See the Challenge, Strengthen the Team Every team has its wobbly blocks, those small things that quietly hold everything together until they’re overlooked, pushed aside, or forgotten. In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores what really makes teams wobble and how simple visual strategies can bring them back into balance. Drawing from conversations with leaders, educators, and facilitators, Nicki unpacks common challenges around communication, collaboration and clarity...
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See the Challenge, Strengthen the Team Every team has its wobbly blocks, those small things that quietly hold everything together until they’re overlooked, pushed aside, or forgotten. In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores what really makes teams wobble and how simple visual strategies can bring them back into balance. Drawing from conversations with leaders, educators, and facilitators, Nicki unpacks common challenges around communication, collaboration and clarity...
See the Challenge, Strengthen the Team Every team has its wobbly blocks, those small things that quietly hold everything together until they’re overlooked, pushed aside, or forgotten. In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores what really makes teams wobble and how simple visual strategies can bring them back into balance. Drawing from conversations with leaders, educators, and facilitators, Nicki unpacks common challenges around communication, collaboration and clarity...
The swan, the lift and the blue phone: finding calm, clarity and connection. What if your greatest strength wasn’t doing more, but simply being there? In this powerful and heartfelt episode, Nicki Hambleton talks with leadership and wellbeing coach and veteran Dave Hill, whose message is simple yet profound: helping people realise they are designed to thrive in any situation. From his time in the military to his work supporting veterans and leaders, Dave shares deeply human stories abou...
When the Octopus Meets the Eagle – Where Creativity Meets Clarity Two very different creatures: one that thrives in the depths, the other high above it all. The octopus explores through curiosity and creativity; the eagle soars with vision and focus. But what happens when they meet at the surface? In this short story from Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores how creativity and clarity need each other to thrive. You’ll hear how the octopus represents our brilliant, idea-filled minds...
Episode 37: Deep Thinking, because good enough isn't good enough. The enemy of creativity is "good enough". In this engaging conversation, Nicki Hambleton and guest Felix Riley explore the themes of creativity, education and the importance of visual thinking. They discuss how brainstorming can unlock innovative ideas and the systemic issues within the education system that stifle creativity. Felix shares his journey from comedy writing to public speaking, emphasising the need for ...
🎙 Episode Title: Rethinking How We Remember People Have you ever met someone and instantly forgotten their name, even though you remember what they were wearing? Or struggled to recall details about someone you actually care about? In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores how visual thinking can become your secret superpower for remembering people, not just their names, but who they are. Inspired by a simple idea from her teaching days when she created Top...
Episode 35: Rethink the way you explain your work Explaining what you do isn’t always easy, especially when, like Nicki, your work reaches into many areas at once. In this episode of Rethink: the Podcast, Nicki shares the story of how the “octopus” metaphor first came to life when she was teaching in Singapore, wishing she could help every student at the same time. From workshops and team coaching to study mentoring, art tuition, teacher support, portfolio guidance, courses, and sketchn...
Episode 34: What Leaders can Learn from Teachers In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores what leaders can learn from teachers. Drawing on her own experiences in the classroom, including a tough period working with disengaged students, Nicki reflects on the parallels between classrooms and boardrooms and why disengagement looks different, but feels the same, in both. Nicki highlights five powerful teaching strategies that can transform the way meetings, workshops and ...
Episode 33: Shining the light on how visuals support executive function In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton speaks with executive function coach Suzanne Kamal, who specialises in helping children and families build routines, strategies, and systems that support learning and everyday life. Together, they explore how visual thinking can be a game changer for learners who are neurodivergent or studying in English as an additional language (EAL). From simple sketchnotes to ca...
Episode 32: Inside–Outside In this episode of Rethink: the Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores the Inside–Outside strategy: a simple yet powerful visual tool to help us see beyond the surface. We all project something on the outside through our actions, body language, and behaviours, but inside we carry thoughts, feelings, and hidden strengths that others don’t always see. This episode guides you through drawing your own outline figure, to capture external pressures and internal exp...
Episode 31: Authenticity in the Age of AI In this unscripted and personal episode, Nicki Hambleton pauses the regular format to reflect on what it means to stay authentic in an increasingly AI-shaped world. Recorded straight from her lounge with no script, no polish, Nicki explores the quiet tension between using AI to support her creative work and the risk of losing her own voice in the process. From a conversation that challenged her to define her "authentic Nicki voice" to her concerns abo...
