Impact

Building since 2006. Here's what that looks like.

Over 100,000 hours of learning delivered. Across boardrooms, workshops, virtual rooms, and everything in between.

100,000+ Hours of learning delivered
120+ Organisations transformed
18 Countries reached
2006 Building since
Client Stories

The work, in practice.

A few of the engagements that stayed with us.

Design Thinking
Global CRM Major · India
The Challenge
Although the organisation valued a diverse workforce, its workforce data revealed persistent gender imbalance. Men were hired more frequently than women. Men were promoted more frequently than women. Women left the organisation at a higher rate than men, despite already being underrepresented in the workforce, resulting in a loss of talent.The organisation had already invested in DEI initiatives, yet hiring, promotion and retention outcomes continued to reflect these patterns.The challenge was therefore not increasing awareness of DEI, but translating awareness into behavioural change among senior leaders responsible for hiring, growth and retention.
The Outcome
Five participant-led projects addressed key DEI challenges across hiring, growth and retention, including redesigned hiring approaches and new support mechanisms for women leaders. Each concept was grounded in employee research, refined through multiple iterations and presented as a proof of concept.All five projects received leadership sponsorship for organisation-wide rollout.Beyond the solutions themselves, 15 of the 20 participants voluntarily shared during the closing session how the journey had fundamentally changed the way they approached hiring, supporting and developing women within the organisation.
Leadership Development
Tecnicas · Bangalore, India
The Challenge
As Tecnicas expanded its workforce, leaders were required to manage larger teams and operate in a more complex, high-stakes environment. The organisation identified a need for leaders who could go beyond technical expertise and develop stronger people-management, coaching, and strategic leadership capabilities.
The Outcome
- Increased leadership confidence and effectiveness- Greater team autonomy and reduced dependency on managers- Improved stakeholder engagement and influence- Stronger coaching and mentoring practices- Enhanced strategic contribution from department heads- Improved local decision-making and ownership
Design Thinking
CDN Organisation · Bangalore
The Challenge
Today, if a manager needs to access organisational knowledge, they are often unable to do so easily due to challenges related to access, availability, and awareness. Despite the availability of the Search platform, employees struggled to locate relevant information efficiently, resulting in wasted time and effort across the organisation. The Search platform team initially approached the project with a technology-focused question: "How can we make a better Search engine?" Through the Design Thinking process, the team reframed the challenge: How might we improve the way employees discover, access, and contribute to organisational knowledge?
The Outcome
The Design Thinking engagement generated outcomes that extended beyond individual solution concepts. The team: Identified solution concepts that lead to receiving strong support from senior leadership. Successfully validated prototype ideas with users and stakeholders. Are capable to solve organisational challenges in Design thinking methods. Increased stakeholder confidence in the proposed direction of the project. Senior leaders demonstrated strong support for the project's direction, actively inquiring about next steps and offering their assistance to the team. The Design Thinking journey translated research insights into stakeholder-centred concepts that addressed the broader challenge of organisational knowledge discovery. Rather than improving the Search platform in isolation, the team developed solutions that responded directly to user behaviours and organisational needs identified during the research.
Leadership Development
Rakuten · India
The Challenge
The company wanted to help first-time managers succeed in their new roles. Participants typically had around ten years of professional experience but had been managers for less than one year. Their previous roles focused on technical execution rather than leading people. As managers, they needed to be self-aware, manage teams and align to organization. The company wanted a programme that would build these competencies over time instead of covering them in a short workshop.
The Outcome
Participants demonstrated evidence of applying the concepts throughout the programme by completing reflection reports after each stage of learning. Facilitators reviewed these reports and observed that participants were using the tools in their day-to-day managerial responsibilities. Participants' managers reported positive behavioural changes after the programme. Improvements were seen in how participants managed teams, interacted with stakeholders, and applied the skills learned during the programme.
Leadership Development
Voya · Pan-India
The Challenge
Discussions with department leaders revealed several behavioural and leadership gaps. While participants possessed significant managerial experience, many found it challenging to influence stakeholders, demonstrate empathy, speak confidently during leadership discussions, and communicate ideas effectively. Leaders also needed to guide their teams through continuous organisational change.
The Outcome
Participants reported that they were able to apply many of the concepts from the programme within their day-to-day leadership responsibilities. The learning journey strengthened their confidence, communication, stakeholder management, and ability to navigate organisational change. Later, two additional departments requested similar leadership journeys, reflecting confidence in both the programme design and its relevance to the organisation's broader leadership needs.
Trusted by organisations that invest in their people
Banking & Financial Services
Deutsche Bank Birla Sun Life EY Thomson Reuters Accenture
Technology & Consulting
TCS Adobe Microsoft Oracle SAP Tech Mahindra
Consumer & FMCG
Flipkart Kellogg's Alyasra Foods Vodafone Cleartrip
Manufacturing & Industrial
Mercedes-Benz Daimler Honeywell Baxter Philips Bosch
Testimonials

