Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

I wrote some stuff on #LinkedIn. It's bigger than #Bsky allows, so here's a picture of the words.

1. Being a leader isn’t always about standing at the front.
2. Effective #leadership is about creating a space for others.
3. The #System is the #Product.

#Agility #TeamDevelopment #HumanLeadership

Being a leader isn’t always about standing at the front.

They’re not always the one presenting, doing the voiceover, waving their hands, or playing the greatest showman.

Effective leadership is about creating the space for others to do just that.

It’s about giving people the confidence, opportunity, platform, and conditions to excel - to rise and grow together in a way that feels natural to them, supporting them to accelerate, imagine and achieve better things.

True leadership builds the conditions for people to thrive, and for systems and communication structures to sustain that success.

Sometimes that means standing at the front.
Sometimes it means standing in the middle.
And sometimes it means watching from a distance - quietly knowing that things are working just as they should.

The System is the Product.

How do you create space for others to lead?

#Leadership #Agility #TeamDevelopment #SystemsThinking #HumanLeadership

November 9, 2025 at 9:01 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Resource Reshare 🎁
Someone recently asked for my Top 5 Meeting Tips - here they are. Built on what I’ve learned from brilliant facilitators, teams and the humans within them - to create inclusive, productive, and accessible spaces that drive better outcomes.
#Facilitation #Meetings #Productivity

What's this meeting about? How can I prepare so I can contribute and work at my best? Is this meeting REALLY needed? Someone recently asked me what my Top 5 Meeting Tips were - and here they are. It's important to say these are not my ideas alone, and build on the amazing things I've seen, heard and noticed amazing facilitators do to create inclusive, productive and accessible meetings to achieve better outcomes.
#facilitation #meetings #productivity

November 6, 2025 at 1:30 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

But will it scale? Yes. 🎉
Yesterday I ran my most immersive training yet: practice, reflection, audience engagement and activities. Any event can have content; the real content is the audience - stories, expertise and collective intelligence. Thanks for leaning in.

#Agility #Facilitation #Coaching

But will it scale? Yes.
Yesterday I launched my most immersive training experience yet, combining practice, reflection, audience engagement and activities.

The feedback has been pouring in - and it's quite overwhelming. 😊

It’s always good to see what’s working and where we can improve.
Any event can have content. The real content is the audience - their stories, expertise and collective intelligence. 🫶

A facilitator’s role is to create the conditions for that to surface and move the work and the system forward.

If you joined, thank you for leaning in. Everything you shared - your feedback and insights - makes the product better.

#Agility #Facilitation #Learning #ProfessionalDevelopment #PsychologicalSafety #ProgressOverPerfection #Training #Consulting #TeamWork #Coaching #CapabilityBuilding

November 1, 2025 at 9:32 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

👏 Huge thanks to the organisers, speakers & community for making it such a valuable event.

See you next year - and see you soon at Agile Yorkshire 👋

#Consulting #Growth #Coaching #SRE #Agile #Yorkshire

DevOps Days London Presentations to Audience

September 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

🧠 We had some brilliant highlights and insights in the Open Spaces:
• Practical steps to cut alert fatigue
• Open spaces that put real humans at the centre
• Transparency & empathy shaping delivery

#Agility #Community #ProductLed #DevOpsDays #London #HumanAPI #Coaching #CleanLanguage #Facilitation

Attendees in a circle during DevOpsDays London open space session.

September 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

🎉 That’s a wrap on @devopsdays.london!

Two days of brilliant people and conversations - and I’m proud That Agile supported this year’s event as a sponsor.

#DevOps #DevOpsDaysLondon #ThatAgile #London #Tech #DevOpsDaysLDN #Agility

September 24, 2025 at 4:26 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Halfway through @devopsdays.london & insights are everywhere: cultures of blame vs curiosity & heroics vs steady improvement. Enjoyed running a #HumanAPI taster too! 🧠 A few #Facilitation Scoping Card decks left - DM me, or say Hi 👋
to grab one! #DevOps #Coaching #HighPerformingTeams #London #Tech

Halfway through DevOpsDays London and already so many insights - the impact of blame and curiosity organisational culture, heroic efforts vs regular improvement - and had a great time facilitating a taster-version of the #HumanAPI with participants! 🧠 Let’s see what the next half delivers tomorrow! 🎁 Still got a few packs of Facilitation Scoping Cards remaining - if you want to pick up yours tomorrow - DM, mention, or just say Hi 👋 #DevOps #DevOpsDays #London #ThatAgile #Facilitation #Coaching #HighPerformingTeams

September 23, 2025 at 4:46 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

“Blame and shame don’t result in resiliency”

Great session on Blameless Post Mortems from Agata Skorupka at @devopsdays.london - Plenty to digest, reflect on and put into practice. 🚀

#DevOps #DevOpsDays #London #ThatAgile

September 23, 2025 at 10:42 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

“If you deploy to production, you’ve change the world”

@kestr.al kicking off @devopsdays.london - great energy and a reflective topic to begin.

