where serious leadership meets play
Your business is growing. Your team is expanding. And suddenly leadership stuff gets harder.
You know it’s time to level up but aren’t sure where to start.
Traditional leadership courses? Too stiff. Too abstract. Too... meh. You need something engaging, practical, and actually useful.
Welcome to Leadership Treehouse - where serious leadership meets daring quests, immersive role-playing, and just enough controlled chaos to help you and your team level up for real.
what we do (besides having an absurd amount of fun)
At the Leadership Treehouse, we believe great leaders and effective leadership teams aren’t made through dull theory but hands-on experiences - where you can test, tweak, and grow your skills in a safe container.
Here’s what makes us different:
🎭 immersive role-playing – tackle real leadership challenges in high-stakes scenarios. No actual dragons. Probably.
🤹 play-based learning – gamified, hands-on training that’s engaging, memorable, and actually works.
🧘♀️ reflective sessions – gain real insights from unexpected challenges (and, occasionally, pirates).
🏰 a judgment-free zone – no trust falls, no corporate fluff—just a space to lead, experiment, and grow.
for leaders and leadership teams who want more
Maybe you’re…
An individual leader trying to find your feet, your voice, or your confidence.
A founder who wants to create a stronger leadership culture but doesn’t want a stiff, “off-the-shelf” training session.
A leadership team that’s doing OK… but knows it could be tighter, more aligned, and braver together.
If you’ve ever thought:
“I want to lead better, but traditional training just doesn’t click for me.”
“Our leadership team is smart, capable – but we’re not really clicking as a group.”
“We keep reacting instead of being proactive – I want us to feel more in sync.”
“We need to face some tough conversations… but also reconnect and have a laugh.”
“What if leadership could be fun (and possibly involve dragons)?”
Then this is your treehouse.
Available Quests
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Custom Leadership Adventures
Dungeons & Dragons meets serious leadership development.
Sounds cool right? We’ll customise it for your leaders and help them find deep insights that will change their leadership trajectory. -
The Way of the Trees: A Leadership Walk
Walking, reflecting, connecting. A chance for you to step away from the grind and focus on you and your leadership.
3rd June 2025, 12pm-2pm
Botanic Gardens, Wellington -
1:1 Leadership role play coaching
What if levelling up your leadership was as fun as an epic role-playing game?
Our leadership role playing experience is a custom designed 3-session coaching journey where you’ll step into an immersive role-playing adventure, guided by an expert play coach.
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Leadership side quest - a 1 day leadership adventure
Part leadership workshop, part playful quest — for founders & leaders ready to try something refreshingly different.
Enquire for upcoming dates and to be added to the waitlist.
6 Places available
what you’ll gain
stronger decision making
Faster, better decision making. Less second-guessing, more clarity.
authentic leadership style
For individuals and teams that want to lead in a way that feels real.
conflict resolution skills
You’ll practice skills like conflict resolution in a safe container, ready to put into play in your day to day life.
creative problem solving
Creative collaboration and problem solving. Unlock fresh ideas and ways of working together, especially in messy, complex spaces.
Stronger team dynamics
Inspire and align your team with confidence (and fewer emergency meetings).
a memorable experience
One that genuinely shifts how your leadership team works together and one you’ll remember for a long time.
what other questers are saying…
Annelies Griemink, Customer Lead, Thankyou Payroll
“The game creates a safe and engaging environment to explore leadership strengths and areas for growth. The debrief sessions were especially powerful, offering insights that conventional leadership courses often overlook.”
Cordula Plassmann, Coach & Facilitator
“This is the most unique, wild, engaging and fun workshop I have ever been to. The experience and the learning will stay with me for a long time.”
-Beckie Coe, Thankyou Payroll
“I was super sceptical about the "game", having never done anything like this before and it being VERY out of my comfort zone!..... BUT - by the end of session one, I had one of those "ah ha" moments, and I then understood what it was all about! I learned so much about myself that I never knew or realised before.”
watch this
Our founder, Tamara Buckland, talks at Disrupt HR about role playing. Go on a short 5 minute adventure in this video to learn more about the benefits of role play and experience a little taste of it for yourself.
join the aventure
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join the aventure ⚔
what the research says
You might be thinking: “This all sounds fun, but is it actually effective?”
Excellent question, wise wanderer. As it turns out, play isn’t just fun - it’s one of the most powerful tools we have for real leadership growth.
FAQs
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Exactly. This is why you come. Our programmes are designed for high-performing leaders who are outgrowing their old ways of leading. You’ll get focused space to reset, rewire, and return clearer - not just for your team, but for yourself. Some focused and playful time away from your desk will do wonders for your leadership - something that will have benefits for years to come.
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Nope. You just need a willingness to trust in our tested process and give things a go. We make it safe, silly, and low-stakes.
It’s also nothing like the types of role playing you’re thinking about from your corporate training - we create characters that play in fictional environments which means the role playing is fun rather than scary.
No-one is put on the spot to choose or say the right thing. We learn the most when we can play with our environment and our characters and that’s exactly what we set you up to do. -
Of course! You can talk to our founder Tamara at any stage to chat about anything that’s on your mind. No sales pitch involved.
Click on the ‘Contact Us’ page to get in touch. -
While we do love a well-timed cape or a cardboard crown, every element is rooted in serious leadership development research and experience. We use immersive play because it unlocks deeper insight, faster learning, and real behaviour change. It’s a sandbox, not a spotlight.
subscribe to our newsletter & get our free leadership guide
You’ll receive a fortnightly edition of ‘Notes from the Treehouse’ - a dispatch of playful, practical leadership experiments for leaders to try with their teams.