Episode 30: Rewind & Recap – 7 Months of Visual Thinking In this episode of Rethink: the podcast, host Nicki Hambleton reflects on the first 30 episodes and seven months of recording since launching in January 2025. The episode highlights the major themes that have emerged, the problems they help to solve, and the insights that visual thinking continues to unlock. Nicki revisits four central strands that run throughout the podcast: Learning & Memory – exploring concept mapping and des...
Episode 29: Constellation Mapping – Connecting Ideas into Shared Direction When ideas are flying in all directions, it can feel like looking at a night sky full of stars, beautiful but scattered. In this episode, I introduce Constellation Mapping, a visual strategy for gathering, clustering and connecting ideas so your team, class, or group can see patterns, choose a guiding “North Star,” and move forward together. You’ll hear how to use this approach, discover the origins of the KJ M...
Episode 28: The Bridge – Turning Insight into Action You’ve done the deep thinking. You’ve uncovered what’s really going on. But now what? In this episode, I introduce the Bridge Framework: a visual strategy to help you move from insight to action. Whether you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or standing at the edge of something new, this simple tool will help you break things down, find your footing and take your next small step. I’ll walk you through: – Identifying where you are no...
Episode 27: Peeling Back the Layers. Visual Frameworks for Deeper Thinking In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, we’re digging beneath the surface. Nicki Hambleton explores the power of the onion metaphor to unpack complexity and reveal what’s really going on. Using visual thinking strategies, we peel back the outer layers of what’s being said, how it’s being said and dive into the beliefs, emotions and assumptions hidden underneath. You'll learn how to work through each layer to reach dee...
Episode 20: Can't say it? Draw it! How Metaphors Make Emotions Visible What do you do when words just aren’t enough? When feelings are swirling and thoughts feel tangled? In this second episode of our Visual Thinking for Wellbeing mini series, I explore how visual metaphors can help you make sense of complex emotions, stress and confusion. We’ll unpack why drawing what you feel can offer clarity, comfort and even humour in challenging moments. With real-life examples, ...
Episode 26: Rethink Thinking with AI with guest Nici Foote, founder of Unbarrier Me In this episode of Rethink the Podcast, I’m joined by Nici Foote, founder of Unbarrier Me, an educator and creative problem-solver who helps schools, multi-academy trusts, and teachers build inclusive, future-ready learning environments using tools that are practical, neurodivergent-friendly, and genuinely engaging. We explore how both of us are weaving AI into our creative processes, not to replace thinking,...
Ep 25: Framing the Conversation. How a Folded Paper Game Can Guide Deeper Thinking What do you do when a conversation feels like too much to hold? In this episode, I share the moment that led to creating MapChat, a visual way to map conversations as they unfold. Then I introduce the Conversation Catcher, a simple, playful tool for opening up reflective conversations when mapping isn’t practical. Whether you're coaching, checking in, or just trying to get unstuck, this tool ...
Episode 24: Visual Frameworks – Making the Invisible Visible Do you ever feel like your brain’s full but nothing’s clear? In this episode of RETHINK, we dive into visual frameworks: simple, shape-based tools that help you organise messy thinking, untangle ideas and make better decisions. Whether you're planning a project, navigating a tricky conversation, or just feeling overwhelmed, frameworks offer scaffolding for your thoughts. I walk you through 5 clear steps to build your own visual fram...
Episode 23: The Switch. Becoming visible again. What happens when you step back into a space you love and suddenly feel seen again? In this reflective episode, Nicki shares what attending the Jigsaw24 Education Summit unlocked for her: a quiet but powerful moment of clarity, confidence, and reconnection. From feeling on the fringes of education to realising the power of her work anew, she explores how one simple conversation flipped the switch and helped her become visible again. Whether you’...
Episode 22: Can a Picture Say 1000 Words? Visual thinking isn’t just about drawing, it’s about showing meaning. And sometimes, one powerful image can communicate what paragraphs of text struggle to explain. In this episode, Nicki explores how using visual thinking and the Power Image strategy can: ✅ Replace text-heavy presentations, reports and student portfolios ✅ Reduce cognitive load for your audience ✅ Support neurodivergent and EAL learners ✅ Bring greater clarity to leadership c...
See the Challenge, Strengthen the Team Every team has its wobbly blocks, those small things that quietly hold everything together until they’re overlooked, pushed aside, or forgotten. In this episode of Rethink: The Podcast, Nicki Hambleton explores what really makes teams wobble and how simple visual strategies can bring them back into balance. Drawing from conversations with leaders, educators, and facilitators, Nicki unpacks common challenges around communication, collaboration and clarity...
