Clifton Highfield
LeadershipTeams

In-person team training · retreats & onsites

The same work I do with performing ensembles, now for your team.

Twenty years directing and coaching improv groups taught me how trust actually gets built under real pressure, not in theory. I bring that same hands-on practice to your team, in person, for a retreat or an onsite.

Why this, and why me

This isn't a comedy show for your team.
It isn't a lecture either.

It's practice. The kind performers use to learn how to listen, adapt, and trust each other fast, because once a scene starts, there's no going back to fix it.

Your team doesn't need more slides. They need practice at the things that actually break down under pressure: listening past your own agenda, adapting when the plan changes, and trusting the person next to you when there's no script to fall back on.

Track record

Twenty years directing and coaching many improv ensembles through workshops, rehearsals, and shows in Austin and nationally.

Currently

I teach at Upright Citizens Brigade in Austin, Tx and coach three active performance ensembles, in addition to working with professionals.

The skill itself

I've spent years getting rooms full of near-strangers to trust each other enough to build something together, live, with people watching.

What your team will practice

Skills for the moments that actually happen.

Every exercise ties back to something your team can use the next day, not just during the workshop.

Listening in real time

We practice picking up on what's actually happening in the room, the tone, the hesitation, what's not being said, and responding to it instead of your prepared talking point.

Sharing the load

Good communication isn't one person's job. We build habits where everyone takes responsibility for being heard and for hearing everyone else.

Offering something before it's polished

Teams stall out when everyone is waiting for the safe, perfect idea. We practice putting something rough on the table and building on what's already there.

Knowing when to pause

Constant output isn't the goal. We practice the kind of pause that lets a team come back sharper, instead of running on empty.

How the work is structured

A cycle, not a
one-day event.

A single great day fades fast if nothing follows it. I use this same five-part cycle with the teams I work with, and it works for single sessions or ongoing relationships.

  • 01Prepare
  • 02Listening & Engagement
  • 03Personal Reflection
  • 04Simple Solutions & Systems
  • 05Follow-Up
The five-part practice cycle A repeating cycle of five stages: Prepare, Listening and Engagement, Personal Reflection, Simple Solutions and Systems, and Follow-Up, feeding back into Prepare. The Practice Cycle Prepare 01 Listening & Engagement 02 Personal Reflection 03 Simple Solutions & Systems 04 Follow-Up 05

Formats

Built for a retreat or an onsite.
In person, always.

Every format below happens in person. I don't run these over video, and I don't send someone else in my place.

Onsite · short session

The Focused Session

5 to 15 people · 90 minutes · at your office

$1,200 to $1,800
flat rate

Onsite · half day

The Onsite Half-Day

16 to 40 people · 3 hours · at your office or a nearby space

$2,500 to $3,500
flat rate

Retreat · full day

The Full Retreat Day

41 to 100 people · a full day · built for an offsite retreat

$4,500 to $6,000
flat rate

Multi-day retreats and larger groups are available too. Tell me about your team and I'll put together something that fits.

Next steps

How this gets started.

Tell me about your team

Fill out the form below with a little about who's on your team, what's working, and what you're hoping to shift.

We talk it through

A short call to align on your goals, your space, and what a good outcome looks like for your team specifically.

Your team shows up, and so do I

In person, no substitutes, no slides read off a screen. Just the work, together.

Get in touch

Tell me about
your team.

No pitch, no pressure. Just a starting point for a real conversation about what your team needs, and whether our work together is the right fit.