Play is serious business!

Racheal Govender

Spaces for leaders to develop | Organisational Psychologist | Global Leadership Development and Advisory services | Executive coach | Leadership Faculty | Author | Executive PhD candidate

*orginally published on September 12, 2017

Using play to build resilience: Social, Mental, and Emotional resilience

 What are some of the first things that come to mind when you think of play? Is it that it is mainly for children? Or is it something you do after-hours or on the weekend, perhaps a sport? But surely serious leaders never indulge in something as juvenile as play!

A definition of play: Scott Erbele, the editor of the American Journal of Play defines play as a process not a specific set of things. What you do find in the process of play is understanding, empathy and the strength of mind, body and spirit.

Emotional Resilience:

Stress can be defined as the negative label given to a pressured situation. I used to volunteer as a Care Clown using play to help children in hospitals with severe burns. I was often surprised at how effective play was in reducing their pain, and getting out of the victim mentality. In this age of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), the art of play could be of enormous value to provide a break and change the negative emotional label, i.e. difficult situation vs. exciting opportunities for growth.

Reflection: How can you use play to reframe your emotional perspective?

Mental Resilience: Connections and creativity

Jean Piaget once wrote, “Play is the answer to the question: how does anything new come about?” Play is vital for children to explore, use their imagination to develop creativity and learning and to develop their brains. It helps them to make connections between things and to make sense of the world. What a pity we lose that as we grow older.

Reflection: What are some of the ways you can include play in your daily activities to increase creativeness, learning and innovation?

Social Resilience:

I believe the ability to build strong relationships is foundational to being successful as a leader and a person. Play helps us build meaningful relationships. Think of any meeting you’ve been, and the shift that happens during an icebreaker. At first, it’s annoying, then uncomfortable, then there’s laughter, and then the moment of feeling part of the group. The light-heartedness of play can build moments of real connection, and create a supportive environment. 

Reflection: In what ways can you create playful moments of real connection?

Authentic Leadership: Overall strength

Lastly, I have been following a series of videos on how play in exercise e.g. crawling, baby pose in yoga, results in building holistic muscle strength that focused exercise fails to build. Authentic leadership is one where you use and develop your strength in ways that are natural. When you force play in an inauthentic manner, the result is often the opposite of what we intended.

Reflection: In what authentic ways can you use play to develop your team, your resilience and yourself as a leader?  

Your turn:

• How can you infuse a little lighthearted play to increase resilience and help you to be more effective on a daily basis?

• In what ways have you found playfulness effective at work? 

• What small step can you take today to include some play in your daily lives?

About Racheal: I work with leaders to build resilience and create strategies to become more effective, if you would like to learn more, please contact me.

An Organizational Psychologist, and Executive Coach, I have worked with leaders globally. I have a curious mind, an adventurous and open spirit, and a love for people development. I believe that through engaging our passions and embracing our gifts we can create meaning and find our purpose. And through our journey of self-awareness and development we offer the world our very best authentic self.