Embracing Failure & Growth with Juggling

Inspired by a juggling kit from his grandmother, Tom Hicks delivers a fun, hands-on 90 minute workshop that transforms the fear of failure into fuel for growth. Embracing Failure & Growth Through Juggling blends laughter, resilience, and connection, giving participants a safe space to try, fail, and try again—while building trust, adaptability, and a true continuous improvement mindset. Perfect for teams, schools, and organizations ready to strengthen culture, spark collaboration, and leave with lessons that last long after the balls stop flying. Are you ready to juggle? (video preview)

Workshop Value & Benefits
Innovation & Adaptability - By creating a safe space for teams to try, fail, and try again, this workshop builds resilience and adaptability—critical skills for navigating change and driving innovation.
Collaboration & Team Cohesion - Shared challenges like learning to juggle foster deeper trust, empathy, and communication, resulting in stronger workplace collaboration.
Employee Engagement & Morale - Fun, hands-on activities energize employees, strengthen emotional connection to the team, and reduce burnout—boosting overall engagement.
Leadership Development - Leaders experience firsthand how to model vulnerability, encourage experimentation, and turn setbacks into learning moments, enhancing their ability to guide others through uncertainty.
Sustainable Culture of Learning - Linking play with practical reflection embeds a mindset of continuous improvement, creating a culture that celebrates growth over perfection.
Flexible - Easily aligned with organization goals, mission, values and works well as the kickoff to retreat, immediately following lunch, or at the end of a long day

Program Outline
Reflection - best gift received and Tom’s juggling gift story
Objectives
Integrate play, fun, laughter, continuous improvement, and growth into work
Learn and purposefully practice the attention to detail needed to juggle
Experience low-stakes failure and respond to mistakes in a “fascinating” way
NOT try to juggle more with the same resources - take a break when needed
Juggling instruction - one ball
Celebration, failure reflection, and sharing
Embracing failure - “How fascinating!”
Jugging instruction - two balls
Growth mindset - “I’m not good at this” → “This is new to me”
The four P’s- Patience, Persistence, Purposeful Practice
Juggling instruction - three balls
Final reflection, goal setting, and resources

Options
Length: 60, 75, 90, 120 minute versions
Focus: can prioritize team building, reflection, growth mindset, juggling skills to meet your need(s)
Customize: can integrate organization mission, vision, priorities
Any time: works well as morning kickoff, immediately following lunch, or as evening finale
Build: add on one or more of Tom’s workshops and coaching for an entire morning or day of growth!

Tom Hicks is the founder and CJO (Chief Juggling Officer) of Throw & Catch Consulting ((link hidden)) based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He provides practical and fun leadership development experiences that blend storytelling, reflection, and active learning to create deeper connections while playing with a purpose for individuals, teams, and organizations. Tom has worked at all levels in higher education for the past 20+ years and has adapted several of his most popular campus-based workshops for organizations of all types. When he’s not on campus or conducting juggling workshops, Tom enjoys cycling and traveling with his wife Megan and cheering on their daughter Emily in all her activities.
Mantra - Be Competent, Curious, & Kind

Setup requests:
Put painters tape on wall during the workshop (will bring own tape)
Connect to projector for audio and video via HDMI (will bring own laptop)
Outlet to plug in laptop and access to wifi
Room big enough for participants to stand up, spread out, juggle, chase balls, not too many chairs/tables
Pens and writing surface for reflection questions
Wireless lavalier microphone