Explore the theory.
Master the practice.

The Social Intelligence Lab is a vibrant, confidential practice community for professionals who want to get genuinely better at the hardest part of leadership: navigating live human interaction when the stakes are real.

Most negotiation frameworks teach you what to think. We give you a place to practice what to do. The Social Intelligence Lab is built on two core pillars: Social Intelligence as our method, and negotiation as our practice.

This is not a course. It is a professional rehearsal space. A place to test your thinking, practice your conversations and network, and build the muscle memory that no prep grid can give you.

Power is good. Use it wisely.

How it works

Applied improv and live scenarios

Monthly live sessions with Karen and certified coaches. Guided practice scenarios, applied improv exercises, and real-time feedback. Each session focuses on a specific challenge: a difficult conversation, a negotiation stuck in impasse, a leadership moment that keeps going sideways.

Between sessions, community members meet to rehearse with each other and provide feedback. The cross-pollination across industries is part of what makes it so effective.

The Book Salon

An intellectual salon I host where we come together to deconstruct the assumptions and paradigms around power in today's world. Our group is deliberately multidisciplinary: psychiatrists, coaches, artists, executives, and practitioners from different fields who all share a commitment to the principle of power with.

The conversations are some of the richest I have been part of in my career. I find connections to my own fields that shift how I work — and I watch members do the same.

VARK library

Structured learning materials across four personalized formats. Access the track that matches how you learn best, at your own pace between live sessions.

The library grows with each cohort, shaped by the questions and cases the community brings.

The Power of Community

The way the community supports each other is the most powerful piece. People share how they showed up to that second meeting, what they prepared, what happened, and the community gives real, constructive support. It creates its own dynamic.

Karen S. Walch

Karen S. Walch

Who joins

The Lab attracts two kinds of people.

Practitioners and coaches

Already skilled but wanting a confidential space to keep sharpening, share cases, and stay current. Many have been coaching for years. They join because they believe in practice, and because they want a community serious enough to push them.

Executives and leaders

Who have realized that knowing what to do is not the same as being able to do it under pressure. They join to build the agility they cannot get from another framework.

Social Intelligence Lab practice community live session

"As a coachee, my understanding of leadership and negotiation expanded and included now the invisible needs of my team."

Global Project Team Manager

Upcoming events

Live sessions, book salons, and applied improv practice — join us in the Lab.

Fall 2026

Applied Improv Live Sessions — returning

Monthly live practice with Karen and certified coaches. Join now to be first in the room.

Join the community

Members receive direct invitations to all upcoming sessions. Follow the Social Intelligence Lab on LinkedIn for announcements.

Join the Practice Community

$50 / month or $500 / year
  • All live sessions with Karen and certified coaches
  • Peer practice community and cross-industry network
  • Full VARK resource library
  • Member discounts on coaching and workshops

First month free — try the community with no commitment.

Join the Practice Community