#DevOps #DevOpsDays #London #ThatAgile

September 23, 2025 at 9:47 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

It’s time for @devopsdays.london! Looking forward to exploring ideas, hearing stories, and meeting the community. Even better with That Agile supporting as a sponsor. Let’s Go! 💥
#DevOps #DevOpsDays #London #ThatAgile

September 23, 2025 at 8:24 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

It’s nearly time for DevOpsDays London. Delighted THAT AGILE is sponsoring this year’s event, and bringing the card decks! See you soon!

#DevOps #DevOpsDaysLDN #London #ThatAgile

September 23, 2025 at 7:12 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Less than one week to go until @devopsdays.london 2025!
I’ll be there - with stacks of Facilitation Scoping Wheel card decks.
DM, wave, or shout if you want one!

Not going? Order online now (UK shipping only).

#DevOpsDays #facilitation #agile #consulting #collaboration #coaching #agility #DevOps

Less than one week to go until DevOpsDays London 2025!
Can’t wait to attend, learn, share, and dive deeper into technology, platforms, culture, and collaboration with the community.

But I’m not coming alone—I’ll be bringing plenty of Facilitation Scoping Wheel card decks with me.

If you’re there, come say hi!
DM me, wave at me, or even shout at me—and grab your copy of the deck in person.

Can’t wait until DevOpsDays? Not going this year?
You can order a deck online now (UK shipping only).

September 18, 2025 at 7:23 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

It’s nearly time for the Introduction to Lego Serious Play x Flutter Agility Community of Practice collab 🙌

The venue is set. The bricks are ready. All we need now is the humans to fill the space with their metaphors and insights! #Agility #Leeds #Agile #Lego #Communities #Innovation

September 10, 2025 at 5:59 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

It’s a real honour to be on a @leedsdigi.bsky.social Festival Awards shortlist. 🎉 Congratulations to everyone shortlisted and nominated. Let’s make this years Leeds Digital and its events even better than last year! #Yorkshire #Leeds #Digital #Tech #Communities

September 5, 2025 at 6:42 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Less than a month to go until @devopsdays.london 2025! I’ll be there - with stacks of Facilitation Scoping Wheel Card Decks. Come say hi, grab a deck in person & see how they can help you shape better #workshops, #retrospectives, meetings and team #collaboration 👋 #DevOpsDays #Facilitation #Agile

The Facilitation Scoping Wheel card deck helps you bring clarity to planning, alignment, and decision-making. Whether you’re exploring a business problem, setting direction, or preparing for a session – this deck helps you get to the heart of what’s needed, faster.

Built from real client work, it’s been used across hundreds of engagements to:

⬇️ Reduce ambiguity early
🔍 Focus on outcomes that matter
🤝 Align people around purpose and next steps

It works brilliantly in planning meetings, workshops, BIG ROOM EVENTS, and smaller team discussions and retrospectives – especially when you're shaping strategy or preparing for change.

------------------

What’s inside?

✅ 18 laminated Question Cards – designed to flow, prompt thinking, and surface the right conversations
✅ 4 Instruction Cards – clear, practical guidance to help you run and wrap up sessions with intent

🎯 Designed for people who shape work. Made for results.

August 25, 2025 at 8:41 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Let’s find the thing behind the thing together.

Coaching creates space to see what’s really happening - and what to do next.
It’s not about quick fixes. It’s about clarity, perspective, and meaningful change.

👉 Book your free call: linktr.ee/thatagile

#Coaching #Mentoring #Growth #Clarity

Let’s find the thing behind the thing together.

Coaching gives you the space to pause, reflect, and understand what’s really happening for you. It’s not about quick fixes - it’s about clarity, perspective, and finding the shifts that make the biggest difference for you.

If you’d like to explore what coaching or mentoring could bring, book a free call with me. We’ll talk through what you need and how I can help.

➡️ Book your free call: https://linktr.ee/thatagile

Hi 👋 My name is Tom.
I provide professional facilitation, coaching, and expert mentoring in business agility, change, and organisational evolution - working one-to-one, with groups, and across organisations. I also design and deliver training that helps leaders, teams, and practitioners grow with clarity, confidence, and impact.

