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the flagship programme

Guftagoo Works

From Better Conversations to Better Performance

A 24-week manager enablement programme that helps teams build the habits of open conversation, thoughtful challenge and shared contribution.

the belief the deck is built on

Safety comes before honesty.

Not the other way round. A team doesn't become honest because it's told to be. It becomes honest once it's felt, repeatedly, that honesty here doesn't cost anything.

Eighty-one cards, six monthly territories - Fun, Early Belonging, Deeper Belonging, Learning Together, Shared Contribution, Honest Challenge - each one asking a little more than the last. Thirty minutes, once a week: draw a card, the manager answers first when the card calls for it, the team responds.

The habit that holds it together
The following week, referencing one thing someone said - by name, one sentence. More than any card, that callback is what turns pleasant conversations into trust.
See the full deck at theguftagoo.com →
the arc
Understand→Practise→Feedback→Reflect→Contribute→Challenge→Sustain

the transformation the programme is built around

Every stage below is built around the Guftagoo Works deck itself.

the 24-week journey
01 · Understand
Week 0
Psychological Safety Workshop
Why people don't say what they know, what silence costs a team and how a manager's response shapes whether it happens again.
Managers · SidLabs facilitated
Why we need more than a workshop?
A workshop builds awareness, but awareness rarely survives to Monday's meeting. What closes that gap is a small, repeatable action a manager can reach for before the framework fades - which is exactly what the weekly practice below is for.
Read the full piece: The Monday After →
02 · Begin
Weeks 1–8
Conversation Practice
The manager runs the Guftagoo Works deck's weekly ritual with the team: draw a card, go first when it says to, one 30-minute conversation a week - Fun and Early Belonging territories.
Manager + team · Manager-led
03 · Listen
~Week 8
Team Pulse
An anonymous check-in with the team: how comfortable people feel speaking honestly and what's still hard to say.
Anonymous · Team
04 · Align
~Week 8
Alignment Session
SidLabs brings the team's own pulse results back into the room - what's changing, what's still difficult, what to practise next.
Manager + team · SidLabs facilitated
05 · Deepen
Weeks 9–11
Conversation Practice
The deck moves into Deeper Belonging - questions that ask a little more, inviting people to talk about parts of work they don't always say out loud.
Manager + team · Manager-led
06 · Reflect
Week 12
Yatra
A manager-only session, roughly at the midpoint. The manager draws cards until one genuinely makes them uncomfortable - that discomfort usually marks the blind spot they've been avoiding. SidLabs then works through it with them using a matched set of guided questions.
Managers · SidLabs facilitated
07 · Contribute
Weeks 13–19
Shared Contribution
The deck shifts from participation to contribution - creating space for ideas, ownership and admitting mistakes or asking for help.
Manager + team · Manager-led
08 · Challenge & Sustain
Weeks 20–24
Honest Challenge
The deck's final territory: respectful disagreement, questioning ideas and speaking up when something isn't working - without it costing the relationship.
Manager + team · Manager-led
09 · Sustain
Week 24
Impact Pulse + Close
The same pulse questions from Week 8, repeated - a real before/after signal for the team and for HR.
Manager + team

Bring this programme to your organisation.

Talk to us about your teams and context.

Talk to SidLabs →

Want to experience it first?

Book a 90-minute taster session for your team →