learn how the approach continues to evolve and stay relevant across cultures, generations, and learning styles.

With new research in neuroscience, leadership, and adult learning emerging every year, this event helps you stay relevant and responsive without losing your foundation.

Discover how others are integrating neuroscience, adapting for cultural sensitivity, and bridging the gap between theory and application (without compromising the core).

You’ll leave with ideas, frameworks, and inspiration that expand your teaching and practice while affirming your identity as a practitioner of Choice Theory.

This is your opportunity to grow professionally while staying grounded in what matters most.

✔️ Join the Global Symposium on 7 February 2026
✔️ Connect with a global community and explore practical, evidence-based approaches
✔️ Engage in discussions, tools, and strategies you can apply immediately

Let’s lead authentically and grow professionally in 2026.

Meet our Presenters

David Baillargeon

Transforming Cultural & Personal Diversity into Belonging.
Diversity alone doesn’t create connection… it’s what we do with it that counts. David invites participants into an interactive conversation that models inclusion in real time, blending storytelling and the wisdom of the talking-circle tradition. Together, you’ll explore how openness and curiosity can turn differences into shared understanding.
This session offers a living demonstration of Lead Management in action, showing how educators and leaders can foster belonging through authentic human connection.

SESSION 1 - 01:00 UTC - Time Block 1

Short Bio:
David Baillargeon is a teacher, entrepreneur, and Basic Instructor in Choice Theory, dedicated to helping individuals and organizations cultivate autonomy, clarity, and alignment in their decisions. He currently teaches French to immigrant teens—an experience that deepens his appreciation for courage, cultural exchange, and the power of human connection. David believes that diversity is a profound gift—a living reminder of our shared humanity and the creative potential that emerges when different perspectives meet. Drawing inspiration from the First Nations “Talking Circle” model, he facilitates safe, inclusive spaces where participants listen deeply, share authentically, and build mutual trust and understanding.
Session Title: How Can We Make the Most of Cultural and Personal Diversity in a School Context?

Ken Pierce

The Future of Lead Management: Where Science Meets Human Potential.
Choice Theory anticipated what neuroscience is only now confirming… that freedom, connection, and meaning are at the core of sustained motivation. In this forward-looking session, Ken bridges Glasser’s work with emerging research in brain science, psychology, and organizational development.
You’ll explore how these converging insights can renew and expand the relevance of Lead Management in modern systems of health, business, and education.
This is a chance to see where our shared philosophy is heading and how to stay on the leading edge of its application.

SESSION 9 - 18:20 UTC - Time Block 3

Short Bio:
Ken Pierce is a human behaviour expert with over 40 years of experience across business, education, and clinical psychology. As the founder and head of The Pierce Institute of Psychology Inc. (TPI), Ken has served thousands of individuals, executives, and organizations, helping them transform challenges into tools for empowerment. He was the first psychologist worldwide to achieve Master Facilitator status with the Demartini Institute and is a Senior Faculty member of the William Glasser Institute. A frequent speaker at international conferences, Ken integrates insights from evolutionary anthropology, neurology, psychiatry, and psychology with the teachings of Drs. William Glasser and John Demartini. His session explores how Choice Theory, Reality Therapy, and Lead Management can be consciously integrated into modern science and mental health systems to strengthen humanity’s capacity for self-responsibility and growth. Ken lives in Stratford, Prince Edward Island, with his partner Anna, three daughters, and three grandsons.

Melissa Landry

Brains, Behavior, and Belonging: Reimagining Connection Through Neurodiversity
Join Melissa and Anneliese for a candid conversation exploring the intersection of neurodiversity, behavior, and human connection.
Through stories from parenting, classrooms, and workplaces, we’ll unpack both the challenges and the untapped opportunities of supporting neurodivergent individuals. Drawing from the evolution of Applied Behavior Analysis toward more compassionate, consent-based, and play-centered practices, we’ll bridge behavioral science and Choice Theory to reimagine what it means to create environments where every brain can learn, lead, and belong.
Participants will leave with a renewed sense of curiosity and confidence in fostering spaces where every mind can truly flourish.

