Serious Play For Leaders
Play-Full Leadership Takeaways:
Adopting an attitude of play encourages expansive thinking
Social skills and collaboration are enhanced through play
Play represents freedom and self-direction
Group Play
Have you ever seen great jazz musicians look like they weren’t having fun while they’re playing? Did any band members look stressed? Probably not. Playing with others brings the power of support, collaboration, conversation, challenge, and constructive critique. The exchange and flow are energizing, fresh, and inspiring. The invitation to play stimulates humans to share responsibility for what is being created.
In Free Play, author Stephen Nachmanovitch relates how astonishing it is when two musicians come together for the first time, begin playing, and “demonstrate wholeness, structure, and clear communication.” He further notes that initially there may be no agreed-upon structure, but once the play has begun, there is structure because they “open each other’s minds like an infinite series of Chinese boxes.”
The beauty of playing together is meeting in the One.
– Stephen Nachmanovitch
Vocalist Gregory Porter, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Lewis Nash playing at the Riverside Theatre’s Gala I produced in 2011.
Play is training for the unexpected.
– Marc Bekoff, biologist
In my recent creativity post, I noted that one way to move into a creative mindset is to be play-filled—to have an attitude of exploration. The newness of play can generate flow, spark the imagination, and bring a surge of energy in the moment. When you approach something playfully, you learn better. Play provides an opportunity to experiment, to expand our curiosity, and to deepen our interest in the task at hand.
We often take work and life so seriously. This interferes with our ability to look or move beyond the confines of our usual routine and approach. What would it look or feel like if you added a playful twist to a daily routine?
Play is the Brain’s Favorite Way of Working
Play activates brain signaling systems, including the neurotransmitter norepinephrine which is involved in eliciting attention and facilitating action and learning. Play also improves brain plasticity, so that change becomes possible when this chemical is elevated. Negative stress induces cortisol, which triggers the “fight, flight or freeze” response. The conditions of play—the generation of signals that enhance learning without an accompanying stress response—allow the brain to explore possibilities and to learn from them.
Life must be lived as play.
– Paraphrase of Plato
Consider the value of play as a catalyst to:
Expand your flexibility in thinking and problem solving.
Energize you, renewing your natural sense of optimism and openness to new possibilities.
Better tolerate routines and emotions such as boredom or frustration.
Provide a sense of expansiveness and
Promote mastery.
To be present, without defensive walls; accepting others as they are.
Enable cooperative socialization and nourish trust, empathy, caring, and sharing.
Stimulate creativity - imagination, inventiveness, and dreams – which help us think up new solutions to problems.
Let your work become your play. Let play become central to your work.
