Play is the fast route to create engagement and breakthrough results. It is the anti-dote to common barriers when building collaborative, high performing teams. When fun sets the tone, playfulness transforms challenges into opportunities and work into a playground for exploring better ways to solve problems.
Playfulness is often seen as a distraction that should be tolerated in bursts before returning to serious work. Yet if we welcome more frivolity into our working practice —we start to see more curious approaches forming to tackle common challenges, we are more flexible and open to options we did not see before. That’s good for a myriad of hard-nosed business reasons.
We’ve yet to to work with a client who does not see communication, less silo’d working, taking more initiative, healthy team dynamics, alignment around goals, and a happy, adaptable workforce as important.
So, how does play strengthen relationships and make problem-solving more dynamic and relevant? And what playful techniques/tools can shift the dial?
1. Communicating, breaking down silo’s, taking initiative
- Play is relaxing, it lowers our barriers and helps us to fund points of synergy rather than difference.
- It fosters psychological safety, where teams feel comfortable expressing thoughts without judgment. We become more willing to share ideas with each another.
- The exploratory nature of play makes us more likely to connect with those outside our immediate comfort zone. This kind of engagement gradually eats away at silo’s.
Technique: Bricks for Building Climates of Inquiry: Duplo bricks are used in a structured format to unpack different communication styles and provide immediate unvarnished feedback in a context where it can be easily digested. This technique builds the skills that make conversations more engaging and effective, and highlights the questioning skills that are the bedrock for taking initiative. Context matters too, so there’s some reflective practice on how groups themselves create or disable initiative.
2. Solving problems and making decisions
- Playful exploration generates a wider range of possible solutions. That is because it allows diverse actors to express ideas with confidence and get clarity on how they solve for common problems.
- It also teaches listening, patience and respect for ideas that sit outside the norm.
- It encourages teams to experiment, take risks, decide upon and implement novel solutions, considering the factors that fuel or impede successful rollout.
- Employees with a playful approach tend to embrace challenges rather than avoid them.
Technique: LEGO Serious Play: Lego bricks serve as a medium to explore complex issues from diverse perspectives as we 3D print our ideas, share and discuss them. This is another hands-on method that taps into deeper creative thinking and allows us to visualise complex issues in a democratic way. The usual suspects don’t dominate the conversation, and we get 100% engagement. We can also build out the barriers we might face, or generate scenarios that can be road tested for fit. Decision making is vastly improved.
3. Improved trust and team dynamics
- Play creates shared experiences that build stronger relationships.
- It breaks down hierarchy, making leaders more approachable.
- Trust and camaraderie grow when teams engage in playful collaboration.
- A playful mindset shifts focus from rigid thinking to seeing multiple perspectives.
- It helps individuals and teams stay adaptable in the face of change.
Technique: LEGO Serious Play.
4. Alignment
- Playful activities help teams uncover shared objectives in an engaging, low-pressure way.
- They encourage open dialogue, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.
- By making goal-setting more interactive, play fosters stronger commitment and alignment.
Technique: LEGO Serious Play.
5. Knowing the role you play in change
- Playfulness triggers positive emotions, reducing workplace tension.
- It fosters resilience by making work feel more enjoyable, even in high-pressure environments.
- Engaging in lighthearted activities can increase job satisfaction and overall happiness.
- Playfulness fosters curiosity and a willingness to learn. It makes people more open to feedback and continuous improvement.
Techniques: LEGO Serious Play and The GC Index: The GC Index identifies the impact that individuals and teams are likely to have in systems that are undergoing change. That’s all systems! This data-driven approach puts practical, playful approaches on steroids – we collect information that teams themselves turn into knowledge and then wisdom that can be applied within their own business context and challenges. All the principles we’ve covered in this post apply as we use bricks to discover, learn, model and make decisions that drive the growth goals of the business.
6. Playful Leadership
- Playfulness encourages leaders to be more approachable, authentic, and open to new ideas.
- It shifts focus from hierarchy and control to collaboration and shared success, paving the way for the ‘initiative’ so many leaders ask about building in their people and teams.
- By embracing play, leaders let go of ego-driven decision-making and create space for trust, innovation, and team-driven solutions. That requires a little courage on the part of leaders, but strengthens their impact exponentially.
Techniques: LEGO Serious Play and The GC Index: These tools in combination provide playful, safe spaces for leaders to explore and boost their impact, while mapping and aligning around the future.
We have many tools at our fingertips to create smart, connected and high performance environments.
Is it time to put fun into the mix?