Don’t take our word for it.

Testimonials from the organizations we’ve worked with.

Very interesting session using Lego Building blocks to build the Values and Behaviors

In Dec 2026, I has the opportunity to attend a 1 Day session during our Offsite, by Anirban Bhattacharya from The Painted Sky

The topics revolved around Ownership and building Engaged Resilience as Leaders amid changing market and geopolitical conditions. This session was one of the most engaging and interactive leadership trainings I have ever been to.

The session covered various Business challenges we face due to Geo-Political Changes, within our own Organization context and how do we navigate through it. We also could map our People to what levels of Ownership and Accountability they currently are able to take up and what could be their possible challenges. We used the ADKAR (Awareness Desire Knowledge Ability and Reinforcement) Framework as an exercise to evaluate where we and our teams stand and what could be the Potential Gaps we need to fulfill as Leaders.

Last but not the least We had a very interesting session using Lego Building blocks to build the Values and Behaviors we have in our Organization and how we would like to model and champion it.

Overall this session was a very good Leadership Training session with practical examples and action items for us to execute, to champion ourselves and our people on Ownership & Resilience.

Nibedita Saha
Sr. Manager · Boeing India

Helped participants step away from organisational perspectives and reconnect with lived realities

Human-Centred Design: Start with the Person, Not the Problem Meaningful solutions begin with understanding the people we seek to serve. That is the essence of Human-Centred Design.

It puts the needs, challenges, experiences and aspirations of the end beneficiary at the heart of problem-solving. Instead of starting with a predetermined solution, we start by listening, observing , building empathy , co-create, test and iterate solutions with the people who matter most.

Painted Sky team helped us use this approach with selected grantees and teams at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF). It helped the participants to step away from organisational perspectives and reconnect with the lived realities of the people they ultimately seek to impact. The process generated powerful insights and led to the development of prototypes for potential solutions.

For me, Human-Centred Design is more than a methodology. It is a mindset that keeps us grounded in one fundamental question:

Are we solving the right problem, for the right people, in the right way?

Programme Participant
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation network

An insightful learning experience that helped our team pick up new tools and a different way of thinking.

My first interaction with Anirban was in 2023, when I participated in a Human-Centred Design Thinking Program organised by MSDF for its grant partners. It was an insightful learning experience that helped our team pick up new tools and a different way of thinking. Anirban's facilitation style stood out. He has a way of asking questions that open up new ways of thinking and he challenged us to question our own assumptions. The workshops themselves were interactive. We worked through the learning hands-on, applied what we learned and also drew from the collective experiences of other participants.

Our program has always been youth-centric, but this experience gave us a fresh perspective on how we design it. One tool that stayed with me was empathy research - the in-depth conversations our Lighthouse Communities team had with various stakeholders: youth, facilitators, employers, and skilling partners. We then used tools to synthesise the data, building personas that helped us arrive at deeper insights and shape a different design. The approach of prototyping our ideas and seeing them take shape was a rewarding part of the process.

The tools and thinking from that program have stayed with me and continue to inform my work at Lighthouse Communities.

Priya Patil
Director - People and Culture · Lighthouse Communities Foundation
Recognised by the world's leading professional bodies
ICF
International Coaching Federation
The global standard for coaching excellence.
GDTA
Global Design Thinking Alliance
Members of the world's DT practitioner network.
Next Step

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