Case studies

Sky Podium Leaders talent development programme

Sky’s Podium Leaders programme is an intensive four-month talent development programme that aims to build leadership skills, create high-performance teams and generate a leadership environment that inspires innovative and creative ideas.  Sky asked Three Hands to design the final module linked to their Bigger Picture CSR programme, a two-day real-life community project.  We carried out research amongst a range of potential charity partners to find a project that would fit with Sky’s focus on three main areas – sports, arts and the environment. 

We designed a project that combined sports and leadership skills with IntoUniversity, a charity that offers academic and extracurricular support to disadvantaged young people.  Over the two days the Sky team developed their own leadership and communication skills, first by running training sessions for the charity’s staff, and then by running an afternoon of sports activities for a group of young people that were designed to focus on teamwork and leadership.  This proved to be an effective way for the participants to put into practice the key learning points from the programme, while empowering the charity’s staff and the young people that they work with.

“Never underestimate the behind the scenes work it takes to make a two day learning event with 25 leaders, 40 charity staff and 20 young people run without a hitch!  Five months of planning, collaboration and perspiration by Three Hands and IntoUniversity created a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone involved. The two days were completely unique and provided something that you just can’t get in a leadership workshop or on a business project, and that’s the real life inspiration and pride that comes with getting involved in your local community and feeling like you’ve made a difference to the lives of young people.” 
Tracey Waters, Talent and Succession Manager, Sky

‘The Podium Leaders from Sky provided us with two days of outstanding training, for both staff and students. Staff benefitted from leadership, communication and management training from an outside source, sharing methods and ideas not previously used in our organisation. On the second day, the team broke down the assumption that many of our students have, that adults in well known and respectable companies are on a different level to themselves, and that their careers are unattainable. One on one work with our young people raised aspirations, and gave them the much needed push they required to do whatever they wanted to do, and be whoever they wanted to be. The success of the day can be attributed to both Sky staff, but just as importantly to Three Hands, who carried out months of meticulous planning, ensuring maximum productivity was achieved by both parties. It is often difficult to strike a balance of mutual benefit between a corporate and community organisation, but through Three Hands' in-depth and personal approach, they made it look effortless.’
Howard Taylor, Education Worker, IntoUniversity