Build connected, collaborative teams in a hybrid world
BETA: PRACTICAL COLLABORATION
Keeping your team connected and engaged can be harder when you’re rarely all in the same place.
That’s why I’ve created Practical Collaboration - a workshop which gives heads of departments and managers practical ways to keep colleagues engaged and working together effectively, wherever they’re based.
Half-day intensive workshop
£1,500 per organisation
THE PROBLEM
How we work has changed but the way we lead teams hasn’t kept up
Hybrid and remote working bring real benefits. But keeping people engaged, connected and making progress across locations and departments can require more deliberate effort.
Practical facilitation and collaboration skills give managers ways to make that effort count - creating opportunities for meaningful conversation, working through challenges together and turning discussions into action.
48%
Of hybrid workers surveyed said their team hadn’t discussed a plan for collaborating effectively.
(Source: Gallup)
44%
Of leaders and managers surveyed identified collaboration as a major challenge for their hybrid teams.
(Source: Gallup)
52%
of leaders surveyed said their work feels chaotic and fragmented.
(Source: Microsoft, global 2025)
28%
Of hybrid managers surveyed had received training from their organisation on leading a hybrid team.
(Source: Gallup)
THE SOLUTION
Build a team that gets involved and gets things done together.
Practical facilitation skills and ways of working for managers who want colleagues to contribute more, share knowledge and collaborate within and across teams.
Stop working in silos
Build shared ways of working so teams understand each other’s priorities, spot dependencies early and coordinate work before problems build up.
Solve problems and agree a way forward
Work through problems, consider options using the team's’ expertise and reach clearer decisions.
Make meetings worth the time
Use team meetings to tackle blockers, get useful input and make decisions, with clear actions afterwards.
Get more people contributing
Use practical techniques to move beyond silence or the same few voices, so more colleagues bring ideas, raise concerns and help shape decisions.
What’s included in the Half-Day Intensive?
An interactive 2.5-hour workshop for up to 10 managers.
An open 60-minute group Q&A after 30 days.
Explore real collaboration challenges with colleagues.
A practical toolkit of techniques, formats and templates.
Create a team or department improvement experiment.
A 30-day improvement plan for your team.
What you’ll learn
The workshop is built around some of the most common collaboration challenges I’ve heard from heads of department and managers, with tried and tested practical approaches that I’ve seen work in reality to help address them.
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The problem: “We go through everyone’s updates, but there’s little discussion - or the same people do all the talking.”
Learn how to separate updates from topics that need a conversation, give people time to think and use formats that draw out questions, ideas and concerns.
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The Problem: “We don’t know enough about what colleagues are doing until it’s finished or we need something from them.”
Explore internet-era ways of working that make work more visible, encourage knowledge sharing and bring colleagues into the process earlier - improving collaboration within and across teams. -
The problem: “People bring problems to me individually, but we rarely draw on the team’s knowledge to solve them.”
Practise bringing a clear challenge to colleagues, exploring different perspectives and developing options together, before agreeing responsibilities and next steps. -
The problem: “We’ve tried new approaches before, but they’ve fizzled out.”
Plan one change within your team and one shared experiment across departments.
Who is this for?
Heads of department
Leading a department and coordinating work across teams.
Managers
Managing a team and responsible for its day-to-day work and development.
A few of the teams I’ve worked with:
Kate Nightingale, Director of Communications, Campaigns and Research at Young Women’s Trust
“The session was really clear, well-structured and engaging. We'll certainly be taking away lots of tips to make our meetings more productive in the future. He has left us with a template and decision making model that we now feel confident applying.” Thank you!”
Estelle Stephenson, Head of Health Partnerships, British Heart Foundation
“Louis provides tools and techniques on how to get the best out of meetings and workshops, navigate group dynamics and get decisions made, all while keeping everyone engaged and energised. Everything he shared just made good sense and is worth finding the time for!”
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Thomas Martin, Farfetch
“I was finding that we needed an expert outside of the business to really get my team and myself thinking creatively and changing how we approach current problems and projects we are facing. Before the session with my team Louis took the time to speak to my lead and myself to understand more about structure of my team, gain clarity on the type of session we would like and go over operational notes of the session. This due diligence Louis went through was fantastic to see and it really ensured that the session was perfectly optimised to my demands. I have personally actioned 2 of the solutions we worked on with my team and am finding we are more efficient and more creative. Thanks again!!
