I facilitate gatherings, workshops and longer-term processes where people need to think, decide and learn together in the face of complexity.
My work is less about training or delivering content, and more about designing and holding a process that helps groups do their real work. That might be a leadership team meeting, a staff retreat, a strategy workshop, or a learning space where people are navigating uncertainty and need a way through.
If you’re looking for facilitation that supports participation, learning and progress, you’re in the right place.
How I approach facilitation
I’m a versatile facilitator, comfortable bringing both seriousness and play as the situation demands. I can hold slow, reflective and sometimes uncomfortable conversations, including conflict. I also bring joy, creativity and laughter into the room when it helps people stay present, connected and open to new possibilities.
I pay close attention to how decisions are made, not just what decisions are reached. This includes noticing where authority sits, how power flows through a group, and whether people have the clarity and consent they need to move forward together.
I also recognise that how people feel during a process shapes what is possible afterwards. I design and facilitate with care for emotional tone, energy and pacing, alongside purpose and progress.
I usually spend time carefully designing the container for a gathering in advance, and then work responsively in the moment. I work both in person and online, with groups ranging from small leadership teams to larger gatherings.
What I facilitate
I facilitate a range of gatherings and processes, often where people are navigating complexity, change or uncertainty.
This includes:
- Staff retreats and away days
- Leadership and management team meetings
- Strategy workshops and planning sessions
- Reflection and retrospective sessions to support sensemaking and next steps
- Peer learning and action learning sets
- Learning cohorts and networks
- Workshops focused on governance, culture and ways of working
I often work over a series of sessions rather than as a one-off, supporting groups to build trust, learn together and make progress over time. I work both in person and online.
In some contexts, I also support leaders, facilitators and teams to design and facilitate their own sessions with confidence, particularly where facilitation is becoming part of an ongoing way of working.
What you can expect in the room
People often describe my facilitation as inclusive, fun and radical.
In practice, that usually means:
- spaces where people feel able to contribute honestly
- a balance of structure and flexibility
- moments of lightness alongside depth and seriousness
- attention to relationships, not just outputs
- support to make sense of complexity and move forward together
As one client put it:
“Jamie was the perfect facilitator for our team away days, taking real care in the design and guiding the group with creativity during the sessions themselves. He created space for both team building and deeper conversations, helping us form stronger connections and lay solid foundations of trust. I would highly recommend Jamie to any team wanting to get the most out of their time together.”
Gwen Peters, Head of Politics, Uplift
A few examples
Recent facilitation work includes:
- A staff retreat for a sixty-person organisation rebuilding culture and relationships after a period of redundancies
- Away days for a five-person team to build relationships, dream big and develop ways of working
- Learning workshops supporting cycles of reflection, planning and prototyping
- Facilitating learning cohorts and networks focused on governance and power
Approaches and tools
I draw on a range of participatory and learning-oriented approaches, chosen to fit the context, people and purpose rather than applied as a fixed formula.
These often include practices such as Liberating Structures, Art of Hosting, Open Space Technology, action learning and peer learning. I also bring in creative practices like improv and drumming where they are useful and appropriate.
I’m less interested in any single method than in helping groups find ways of working that support participation, learning and good decision-making.
I’ve also written a practical guide to facilitation for teams and practitioners, which I occasionally share as a resource.
Working together
If this sounds like the kind of facilitation you’re looking for, I’d be glad to have a conversation.