Post‑Meeting Summary: Embracing Failure & Growth Through Juggling Workshop
Facilitator: Tom Hicks, Founder & CJO (Chief Juggling Officer), Throw & Catch Consulting
Session Focus: Embracing Failure and Growth Through Juggling
Format: Interactive keynote/workshop combining storytelling, reflection, and hands‑on juggling instruction
Purpose of the Session
This workshop provided a safe, playful environment where participants explored failure as an essential part of growth. Through juggling practice, storytelling, and structured reflection, attendees built resilience, strengthened team connection, and experienced firsthand how intentional practice and positive response to mistakes lead to continuous improvement.
Key Themes & Takeaways
1. Innovation & Adaptability
Participants experienced trial‑and‑error learning in real time. The progression of juggling exercises demonstrated how embracing small failures fosters adaptability and builds the confidence needed to innovate.
2. Collaboration & Team Cohesion
The shared challenge of learning to juggle encouraged peer support, laughter, and empathy—strengthening communication and reinforcing trust among team members.
3. Engagement & Morale
Hands‑on activities boosted energy, reduced burnout, and helped participants reconnect to creativity and curiosity. Many expressed feeling refreshed and re‑energized afterward.
4. Leadership Development
Leaders practiced modeling vulnerability, encouraging experimentation, and celebrating learning rather than perfection—important components of guiding teams through uncertainty and change.
5. Growth Mindset
Tom emphasized productive self‑talk, shifting from “I’m not good at this” to “This is new to me,” and introduced the Four Ps:
- Patience
- Persistence
- Purposeful Practice
- Pause when needed (instead of trying to juggle more with the same depleted resources)
Workshop Outline Recap
A. Opening Reflection
Participants began with a discussion of meaningful gifts, leading to Tom’s personal story about receiving his first juggling set from his grandmother.
B. Core Objectives
- Bring fun, play, and continuous improvement into daily work
- Learn attention to detail required for juggling
- Safely experience low‑stakes failure and respond with “How fascinating!”
- Step back and reset when needed rather than forcing progress
C. One‑Ball Juggling
Celebration of small wins, reflection on failures, and group sharing.
D. Two‑Ball Juggling
Focus on mindset, shifting perspectives, and applying the Four Ps.
E. Three‑Ball Juggling
Participants attempted basic patterns with emphasis on progress over perfection.
F. Final Reflection & Goal Setting
Tom closed with prompts for personal reflection, workplace application, and next steps.
Tom Hicks: Personal & Professional Background
Founder & Chief Juggling Officer, Throw & Catch Consulting
Tom Hicks is the creator of Throw & Catch Consulting, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He specializes in leadership development experiences that combine storytelling, reflection, and active learning—all centered on “playing with a purpose” to help individuals and teams build deeper connections.
20+ Years of Experience in Higher Education
Tom has worked at all levels of higher education for more than two decades, giving him a deep understanding of how people learn, grow, and respond to change. Many of his most successful campus‑based workshops have been adapted for organizations across industries.
Facilitator, Educator, and Storyteller
His approaches draw on:
- Personal stories (including his juggling journey that began with a childhood gift from his grandmother)
- Research‑based reflection practices
- Interactive activities to reinforce learning through action
Tom’s sessions are known for being highly engaging, energizing, and memorable.
Personal Interests
Outside his consulting work, Tom enjoys:
- Cycling
- Traveling with his wife, Megan
- Cheering on their daughter, Emily, in all her activities
Professional Mantra
Be Competent, Curious, & Kind
This philosophy is woven throughout his workshops and serves as the foundation of his coaching and facilitation style.