Huddles are small groups of people, pooling their resources to unlock potential they couldn't unlock by themselves.
With great hosting and scaffolding, a Huddle creates a social 'microclimate' conducive to learning, creating and taking action. And when you learn, create or take action with others, you grow yourself, your connections and what you're capable of.
Huddles come in many shapes and sizes, to suit their theme or purpose. Joining a Huddle gives you the chance to grow to meet a challenge that really matters to you, whether it's something personal, professional, societal or even existential.
"I’ve gained a lot, it's impacted my life and work. Great friendships. Collaboration tools. Practical ways to push past fear, doubt, anxiety."
"The most valuable thing was having a group of people supporting me. It gave me the confidence to go freelance, which then led me to start my own business."
"I would urge anyone from any background to join and learn things about themselves that they wouldn’t learn on their own. It has changed my life."
This way of learning is different from many of the experiences we have in life and work. Here are some questions to tell whether it's for you:
Do you recognise the value of working toward more cooperative social patterns of behaviour?
Do you want to challenge traditional learning formats - and yourself - by joining a peer group?
Is there a professional, personal or societal challenge you want to grow to meet?
Find out more about the power of peer groups.
Host:
How to thrive in life and work when the future path is an unclear, uncomfortable or uncontrollable change or transition?
Location:
Duration:
Kick off:
Huddles start with a host who has a theme or purpose they care about. They design their Huddle to reflect that purpose, using our structures and support.
Hosts are trained in our approach, but they are not the teacher or the leader. They are there to guide you and participate with you.
Find out more about hosting huddles →
Huddles come in many shapes and sizes, to suit their purpose, but the essential elements are always the same:
Every Huddle happens for a reason. The purpose might come in the form of a theme, a goal or a shared inquiry question. Common goals include learning, unlearning, making, behaviour change, mutual support and taking action.
You get:
Space to tackle a purpose, project or live challenge that matters to you
A social learning environment, ideal for bringing multiple perspectives to knotty questions and challenges
The opportunity to add a project or story of real value to your portfolio
Huddles are always led by the peers. Your peer group is the heart and soul of the Huddle: a rich pool of perspectives and experience, for everyone to draw on. The more you put in, the more everyone can take out.
You get:
Up to a dozen peers who are also working on something that sets them alight. You'll pool ideas, skills, perspectives, momentum
Access to the wider combined network of your peer group
Access to the wider Huddlecraft community and programme of activities
The Pathway is a structure of meet-ups and activities designed to support you to maximise their collective potential. Hosts shape our tried and tested structures to create a Pathway that will meet the purpose of the Huddle.
You get:
A carefully crafted Path to meet the needs of the Purpose and Peers
Structure and accountability to keep you moving
A Host, trained in the Huddlecraft philosophy and approach, there to guide, not to lead. Your Host will participate alongside you
We've developed a tried and tested pathway that is designed to maximise the collective potential of the peer group.
It can be adapted to different purposes, contexts and audiences and can play out over different lengths of time.
Typically it looks like this:
A Huddle will always start with a Kick Off. Depending on the Huddle this might be a short session or a full weekend.
Kick Off will usually comprise of introductory storytelling, coaching training, skills and networks mapping, contracting, co-designing the journey and connecting as a group.
Every Huddle will have a rhythm of meetups, often fortnightly, bringing the whole group together. This is the backbone of the experience which keeps momentum levels high.
Meetups are usually designed and facilitated by the peers - usually every group member will host one.
In many Huddles, participants are connected with a buddy. This is someone you will check in with regularly alongside meet-ups, to support accountability and creativity.
It will be up to you whether to connect face-to-face or online. Your Host might provide prompts, peer coaching frameworks and session outlines.
Power Ups are check points when the whole Huddle comes together to share where they're at or their work in progress, for critique, feedback and creative input.
Power Ups are designed to boost motivation, and sometimes involve inviting external champions to join the group to add further accountability and more perspectives.
Very often a Huddle begins with some coaching training, so that you can learn the skills to coach your peers, and be coached by them.
Depending on the nature of your Huddle, your Host may decide to offer some 121 coaching. This is a space that's space just for you, where you don't also have to act as a peer coach in return.
These sessions are for 'heads down' time where you'll come together to work on the Purpose, either in collaboration with or alongside your peer group.
Your Host may schedule some of these, or they might invite you to self organise.
Every Huddle works toward some kind of public sharing and/or material manifestation of the work and learning that has happened in the Huddle.
This is hugely valuable for accountability and motivation and makes space for celebration with family, friends, collaborators or whoever you'd like to invite.
A Huddle always needs a ritual to close, whether large or small. This is usually co-designed by the group and makes space for reflection, self-assessment, peer endorsement, storytelling, celebration and/or planning the next steps of your journey.
Finish Line might be a short session or a full weekend, depending on the nature of the Huddle.
Since 2017, 300 people have taken part in Huddles across the UK, Germany, Brazil and online. They have each explored a unique learning question. Scroll down to find out more about what some of them have made and created:
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How can I build a system and a place to release my music?
Jasper's question was about creating a sustainable process for recording and publishing his music. His project culminated in the launch of his band, Treasurer's first EP.
Learn more →
How can I enable myself and others to operate from a recognition of our interdependency?
Emily Stewart, wrote an essay and recorded a response to the idea of 'working with interdependence'.
Learn more →
How do we, as future ancestors leave soft, squishy, irresistable blueprints for world building and unbuilding?
On Unravelling Time, Tamika developed Dial-an-ancestor.com, a long term participatory audio installation aiming to run for 100 years with a different curator each year. It exists as a hotline number, where you press 1 to listen to an ancestor, or 2 to record as an ancestor.
How can the black community be mobilised to disrupt inequalities in black mental health?
During his Quest, Julian founded Rooted by Design, a social design house that centres the experiences, needs and futures of UK Black communities.
How can I best serve in the anti-slavery movement while being a successful mother and also earning a living?
Kim's Learning Question led to the creation of Houria CIC, a Bristol-based anti-slavery organisation, training & hiring female survivors of slavery in a Pan-African catering company.
How can WADUP reinstate hope and curiosity in the world?
During her Learning Marathon Irit developed the concept for and foundations of WADUP, the first ever youth-led global media company. Their first production is a podcast entirely recorded through WhatsApp voice notes in facilitated story cells of 3-4 young people from around the world who've never met.
How can we make creative identities for ourselves, as artists?
Tom used the process to finalise his own 'Ridlaa' branded clothing and produced a new music video.
Learn more →“I feel like I’ve set myself on a path that will lead me to eventually better understanding who I am. I’ve changed fundamentally how I approach being me.”
- Jasper Lyons
"Learning to operate in this purely peer-led environment is interesting when you’re used to being managed. You build your awareness of where your skills are - and they’re not always where you think they are. And that’s really powerful."
- Martha Lawton
"If you want to learn something new, and you don’t want to do it alone, then this is the place to be. You are going to meet amazing people."
- Jae Spenser Keyes
"I found all aspects of the process worked in synergy to move me effortlessly along my path of discovery."
- Yewande Okuleye