#Coaching #Mentoring #BusinessAgility #LeadershipDevelopment #OrganisationalDevelopment #Facilitation
#Clarity #PersonalGrowth

August 18, 2025 at 6:11 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Back in #Sheffield soon to talk Individual, Team and System Performance. #Coaching, #Facilitation and extras. No strange personality tests. Just listening to humans. See you there.

August 16, 2025 at 3:53 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

I’ll be at #DevOpsDays #London on 23–24 September.
If you’re going and want to talk about:
➡️ Organisational Change
➡️ Team Design
➡️ Coaching
➡️ Growing a Performance Culture
💥 Or grab a #Facilitation Scoping Wheel Deck in person
…DM me and let’s make it happen. See you there 🤙
#DevOps #Agility

August 12, 2025 at 6:47 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

New sponsor, who dis? 🎉
That Agile is sponsoring #DevOpsDays #London 2025!

We help teams + leaders reduce friction, improve ways of working, and unlock capability with coaching, mentoring, facilitation & training in Business #Agility, #DevOps + more.

👋 Heading there? Let’s talk.
➡️ thatagile.com

New sponsor, who dis?

We’re excited to announce that That Agile is sponsoring DevOpsDays London 2025!

➡️ thatagile.com

DevOpsDays has always been a standout event—a space for genuine people, honest conversations, and a real focus on the realities of delivery and operations. Not just frameworks or theory, but what’s actually happening in teams and systems.

We’ve been part of the journey as attendees and speakers—now we’re proud to show up as a sponsor 🎉

At That Agile, we work with contributors and senior leaders around the world to:
⬇️ Reduce friction
⬆️ Improve ways of working
💥 Unlock capability

We specialise in Business Agility, DevOps, and Progressive Delivery Methods, offering:
• Expert coaching and mentoring
• Professional facilitation to get teams unblocked and aligned
• Training designed to build communication, agility, and delivery practice

👋 Heading to DevOpsDays London? Come say hello.
We’d love to hear what you’re working on—and how we can support you.

See you there.

#DevOpsDays #ThatAgile #BusinessAgility #DeliveryDesign #DevOps #Agile #ProfessionalFacilitation #Coaching #Mentoring #London

August 9, 2025 at 9:50 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

I worked from a different location yesterday. I’m a big believer in that changing the space and place [the system], changes what happens [in the system]. I can’t show you the system, so here’s a photo of a laptop with some cool stickers instead.

July 18, 2025 at 6:58 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

🚀 The Curiosity Corridor has landed - and it’s open source! A structured tool for guiding exploration in #LEGO SERIOUS PLAY sessions. From model to metaphor to meaning without jumping to conclusions. Free to use, adapt, and evolve. 👉 github.com/tomhoyland/l...

#Facilitation #LSP #Coaching #GitHub

🚀 The Curiosity Corridor has landed!
(and been Open Sourced)

It’s time to share a resource that emerged recently and has quickly evolved through use, practice, and peer feedback. It’s already proved valuable for revealing insights, has facilitated careful curiosity, and enabled deeper, more focused conversations during LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® activities.

❓But what is it?
The Curiosity Corridor is a simple, structured tool that guides facilitator and participant questioning through a clear illustration, moving from big-picture exploration to fine-grained detail, using a hierarchy of Model > Zone > Brick.

It’s designed to help you work with metaphors without jumping to conclusions or interpretation, whilst carefully moving towards the literal, real life equivalents of what participants surface.

💥 What makes it different?
The Curiosity Corridor blends the strengths of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® with Clean Language concepts, offering a respectful, participant-led approach to surfacing meaning and insight. Less noise, more focus and attention on the Model, the Meaning and the Person.

👥 Who is it for?
Facilitators, coaches, and mentors - anyone working with models, metaphors, and meaning-making. It’s especially useful when you want to stay curious without steering the conversation.

💡 When to use it?
Use it to help unpack Individual, Shared, or Landscape Models - when participants are ready to explore what their model means.

🛠️ It’s Open Source
The tool is freely available to use, adapt, and build upon. You'll find the model, background, and guidance on #GitHub.

👉 https://github.com/tomhoyland/lsp-resources/wiki

July 14, 2025 at 8:24 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Client workshop wrapped ✅ A deep dive with the Gaming Leadership Team at Flutter UK&I - rich conversations, shared insight, and space to reflect and grow together. Great to see learning surface, empathy build and action happen.

“Play the hits.”

#Leadership #Facilitation #TeamDevelopment #Agility

Client Workshop Complete ✅

It’s always great to work with teams, but even better when you get to go deep.

