Workshops and Presentations
Our ethos of play, experimentation and co-creation is evident in both in-person and online workshops. The sessions are designed to be useful as standalone training interventions, or as part of a wider development offering, such as in a conference or away day programme.
Looking for something punchier? As well as hands-on workshops, Sky and Clay offers shorter presentations which vary in length from around 15-30 minutes, and can be used to set the tone either at an event or as part of a learning opportunity for staff.
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Read some of our session descriptions below to get a feel for what we can offer your organisation or event. As a facilitator with many years of experience, I would also be happy to discuss your training needs and offer bespoke sessions, or variations on the sessions below.
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Ready to get started?
Team Building Workshops
Imperfect Machines
We've all been there- a meeting with way too many people trying to create a new process that's becoming increasingly- and unnecessarily- complex. During this hands-on, sometimes chaotic session, you'll work as a team to completely over-engineer a basic task by creating a real-life Rube Goldberg Machine (think Mousetrap, or Wallace and Gromit). The activity invites participants to set-aside workplace hierarchy and assumptions, then notice how they collaborate when the stakes are playful instead of political. As the design grows, so do the patterns: who leads, who tinkers, who steps back, who steps in. By the end, individuals recognise the strengths they naturally bring, the impulses that derail them, and how pushing either too far can turn efficiency into chaos.
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Mode: In Person
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Group size: 8-40 People
Resilience Under Construction
We can all play nicely when things are going well. At the away-day, free from unexpected interruptions, our teams prove again and again that they can collaborate, create and deliver. But in this session, teams will need to think on their feet, adapt and embrace forces beyond their control. Tasked, at first, with the usual 'build a tower out of the materials at hand' activity, participants quickly discover that their plans are subject to seemingly random market forces- from fluctuating material prices to unexpected building requirements. The exercise creates a safe space to explore how we respond to uncertainty as a collective. Teams discover where contingency planning helps and where improvisation matters. Our reactions to the unexpected aren't distractions from the narrative, but are a part of our resilient story.
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Mode: In Person
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Group size: 5-100 People
Different by Design
Some teams struggle not because they lack skill or goodwill, but because assumptions, unspoken tensions and competing communication styles cloud their work. Through a mix of collaborative challenges and focused discussion groups, this session invites teams to practise curiosity, listen to one another without judgement and examine how trust is built through honest interaction. Together, we look at why saying nothing can be more damaging than addressing a difficult reality with care, and how strong teams are defined not by constant harmony but by their ability to support each other through difference and disagreement.
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Mode: Online
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Group size: 5-30 People
"It Looked Good on Paper"
On the surface, it’s simple: build a giraffe out of only newspaper and tape. It must stand on its own. And it must be recognisable as a giraffe. Even when everyone starts with the same picture in mind, the real world gets in the way. Paper tears, proportions slip, gravity refuses to cooperate and before you know it, you're looking at a llama, not a giraffe. The activity becomes a lesson in how teams respond when the ideal meets limitation. Do they double down on perfection, abandon the goal or pull together to find creative ways forward? The moment a team hits its stride, something shifts: it stops being about chasing the flawless giraffe, and becomes about working as one to build something that stands on its own merits.
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Mode: In-person
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Group size: 8-30 People
Leadership and Management Workshops
Stop Trying To Carry It All
Some managers solve every problem the moment it appears. They give instructions, make decisions, and carry the weight themselves. It feels efficient in the moment, but over time it leaves teams dependent, frustrated and afraid to try and fail. This session explores what happens when leaders replace answers with curiosity, and treat questions as tools for team development. It may sound scary at first, but this session will encourage you to reframe your approach to management. This session will enable you to build trust, empower the people around you, and free yourself from firefighting so you can focus on the opportunities that actually move you and your team forward.
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Mode: Online or in-person
Group size: 6-16 People
Not Another Leadership Book
Leadership advice often arrives like a rulebook: tidy, consistent, stable. In reality, most leaders spend their time navigating uncertainty, half-finished ideas, clashing priorities and inspiring, messy humanity. This session distils the wisdom of today’s most respected leadership frameworks into something usable, without pretending there’s a single correct way to lead. We will explore how to manage without manipulation and how to build a leadership style that recognises people as they actually are. Participants reflect on how trust is created, how cultures grow and how real progress happens when teams feel safe to tell the truth.
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Mode: Online or in-person
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Group size: 6-16 People
Presentations
In Defence of Authenticity
"Fake it 'till you make it!" I laughed as I soared into yet another leadership role for which I felt totally ill-equipped. I used to live by those words, until I had a horrible thought: what happens when the mask slips? What happens when I can't fake anymore and I'm exposed as a fraud? What happens when it's discovered that I've made it this far through smoke and mirrors, rather than talent?
In Defence of Authenticity offers an alternative to burning yourself out by pretending. Instead of armouring up, we explore the strength that comes from showing your skills as they really are, flaws and all; and how credibility grows when you stop performing and start leading from a place that feels true.​
Branding Won't Fix It
Many workplaces try to create belonging through polished messages and well-crafted slogans. But belonging doesn’t grow from branding. It grows from the unpolished moments- the busy ones, the messy ones, the ones where people choose to show care rather than perform it. This talk explores what real connection looks like in practice, and why people only believe they matter when they feel it, not when they’re told they do. Through anecdotes, case studies and personal reflections, audiences are invited to consider how they can contribute to creating trust, community and culture in their everyday actions- and beyond.