A Christmas Cracker for You

Here’s a Christmas cracker…
“What does a playful leader look, sound and feel like?”

Warm, caring, super capable and fun-loving of course. 100% aligned in purpose with people at the heart of everything they do.

Meet one of the most playful leadership teams I had the pleasure of working with in 2025 – the leadership team of Health & Independent Living Support (HILS) led by Sarah Wren & Tom Cottam, supported by my friend and former colleague Victoria Morgan-Smith.

It was a great honour and even greater delight to work in service of such a truly inspirational team this December as we began to explore ways of bringing more joy and creativity to their everyday work through a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Every day older and disabled people are admitted to hospital with preventable illnesses caused by poor nutrition, frailty and impacted by loneliness and isolation, causing strain and longer waiting lists for the NHS.

HILS can be compared to a 4th emergency service in many ways – a non-profit dedicated to helping people live healthier and happies lives at home for longer. They focus on supporting older and vulnerable people to stay happy, healthy, independent, and connected while easing the pressure on families, carers, and the NHS.

Last year, HILS delivered over 1.9 million acts of support by providing services such as meals on wheels and wellbeing checks to 18,000 people across 4 counties thanks to nearly 4000 dedicated members of staff.

Based on our research and repeated firsthand experience at The School of Play, when leaders lead from inside out through the power of play, the result is a super high performing leadership team that is highly resourceful, responsible, respectful, resilient and real – beautifully authentic like the Velveteen Rabbit.

What’s more, because such leaders have faith in their mission and one another, their action comes from a place of love and peace instead of soulless work and soul-sapping control.

The result? Business in the way it was originally intended – in service of society, our loved ones and ourselves.

✏️ Want to find out your Play Genius score as a leader? Take our free Play Genius Quiz to explore how you can become a more playful leader today https://lnkd.in/eqJYuDpu

Merry Christmas ~The Return to Brighter Days

I have a dream.
I dream for world peace.

“But wouldn’t life be boring if we had world peace?” some would say.

“What would we do? What would become of us?” others would ruminate.

In truth, what most of us are wondering is probably this:”What would life be like?”

Last Sunday, my daughter and I celebrated the darkest day of the year the Winter Solstice by going on pilgrimage at Avebury’s stone circles and henge – home to the largest megalithic (oldest) stone circle in the world.

Imagine my delight (nearly as deep as the muddy paths) as 80 of us pilgrims embarked on a walk for our bodies and to pilgrimage for our souls (you decide what that word means to you) led by Dr. Guy Hayward – a living bard and founder of The British Pilgrimage Trust.

So what would life be like if we lived in world peace?

My higher self imagines it would be wondrous, a kind of renaissance where we all flourish as future humans and for greater good. For sure we’d write many songs and celebrate with many dances…

… Because the winding path wouldn’t have been easy, at times even seemingly lonely or even impossible…

… There’s a reason why some of the most important work we do is called homework. Self-work is where true leadership begins.

… And it would have all been worth it because in taking the first step towards world peace through inner peace we re-discover we are the greatest joke and jokers of all!

May this season be filled with light, love laughter for you, your loved ones and your colleagues as we bring in the green and welcome the return of the light for a year of abundance and prosperity!

How will you choose to live your purpose?

Entrance to the Play Labyrinth

As the blossoms burst with life and the raindrops scatter as much as the clouds halo-glow, we’ve got an exciting bunch of playful events to inspire you to play to your heart’s content – be it at work, at home or anywhere you go!

The Lila Circle – 7 May 6-8 pm BST ONLINE

Join us for our monthly online gathering of women leaders ready to reclaim our power and realise big dreams

Playful Leadership:Creation 9-11 June IN-PERSON TRAINING

Reconnect with your roots and wings of creativity to enable transformational change in yourself and those you serve

Summer Fun: Deep Dive into Work, Rest & Play – 27 June 1-4 pm BST ONLINE

Take the plunge in exploring your relationship with work, rest and play as you reconnect with your five senses. Leave the beach feeling refreshed and ready to make the most of summer

Or perhaps you’d like a chat with Portia The Play Alchemist to explore ways to re-introduce more play into the way you lead. As we like to say at The School of Play, “Play well and play on!”

