For teams and leaders striving to unlock better collaboration and outcomes, play isn’t just a break from work—it’s a powerful leadership mindset. Embracing play fosters curiosity, creativity, and resilience, helping teams innovate and thrive even under pressure.

In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman sits down with special guests Cas Holman, renowned play designer and author of Playful, and Michelle Lee, Partner and Executive Co-Managing Director at IDEO. Together, they dive into how playful thinking sparks better questions, builds psychological safety, and drives meaningful innovation within teams.

Drawing from Cas’s expertise in designing open-ended play systems and Michelle’s leadership at IDEO, they share real-world examples of how play transforms collaboration and delivers stronger results across diverse organizations.

Explore related resources to deepen your team’s creative potential:

• Playful by Cas Holman – a compelling look at play as a tool for innovation
• Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving – an online course by Michelle Lee on harnessing creativity for breakthrough collaboration
• Playful Thinking Under Pressure – a blog post on how teams can stay inventive and effective when it matters most

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