“I Do Like to Be By the Seaside!”

The Most Playful Place in the World

Does the arrival of spring leave you heady with the prospect of the promise of the sun, sea and sand? That’s because according to the play experts, the most playful place in the world is the beach. Why leave the weather to chance when you can book yourself on an energising and restorative virtual half-day out by the sea while cultivating your creativity and leadership skills in the most playful place in the world?

Upcoming Workshop: Amidst the Sun, Sea and Sand – An Exploration of Your Relationship with Play

Whether you prefer quiet contemplation under a parasol lying on the warm sand or perhaps making the most opulent of sandcastles or taking a plunge in search of sea monsters, join us in this playful exploration of your relationship with play. You’ll have the option to work on your own, in small groups as well as the whole group as we go on a play adventure that will leave you feeling resourced, re-energised and refreshed inside and out along. You’ll take home with you your personalised play profile to keep you playing long after the metaphorical sand has been washed off your toes.

This workshop is part of the Four Seasons of Play 2021 programme. Each workshop can be enjoyed independently or as a combination of modules in a year-long programme where you’ll learn about true play, how to cultivate your play intelligence and shift towards a play mindset as the seasons change. Play your cards right and you’ll grow as a person as well as a leader by becoming more resourceful, resilient and real in these unprecedented and transformative times.

Workshop Takeaways:

• Play Theory: Play Types, Change Theory and Attachment Theory
• Increased understanding of your relationship with change
• A personalised and more detailed play profile of how you like to play
• Ideas for enabling change in yourself and others, at work and at home
• Increased play intelligence in yourself and when working with others.

This workshop is limited to a maximum of 8 participants.

Who would benefit from taking part in this workshop?

The Four Seasons of Play workshops focus on enabling individuals to develop the systemic mindset and skills necessary for an individual to lead effectively – be it yourself, your team, your family or your life. At each workshop, you’ll experience a range of eclectic tools and techniques you are unlikely to have come across before which you could then apply at work and at home.

Where do you sign up?

Join us for a taste of summer and delight your colleagues, family and friends with playful leadership by the seaside. Sign up for the workshop here!

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021 by portiatung Categories: Courses, Four Seasons of Play, Playful LeadershipTags: creativity, inspiration, joy, leadership, Playful Leadership Leave a comment

From Carpe Diem to Carpe Annum

Winter Online Workshop on Friday, 29 January 2021 – 13.00 – 17.00 GMT

The hustle and bustle of modern life means that for many of us, play has become a luxury we just don’t have the time, energy nor ideas to do anymore. Without enough true play in our daily lives, we become trapped in a vicious cycle of low energy, low creativity, low resilience, low hope and low growth.

Here’s your chance to re-invigorate your new year’s resolutions (or throw away the already old ones and replace them with even newer ones!) in an unexpectedly fun, friendly and productive way. You’ll have the option to work on your own, in small groups as well as the whole group on a range of playful and thought-provoking activities and learn a smattering of fundamental play theories such as the Play Cycle and the theory of Multiple Intelligences to enable you to translate your dreams and wishes into tangible goals. Then you’ll create a master plan you can start to action right away to make 2021 a year to remember. 

Workshop Takeaways:

• Play Theory: The Play Cycle and Multiple Intelligences
• A personalised basic play profile of how you like to play
• Fresh thinking and insights on yourself and your dreams, wishes and goals
• Your personalised plan for 2021
• A personalised and robust strategy on how to achieve your chosen goals for 2021.

This workshop is limited to a maximum of 8 participants.

Who would benefit from taking part in this workshop?

The Four Seasons of Play workshops focus on enabling individuals to develop the systemic mindset and skills necessary for an individual to lead effectively – be it yourself, your team, your family or your life. At each workshop, you’ll experience a range of eclectic tools and techniques you are unlikely to have come across before which you could then apply at work and at home.

What past participants say about this workshop:

• “Probably the most fun I’ve ever had in planning for a new year!”
• “It didn’t feel like the usual drudgery that comes with planning… I had so much fun planning it felt like cheating!”
• “It brought me so much joy just looking at the plan… And I really enjoyed working through the plan over the course of the year!”
• “The planning approach is so useful, I’ll be using it to plan for the next new year!”

Find out more abou the workshop here. We look forward to learning and growing together through the power of play!

January 11, 2021January 11, 2021 by portiatung Categories: Courses, Four Seasons of PlayTags: coaching, creativity, emotional_intelligence, leadership, leadership_training, play_intelligence, wellness Leave a comment

Play for Your Life

“We make reality with our minds. And if this is true, then we can also break it with our minds. We can change the way things are by changing our minds about them.”

Lyall Watson, Scientist & Zoologist

With the arrival of the new year comes the announcement of our second national lockdown in the UK for at least the next 6 weeks. The announcement reminds me of a lesson I learned some years ago and it is this: “There’s neither good news nor bad news, only how we receive the news determines it so”.

Four Seasons of Play 2021

And since the show must go on, I’m delighted to announce the Four Seasons of Play, a brand new online play programme to mark, explore and celebrate each season of your life’s play adventure in 2021. Like the Playful Leadership programme, this new programme of workshops are inspired by everything I’ve learned over the past twenty years about how to enable transformational change that is effective, efficient and, most vital of all, enjoyable. Especially in these challenging and interesting times.

Each workshop can be enjoyed independently or as a combination of modules in a year-long programme where you’ll learn about true play, how to cultivate your play intelligence and shift towards a play mindset as the seasons change. Play your cards right and you’ll grow as a person as well as a leader by becoming more resourceful, resilient and real in these unprecedented and transformative times.

Consider this your invitation to play, be it at one of the Four Seasons of Play workshops, or on your own or with your family or your pet. The most important thing now is to keep playing because play prevents our hearts from growing hard towards one another and reminds us of what it means to be truly alive. Play on!

January 5, 2021January 11, 2021 by portiatung Categories: Courses, Four Seasons of PlayTags: coaching, coaching_skills, emotional_intelligence, leadership_training, play_intelligence, wellness Leave a comment

Happy Birthday to The School of Play!

Yay! The School of Play turns 3 today (proof that the Universe has a sense of humour given it’s April 1st), the same week as our favourite play festival CounterPlay 2019 gets ready to play later on this week (BTW you can still buy a ticket to play at CounterPlay).

To celebrate our toddler of a startup’s birthday we are launching our Playful Leadership Foundation Course set to take place this 8-9 July in the beautiful venue of Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire, a stunning Grade I listed mansion as featured in film and television projects as Pride and Prejudice, The Meaning of Life, and Black Beauty.

Chicheley Hall is also the home of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre, a venue for residential events. As the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence, The Royal Society is dedicated to promoting excellence in science and is a fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists.

We very much hope you’ll come and join us to play at Chicheley Hall this summer to experience and celebrate the transformative power of play!

April 1, 2019April 28, 2019 by portiatung Categories: Courses, Playful Leadership Leave a comment