How can you use the power of play to come up with new ideas with your team? (pic by Kampus Production for Pexels)

When was the last time you played?

I attended an IDEO webinar recently on “The Power of Play” with ex-toy designer Michelle Lee. I have long promoted play, fun, and joy for solving problems and building stronger teams so I was curious to hear what Lee had to say. These were my take-aways.

A definition of play

A bias towards action and trying things, over and over and over.

Why play is important for problem-solving

Kids face a world they don’t know about; play makes them think they can change the outcome. (Why shouldn’t adults have this opportunity?)
It’s ok to try things, in fact it reduces risk! (This is important for getting buy-in for an innovative mindset.)
Social play provides different perspectives. (In fact, social interaction is important for brain health.)

Play is important today

It helps address and deal with complexity. Lee used climate as an example: People addressing this problem often feel they have to get the answer right, right from the start. This puts so much pressure on people that their brains shut down. Instead, exploring possibilities and dreaming moves you forward – you can’t have a different future unless you can dream about it.

Asking people to ideate on demand can be overwhelming

Instead, get people to ease into the idea of ideating through warm-up exercises before attempting to do any brainstorming.

***Tip!***
*Here’s a warm up to get you going: Desert Island Buddy – “Who is one person you’d want on a desert island with you, and why?”*

Games have rules, right?

You can also use rules when ideating; here the rules are constraints and boundaries. (‘Revolution’ brainstorming exercises are a perfect example of this. Change the constraints by increasing or reducing the boundaries (e.g. “everyone wants one” or “10x the price”), turning something slow to something fast (e.g. by putting a tortoise on a skateboard), or by doing the opposite (e.g. fitting trash cans with recordings that tell jokes instead of fining people for littering).)

And, of course, make it safe for people to participate.

Ensuring an environment of psychological safety makes it easier for everyone to trust that they won’t be harshly judged. Making sure people know they’re contributing to the solution helps encourage a sense of joy… and fun!

To help remind you what it’s like to be a kid, use my ‘re-expression’ brainstorming tool “Someone Else’s Shoes”: put yourself in the shoes of a child; act as if you’re five years old again and experience the sheer joy of playing!

If you’d like to know more about how I help new managers become highly valued by coming up with solutions no one’s thought of before, schedule a free exploratory call.

The Power of Play