Last week I spoke at a CIPD area meeting about Developing a Culture of Playfulness*. I started the session rather bravely by asking people to have a guess, take a punt and make some assumptions about me!
- How old am I?
- What kind of house do I live in?
- What does my husband do?
- What do I like to do in my spare time?
- Which famous person inspires me?
I hadn’t done this for a while, and I had forgotten what it is like to be stared at! In small groups the debate started. Reasons were created, stories imagined and statements made.
After 5-10 minutes I asked, how did it feel to do this activity…
- Frustrating- How am I supposed to know?
- Fun- Fun to be able to make it up.
- Challenging- Putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.
- Uncomfortable- I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.
- It got us talking (and laughing)
And how did you come up with your final answer?
- Stab in the dark
- Bit of knowledge from earlier conversation- so some calculations
- How you were stood and move
- Your voice
- Cyber stalking in advance
- Looking for clues- staring
- Own experiences and putting them on you
- Imagination
It’s all guesswork…
- Ages ranged from 25-32
- Types of house included apartment and townhouse
- Jobs for husband included accountant, business partner, trainer
- In my spare time it was suggested I run, swim and horse ride
- The famous people that inspire me ‘apparently’ include Maya Angelou & Richard Branson
Making assumptions simply means we believe things are a certain way with little or no evidence that shows we are correct.
In businesses we get used to things being a certain way, assumptions form about how things should be; because we become experts, because we don’t have the courage to ask questions, because that’s how everyone else does it, because we don’t want to get it wrong.
Business leaders are doomed to run in circles because they are using invalid assumptions without knowing it
However, as we all experienced playing that activity, even when alternative views are clearly wrong, being exposed to them expands our creative potential.
It’s worth considering whether organizational systems allow different perspectives and voices to be heard. A culture of playfulness enables this to happen by questioning assumptions and seeking new directions.
A Culture of Playfulness…
- Builds trust breaking down barriers to open conversations
- Creates permission for people to ask questions and challenge the status-quo
- Takes risks, allowing mistakes to be made and new opportunities to flourish
- Maintains openness necessary for continual innovation
- Ensures decisions are made on solid foundations
Play is fundamental for business growth- It allows us to take off the experts hat and look again
*Click Here: Developing a Culture of Playfulness- White Paper to download and read our latest white paper.