SESSION 8 - 16:40 UTC - Time Block 3

Short Bio:
Melissa Landry, a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and CTRT Basic Instructor, specializes in executive and team coaching that fosters emotional intelligence, collaboration, and inclusion. She works extensively with leaders navigating neurodiversity in the workplace, helping teams leverage individual strengths to build inclusive, high-performing environments.

Anneliese Rubeling

Brains, Behavior, and Belonging: Reimagining Connection Through Neurodiversity
Join Melissa and Anneliese for a candid conversation exploring the intersection of neurodiversity, behavior, and human connection.
Through stories from parenting, classrooms, and workplaces, we’ll unpack both the challenges and the untapped opportunities of supporting neurodivergent individuals. Drawing from the evolution of Applied Behavior Analysis toward more compassionate, consent-based, and play-centered practices, we’ll bridge behavioral science and Choice Theory to reimagine what it means to create environments where every brain can learn, lead, and belong.
Participants will leave with a renewed sense of curiosity and confidence in fostering spaces where every mind can truly flourish.

SESSION 8 - 16:40 UTC - Time Block 3

Short Bio:
Anneliese Rubeling is a Behavioral Consultant with over 23 years of experience in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), specializing in supporting preschool children on the autism spectrum. Known as an “AuDHD child whisperer,” she blends play-based therapy, consent, and empathy to help children thrive. Together, Melissa and Anneliese bridge behavioral science and Choice Theory to explore neurodiversity through the lens of belonging and autonomy. Their engaging session offers practical insights and stories from classrooms, parenting, and workplaces to help participants create environments where every brain can learn, lead, and belong.

Sihle Ma-Awu

Leading Diversity.
Using YearBeyond as a case study Sihle and Jacqui will talk about why diversity matters, why leading diversity is not a choice but a moral obligation and what this requires from leaders. Key insights on how to shape the younger generation of leaders to step up and lead with empathy in their communities.

SESSION 6 - 10:20 UTC - Time Block 2

Short Bio:
Sihle Ma-Awu is the Manager of the YeBo Academy and Action Learning at YearBeyond. In his role, he helps build and shape a pipeline of youth development practitioners who are confident, capable, and professionally ready to hold space for young people in marginalized communities. With experience in facilitation and coaching, he creates transformative learning experiences that enable emerging leaders to discover their strengths and take meaningful action toward social change.
Sihle holds a BA in Community Development and is deeply committed to people, purpose, and growth.
Outside of work, he is family-oriented and passionate about choral music.

Jacqueline Boulle

Leading Diversity.
Using YearBeyond as a case study Sihle and Jacqui will talk about why diversity matters, why leading diversity is not a choice but a moral obligation and what this requires from leaders. Key insights on how to shape the younger generation of leaders to step up and lead with empathy in their communities.

SESSION 6 - 10:20 UTC - Time Block 2

Short Bio:
Jacqui Boulle is the CEO of the YeBo Institute, the administrative home for YearBeyond, a national youth service programme.
She has over 30 years of development experience as a public servant, NGO leader and consultant. This includes running the SA NGO Coalition Poverty hearings in 1999, working on formalising the determination and training frameworks for expanded public works while the General Manager of Working for Water Programme, crafting the Western Cape Provincial Youth Strategy as a consultant and serving as the Western Cape youth focal point.
Jacqui is particularly passionate about education and youth. She has worked extensively on youth development, pathways to employment and strategies to address poverty and inequality. Her particular skill is in bringing public, private and NGO partners together around a shared goal.
Jacqui holds an economics degree and MBA.