Depending on the group, time and outcome, you can go wide and shallow, or narrow and deep. This time, it was a privilege to dive deep with the Gaming Leadership Team at Flutter UK & Ireland. 🫶

Deep into the conversations, the collaboration, and what moments really meant to people. 🤿

It’s a real joy to be part of a group where learning and insight are surfaced, and where space is created to reflect, grow empathy, and build awareness - not just for the work, but for each other. 🧠

Here's a photo of some awesome people doing amazing work together👇

"Play The Hits"

#Leadership #Facilitation #WaysOfWorking #TeamDevelopment #Culture #Agility #Empathy

July 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

Reality always wins - it’s just a matter of lag time. Shrink the gap between what’s reported and what’s real. Because if you’re not probing reality, someone else is. #SystemsThinking #Leadership #RealityCheck #Agility #Delivery

Reality Always Wins.
It’s just a matter of lag time.

The metrics and systems we create will either surface what’s happening - or suppress it. And reality always wins.

It just depends how long it takes for the cracks to show - between the mangled metrics, the PowerPoint decks, the RAG dashboards, and the ground truth becoming impossible to ignore.

You can’t manage what you can’t see.
You can’t improve what you don’t understand.
And you definitely can’t fix reality by formatting it into slides.

🎭 Don’t just design reports.
🎯 Design systems that tell the truth.

🔻 Invest time to shrink the distance between what is surfaced and what is happening. A quick report once can become a misleading report forever.

🔍 Detect aggregations and distortions as and when they happen, with the biases and interests that encourage them. Fix them. Not in the next iteration, but now. Pull that report back, retract that dashboard, swallow your pride.

🧠 And create the space to review, inspect, probe and understand what’s happening. Because if you aren’t, your competitors definitely are.

July 5, 2025 at 9:00 AM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

🚀 The Agility Community of Practice at Flutter just passed 700 members! Built by practitioners, for practitioners - sharing, learning, and solving real challenges together. Thanks to everyone contributing. We’re just getting started. #Agile #CommunitiesOfPractice #TeamCraft #Growth #Delivery #Growth

🚀 Over 700 members and counting!
The Agility Community of Practice at Flutter has just hit a new milestone - now over 700 people strong, spanning across all our brands and regions.

🤝 700 isn’t just a number - it’s a sign of the energy, curiosity, and generosity that runs through this community.

💡 From sharing tools and ideas, to running training and events, to helping each other work through tough challenges - it’s all built by practitioners, for practitioners.

🧠 We’ve also been lucky to learn alongside brilliant external folks who bring fresh perspectives and help us raise the bar together.

🫶 If you're contributing, collaborating, or just getting started, thank you. This community is what we make it, and we’re just getting started.

❓Want to know more about Communities of Practice, development and growth - from getting started to maintaining and the work behind the scenes? - Let's connect, chat and share ideas.

July 3, 2025 at 4:38 PM

tom hoyland

@tomhoyland.bsky.social

#Facilitation isn’t a Luxury - it’s a Multiplier...
The next time you see a facilitator with a whiteboard, materials and a plan, remember: they’re not just holding a space and supporting an event. They’re unlocking time, energy and impact - and that’s time well spent.

Facilitation isn’t a Luxury - it’s a Multiplier.

🤔 Ever sat through a workshop and wondered what the ROI was?

💰 Here’s a way to think about the real cost: 15 people in a 3-hour session equals 45 hours of collective human time. That’s more than a week of full-time work.

🚀 Now ask: was that time well spent?

🔥 When it is, the return is clear - alignment, decisions, clarity, collaboration, even a spark of momentum. When it isn’t? That’s 45 hours of lost opportunity. Cost to the business. Cost to the people.

🧠 As a professional facilitator, your job is to make sure that time counts. That means preparing intentionally, guiding with purpose, and designing the environment so good outcomes aren’t left to chance.

⏰ It might take 6 hours to design a great session and 3 to deliver it. But here’s what happens when you get it right:

📉 Imagine one outcome from the session helps reduce friction across a team, saving each member just 10 minutes a week. Over a year, that’s over 7 hours per person. Multiply that across 15 people, and you’re saving 112 hours a year.

📈 Now go further. Each person interacts with five others outside their team. That alignment carries. That clarity compounds. That 3-hour session could unlock over 500 hours of value.

🫶 So next time you see a facilitator with a whiteboard, materials and a plan, remember: they’re not just holding a space and supporting an event. They’re unlocking time, energy and impact - and that’s time well spent.

June 30, 2025 at 4:39 PM

Add to Home Screen

Light up
your news

Add to Home Screen

Light upyour news

Sign in to Lightnews

Sign up to start reading

Connect Bluesky

Connect with Bluesky

Light up
your news