How Play Can Save The Day
This week I have been reflecting on how culture can affect our propensity to learn and expand as leaders.
I have come to see that when it comes to creating lasting change in ourselves and our leadership, many of us learn best when we’re in a state more aligned to how we were as children in the playground, than how we were expected to behave in the classroom.
As humans, we're supposed to be in a state of creative play more of the time, despite the way many of our institutions and organisations are designed.
It is also true that we expand through hard knocks, stretching ourselves beyond what we think is possible, and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. . .
But if it is all an uphill slog, we can burn out or disengage. We may avoid learning opportunities because we perceive we don’t have the capacity, and inadvertently limit ourselves.
When we are relaxed, and at ease, we tend to be more curious and open. Our armour drops and opens us up to greater self-awareness and new possibilities.
Play and creativity can be a route to expanding our capability as leaders. Particularly if you're wanting to go beyond learning new skills, and want to evolve your inner world as you grow.
I’m not talking about ‘forced fun.’ Perhaps, like me, you shudder at the memory of being at a training event or conference, where it was assumed that everyone would find a particular outlandish activity enjoyable and relevant :)
Instead, I am talking about weaving in your own knowledge about what puts you in a state of receptivity and resourcefulness, as you learn.
Here are three possibilities to get you started:
1. When choosing a mentor, coach, or guide—as well as them having the experience in whatever it is you want to learn—select someone whose presence and energy you genuinely want to be around. In this way you’re more likely to be open with them, and honest with yourself.
2. Consider exploring a less direct, more creative route to your development.
For example, if you want to feel more confident in your public speaking, you could take an improv or a stand-up comedy class.
If you want to develop your strategic thinking abilities, you could rope a friend into playing a collaborative board game that has you planning and implementing a complex set of tasks to kill goblins and save the world!
If you want to feel more grounded as you deal with the multiple challenges of your role, you could try yoga or breath-work.
If you go down this route, make it something that intrigues, delights and stretches you all at once :)#
3. Another approach is to try lowering the stakes as you practice what you’re learning.
For example, if you’re working on your coaching skills, coach someone you don’t work with directly and apply what you're learning as you go. Agree up front that this is a chance for you to experiment freely without fear of ‘getting it wrong' with your hot-off-the-press new skills.
You'll get to hone your skills and see the impact your coaching is having on your colleague, making it easier to take what you're learning into your day-to-day role.
I’d love to read the suggestions you’d add to these. Email me at claire@clairemackinnon.com with your reflections, comments and questions, or join the conversation on LinkedIn.
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