Ahmed Alshatti

Human-Centered Leadership in a Results-Driven World.
Most business systems reward control, yet lasting success depends on trust, alignment, and shared values. Kalikamurti and Ahmed present their 6 L’s of Leadership model, a framework refined through years of global collaboration that integrates persistence, professionalism, perception, and playfulness to balance people and performance.
Through real-world examples, they’ll show how autonomy-based leadership transforms organizations, builds resilience, and keeps profitability connected to purpose.
You’ll leave with fresh perspective and practical strategies for embedding human connection into measurable results.

SESSION 5 - 08:40 UTC - Time Block 2

Short Bio:
With over 80 years of combined business and leadership experience, Kalikamurti and Ahmed explore how Choice Theory and Lead Management principles can be applied to business environments dominated by external control structures. Their presentation uses real-life case studies from their joint work with WGI to demonstrate strategies that promote financial literacy, collaboration, and ethical decision-making. They share the “6 L’s of Leadership”—Persistence, Patience, Professionalism, Perception, Priority, Playfulness, and Power Within—as key elements for sustainable success in modern organizations.

Kalikamurti Saraswati Suich

Leadership in Business.
Most business systems reward control, yet lasting success depends on trust, alignment, and shared values. Kalikamurti and Ahmed present their 6 L’s of Leadership model, a framework refined through years of global collaboration that integrates persistence, professionalism, perception, and playfulness to balance people and performance.
Through real-world examples, they’ll show how autonomy-based leadership transforms organizations, builds resilience, and keeps profitability connected to purpose.
You’ll leave with fresh perspective and practical strategies for embedding human connection into measurable results.

SESSION 5 - 08:40 UTC - Time Block 2

Short Bio:
With over 80 years of combined business and leadership experience, Kalikamurti and Ahmed explore how Choice Theory and Lead Management principles can be applied to business environments dominated by external control structures. Their presentation uses real-life case studies from their joint work with WGI to demonstrate strategies that promote financial literacy, collaboration, and ethical decision-making. They share the “6 L’s of Leadership”—Persistence, Patience, Professionalism, Perception, Priority, Playfulness, and Power Within—as key elements for sustainable success in modern organizations.

Brian Patterson

The Lead Manager's Conversation.
The Lead Manager’s conversation is an empowering strategy for quality work based on Dr. William Glasser's Choice Theory and the principles of Lead Management. Rather than using pressure, coercion or external control that only works temporarily when that pressure is applied, the Lead Manager collaborates with the employee to set expectations, develop trust and foster continuous improvement. It starts with a discussion of shared purpose. Leaders and staff alike want to be successful and create quality results. The manager shares his or her perspective and asks for the employee’s without judgment to get clear on how the employee is experiencing things.
Together, they review the established standards of quality and determine what about the employee’s current performance is either supporting or detracting from those criteria. Since all behavior is purposeful the manager facilitates linking their actions to underlying basic needs like belonging, power, freedom, fun or survival. The breakthrough moment for the employee is when they step back and assess their own performance – determining what modifications could lead to better results. There is collaboration of the plan for change and not imposition, a commitment rather than compliance. The conversation ends with a follow-up plan to maintain momentum. And therein, leadership is not about control - it's all about connection, clarity and continuous quality improvement.

SESSION 2 - 02:40 UTC - Time Block 1

Short Bio:
Brian Patterson is a Senior Faculty member of the William Glasser Institute and an accomplished leadership and organizational development expert. He holds an M.Ed. in Quality Schools and a Psy.M. in Life Coaching, is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and a board-certified coach. Brian served six years as Director of Leadership and Student Engagement for a national education company and seven years leading leadership development and Lean management training for a 9,000-employee division of the Arizona state government, where he earned participant ratings of 4.9/5.0. The author of Connect and Lead: Choice Theory at Work and former Executive Director of the Glasser Institute for Choice Theory–US, Brian brings practical strategies to apply Choice Theory to leadership. His workshop helps leaders build understanding, empathy, and vision to enhance team potential and create need-satisfying environments.