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Harry Geerts, Senior Innovation Manager, Dementia UK
“Louis delivered a great training session. A really valuable and engaging session for myself and the team. Highly recommend.”
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Jamie Bedford-Low, Senior Innovation Manager, Diabetes UK
“I worked with Louis to plan and deliver a workshop for our Engagement and Marketing Team. Louis was friendly, knowledgeable and flexible in planning. In delivery, Louis was professional, passionate and down to earth. The workshop was really well received and left a post lunch crowd feeling energised and excited about innovation! I'd be happy to recommend and work with Louis in the future.”
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Gareth Ellis Thomas, Former Director of Transformation at Prostate Cancer UK & Digital Consultant
“In a career where I've been lucky enough to have worked with some staggeringly talented and excellent people, Louis is up there with the best of them.
If you need some help with innovation, coaching or facilitation then you should definitely give him a shout.” -
Neil Gilbert, Head of Innovation, Samaritans
“Louis is a natural strategist with a rock-solid commitment to making the world a better place. He thinks strategically, is naturally curious and is highly collaborative – a fantastic combination in innovation and new product development. Louis is very willing to challenge conventional wisdom, whilst understanding the importance of carrying people with him. His confidence and bias to action mean he’s completely at home leading others through uncertainty, as well as building an evidence base to incrementally build the case for propositions and strategic work. He’s an anchor to any team – popular, very credible and highly productive.”
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Kate Carr, Corporate Responsibility Specialist, Business in the Community
“Louis’ creativity, strategic input and patience in helping me to develop a series of co-creation sprints was invaluable; I highly recommend!”
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Hayley Luxton, Senior Research Impact & Intelligence Manager, Prostate Cancer UK
“Louis has been super helpful in a project I was working on: 'How do we best support researchers'. Louis coached me through a number of techniques/sessions including assumption mapping, 'how might we', prioritising based on impact/effort etc. Not only is he a font of knowledge he's also a great coach, communicator and thanks to his support we now have confidence that our plans are what the audience want and need.”
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Jo Pullin, Legacies Innovation Lead, Macmillan Cancer Support
“I have been working with Louis through a 3 month discovery phase to uncover opportunities for legacy fundraising. Through this process Louis has helped distil complex audience insights into actionable strategies, leading to the development of a robust pipeline of opportunities for Legacy fundraising.
Louis and I have had regular sessions but aside from this he has taken the time to get to know the team and understand the wider organisational context. He is a true collaborator and happy to challenge members of the team or ways of working to help us to think outside the box. Thanks Louis!.”
Meet your trainer
I created Practical Collaboration because people kept asking how to bring these approaches into their own teams.
I’ve spent years helping organisations turn research and ideas into products and services. That means bringing together people with different perspectives and expertise, finding better ways to work together and making sure meetings lead to action. Collaboration became essential to my work - and a subject I happily nerd out on.
Over time, I’ve drawn on innovation, Design Thinking and Agile, adapting and refining those approaches through leading multidisciplinary teams. People started asking me to teach them what I was using. That’s where Practical Collaboration began.
Key information
HALF-DAY INTENSIVE
£1,500
Per organisation, up to 10 managers.
✓ Short discovery call and light pre-work
✓ Interactive 2.5-hour workshop
✓ Practical toolkit and templates
✓ Individual 30-day action plans
✓ One shared cross-department experiment
✓ 60-minute group Q&A after 30 days
ONGOING PARTNERSHIP
From £1,500/ month
Practical help to improve collaboration.
✓ 2 working sessions a month
✓ Priority email access
✓ Improve working routines
✓ Test and refine team practices
✓ Initial three-month engagement
Small groups, big results.
The programme is limited to 10 people. to ensure you get the best possible experience.
BONUS
If you book by 5pm on 18th December 2026, you and the team will also receive the Facilitation Foundations Guidebook.
The Guidebook covers:
Step-by-step guides to running meetings workshops with any team, effectively solving common problems
Techniques to develop creative solutions and make important decisions with your team by adopting the mindset of a facilitator.
How to use workshops to advance your career and be recognised as the Innovation Expert by your organisation.
Interested in finding out more?
Book a no obligation call below
Or email me at louis@louischilds.co.uk