Time for a Change

We celebrate this spring with a collection of exquisite invitations for co-creation and co-elevation. The more the merrier when it comes to True Play, so feel free to share these invitations with your friends, your colleagues and your loved ones!


The Lila Circle: Where True Transformation Happens – ONLINE

True Transformation begins with exploring our inner life. A unique women’s leadership circle for women ready to reclaim our power and realise big dreams

  • Tuesday 4 March 2025 @ 6-8 pm GMT
  • Tuesday 1 April 2025 @ 6-8 pm BST
  • Tuesday 20 May 2025 @ 6-8 BST
  • Tuesday 10 June 2025 @ 6-8 BST


Four Seasons of Play – ONLINE

Shine the light on your emotional life and enjoy a spring clean towards greater emotional intelligence and management even in the most stressful times

21 March 2025 @ 1-4 pm GMT – ONLINE


Playful Leadership: CREATION

True embodied transformation takes time, just like the way a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Practitioner courses are fully immersive 3-day in-person learning experiences where playmakers and organisational archmages gather to explore a particular theme of leadership and organisational transformation.

The next Practitioner course is CREATION 7-9 May 2025 where participants will be reconnecting with their roots and wings of creativity as we explore the trio of Creator, Creations and the Creative process and what it means to be a playful leader.

After completing this 3-day experiential training, participants will experience a powerful leadership upgrade through techniques and ancient technology by transmuting their shadows into their greatest gifts aligned with their life purpose in service of the systems to which they belong.


A Kaleidoscope of Leadership Learning

This February we launch the next evolution of the Playful Leadership programme as a trio of courses available online and in-person to meet the enthusiasm for Play Alchemy worldwide. Find out more here.

Essentials Part 1

PLAY INTELLIGENCE

Reconnecting You with Your Greatest Superpower

Our 2-day introductory training offers a multitude of ways to experience the practical application of core Play theories and models in personal and group transformation.

Essentials Part 2

PLAY TECTONICS

Enabling Systemic Change and Have Fun Doing It

Our Essentials Part 2 training explores how organisations can thrive when we understand the relationships and patterns of interaction within a system using an approach known as Systemic Constellations.

Essentials Part 3

PLAY GENIUS

Emotional Mastery Through Our Play Circuitry

Our Essentials Part 3 training focuses on making friends with our own emotions even in the toughest of situations as we explore the phenomenological nature of leadership.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Playful and Prosperous 2025! ~ With love from Portia The Play Alchemist xxx

Are You Ready to Take Flight this Spring?

One of my favourite things about my job as The Play Alchemist is helping folks reconnect with our greatest individual and collective superpower – True Play, of course!

“And pray tell, what does that look, sound and feel like?” I hear you ask – perhaps with a hint of sceptic longing.

For me, it’s this – “Female sparrow poised to take flight”. A gift from one of The School of Play alumni. I commissioned this piece after hearing with great delight that, since completing one of our courses, this alumnus went on to develop a daily practice of drawing which has brought immense joy and a sense of tranquility to her life, both at work and at home.

“Thank you so much for reconnecting me with my creative and playful self,” tweets this Bright One. “Your workshops have been a great way of learning to connect more deeply with others as well. These playdates have made me look at relationships with others differently.”

Our next Four Seasons online half-day workshop takes place on Friday, 21 March called Spring Blooms: Expanding Your Inner Life of Play.

You’re invited to join us – for one or all four seasons in 2025! Sign up HERE.

BONUS: These online workshops each come with a goodie box I create especially tuned to your play frequency!

What’s your vibe in anticipation of spring?