Rob Stones

Liberating Leadership.
Leadership is evolving... and so are the people we lead. As new generations challenge traditional hierarchies and question authority based on status rather than contribution, the need for a new kind of leadership has never been clearer.
In this session, Rob introduces his Liberating Leadership model, a framework for autonomy-supportive leadership that releases people from outdated management constraints and channels their creativity, curiosity, and sense of purpose. Drawing on decades of work in education and organizational development, Rob explores how leaders can ignite passion, innovation, and shared responsibility by focusing on contribution over compliance.
Participants will leave with a renewed understanding of what it means to lead people whose minds and expectations can no longer be managed, but can be inspired.
SESSION 4 - 07:00 UTC - Time Block 2

Short Bio:
Rob Stones is an Advanced Instructor with the William Glasser Institute and an internationally respected voice in the field of leadership and education. A former high school principal, Rob has designed and facilitated leadership programs such as The Art of Leadership, a six-day workshop based on Choice Theory and Lead Management. He is the author of five books on leadership and is currently writing Liberating Leadership, exploring autonomy-supportive leadership that helps individuals free themselves from external control beliefs. Rob’s interactive session focuses on the rationale and strategies used by autonomy-supportive leaders, emphasizing that enabling others is the most vital function of leadership. His work continues to inspire leaders to develop empowering, relationship-centered practices that enhance performance and trust.

Yvette Bethel

Trust by Design: Strengthening the Core of Connection and Culture.
In a world of constant change, trust is the quiet differentiator between groups that adapt and those that fracture. Yvette’s research-based frameworks reveal the anatomy of trust and how it can be strengthened through intentional dialogue and reflection. Beyond generic advice, you’ll explore tools, like the Trust Style Inventory, that help teams recognize their trust patterns and shift them consciously.
This session reframes trust not as sentiment, but as a trainable component of organizational health and human connection.

SESSION 7 - 15:00 UTC - Time Block 3

Short Bio:
Yvette Bethel is the CEO of Organizational Soul and the creator of The Pillar of Trust framework—a research-based model for building trust as the foundation of thriving organizational ecosystems. Drawing on years of applied research and field practice, she developed the Trust Style Inventory, a validated diagnostic tool that helps individuals and teams understand how they build or erode trust. Complementary tools such as the Circle of Trust and Trust Coaching Card Decks extend this learning through ongoing reflection and dialogue. Yvette’s interactive tools and experiences help organizations strengthen engagement, collaboration, and integrity by cultivating cultures of trust. Her work supports leaders in maintaining open, values-driven conversations that sustain organizational well-being and adaptability.

Mario Leduc

Leading with Pride: Creating Connection Across the Spectrums of Sex, Gender, and Orientation.
Diversity across the spectrums of sex, gender, and orientation is part of every community and workplace... yet genuine inclusion calls for more than acceptance. In this interactive session, Mario invites participants to explore how Lead Management principles can help us move beyond acceptance toward true connection and celebration of difference.
Together, we’ll build a shared understanding of key concepts around sexual orientation, sex assigned at birth, and gender identity, then move into guided discussions and group exploration to identify opportunities for accessibility and inclusion in everyday settings.
This is a space for open dialogue, curiosity, and learning grounded in respect and the belief that leadership begins with understanding. The session will be conducted in English, with clarifications and responses available en français y español.

SESSION 3 - 04:20 UTC - Time Block 1

Short Bio:
Mario Leduc studied social work and chose to be certified in Choice Theory in 2012, following almost 2 decades of using Choice Theory in his career. Choosing to improve the quality of life for himself and his spouse, he created a business combining an art gallery/event and training center based on Choice Theory and using art therapy programming to lead individuals, couples, groups and businesses toward healthier connections. He has been offering sensitivity training including sexual orientation, gender identity, marginalized parts of OUR communities to professionals and community groups in coordination with PFLAG and independently for over 30 years. He now sits as a member at large of Glasser Canada and William Glasser International. He is trilingual and considers himself an Acadian, Canadian, North American Mexican immigrant.