Lead with a dash of Play

What does play have to do with finding your soul’s mission? For Deb Valentina, they are absolutely connected, and result in the joy of being in the place you are meant to be. Hear her thoughts on deep soul work, intuition or knowingness, and its connection to play and joy. But first, Debra and I spoke of the power of names. Deb? Debra? She is both and has been both in a journey of leadership and coaching leaders alike.

Guest: Debra Valentina  

As a Soul Voice Catalyst & Midwife, Debra, founder of Creativing, has a passion for empowering women to birth their soul’s passion project, including writing their unique stories. To this end, Debra has spent over 35 years as a holistic life and writing coach for professional women who want to make a difference in their communities and the world. Debra is an international bestselling author and speaker on leadership topics. In March 2024 Debra spoke at the United Nations at the international Conference on the Status of Women. 

Do you play at work? Jacqueline Lloyd Smith does. As Founder of Strategic Play® Global and a Master Trainer in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Methods, play is critical to achieving the serious outcomes she gets for companies. But it’s more than that. Given the high disengagement rates of workers these days, play could well be what humanity needs. Hear her stories about facilitating with bricks, the oppression of play in Western culture, and the power of getting back in touch with how you played as a kid.

Guest Bio: Jacqueline Lloyd Smith

Founder of Strategic Play® Global Jacquie has over twenty years of experience facilitating critical problem-solving sessions for organizational clients that include Adidas, NASA, Procter & Gamble and the United Nations. Jacquie’s credentials include a Master's in Conflict Analysis and Management, an MBA in Executive Management from Royal Roads University, and certifications as an Art and Play Therapist, Visual Coach, and Creative Problem Solver. She is also one of only four original global master trainers with LEGO® Systems Group and a certified facilitator and trainer of facilitators in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methods. 

“The true, true opposite of play is fear.”

“To be able to be really full of joy, we have to be able to play.”

The 30 Circles activity noted during the podcast is one of three creative exercises described here:

https://hbr.org/2013/11/three-creativity-challenges-from-ideos-leaders

Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres, authors of “Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement,” draw connections between the practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), and approaching work - and conversations - with a sense of play. This type of AI invites curiosity, storytelling, imagination, and a tuning in to those around us. That’s a lot of play!

Explore the book and course here: https://www.conversationsworthhaving.today/ 

30% discount on the course for Lead with a dash of Play listeners. Use code: LEADWITHPLAY

And the game, Shift This!, here: https://www.conversationsworthhaving.today/shift-this 

Guest Bio: Jackie Stavros

Jackie Stavros, DM is co-founder of CWH Institute, Inc and professor and management consultant in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University. She has worked across all sectors and in over 25 countries using Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to affect the lives of thousands of people and hundreds of organizations improve capacity to thrive and increase performance. Her research is grounded in the AI, neuroscience, and positive psychology to help others understand how their conversations influence their wellbeing and ability to succeed. 

Guest Bio: Cheri Torres  

Cheri Torres, PhD, co-founder and executive officer for CWH Institute Inc, where she helps individuals, teams, and entire systems unlock their potential through the power of communication. With decades of experience in education, business, and community development, Cheri specializes in professional development and whole-system culture change using Appreciative Inquiry—one of the most widely adopted approaches for positive transformation.

Cheri and Jackie coauthored “Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement” (www.cwh.today) 

How do you know who is ready to play? With Lee Kim, we discuss the creation of playgrounds for adults - within corporate and civic spaces. Blending design thinking and “a space of yes,” playgrounds invite meaningful co-creation. 

Explore more about the ideas and playgrounds Lee mentions:

• Inyeon meaning: https://www.kinfolk.com/stories/word-inyeon/ 
• Wearable Tracy - Short Documentary on the New Yorker Documentary Platform: https://youtu.be/c0Xu25ZmFg8 
• Community built before Covid: www.designdreamlab.org
• Community built after Covid: www.designthinkingzeal.com

GUEST: Lee Kim

Lee is a designer thinker, an engineer, and also a certified Lego Serious Play facilitator. She founded a community innovation lab - Design Dream Lab, where anyone with a giving heart can create an impact and dream of a better future. Lee loves building and fostering creativity through everyday experiences and finds joy in connecting dots with other fun-loving and joyful human beings. Lee is always exploring ways to spark human curiosity and connections through story-making and experience design with simple activations.  You may see her wearing a colorful pipe cleaner crown walking around the streets of New York City sending signals to connect with another curious human being!

Is there space for playfulness in the most serious of moments? Liz Vogel is a leader in the preservation of American democracy - and in intentional gathering. It’s easy to challenge whether play has a space with the stakes are high and the content serious, but Liz embodies a playful spirit even when confronting the toughest of issues. We discuss democracy, end-of-life, vintage clothes, and more.

Resources mentioned:

• Priya Parker - The Art of Gathering
• Day Schildkret - Ritual and Morning Altars
• Eboo Patel at American University, We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy
• Friends honor artist’s last wishes with water ballet in a Seattle kiddie pool “Some prefer funerals, some prefer having their ashes scattered, but local artist Briar Bates chose a different way to commemorate her death — instructing her friends to perform a water ballet in the wading pool at Volunteer Park.”

GUEST: Liz Vogel

Liz Vogel currently serves as Co-Executive Director at New Pluralists, where she guides funders to collaborate and invest together to strengthen belonging, trust and cooperation across differences in the U.S. This builds on over two decades of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. Liz is deeply rooted in relationships and community, as seen and felt in her personal and professional gatherings, and exudes a life-long curiosity which has led her to the creation of vintage clothing parties, becoming a death doula, and being a modern elder in training.

Retired Colonel Jason M. Trew -"TOGA" - studied at the Air Force school for strategists (earning a PhD) and came out with some fascinating insights on play. Introducing the concept of “warped play,” TOGA shares insights on the power of play for strategy development - providing opportunity to practice before we are in the highest pressure situations.

GUEST: Col Jason “TOGA” Trew, PhD (USAF Retired)

At the time of our conversation, Colonel Jason M. Trew, who goes by the callsign "TOGA," was serving as the Commandant and Dean of the premier strategy course in the Department of Defense. In the time since the interview, TOGA has relinquished command, retired from the Air Force and began teaching for the Savannah College of Art and Design. Anything expressed in this interview are his personal views and do not reflect the official policy of -- or endorsement by -- any part of the US Government.

TOGA entered the Air Force in 1999 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies and Russian Area Studies. After flying trainer and fighter aircraft for the first half of his career, he spent a decade focused on innovations in education, strategy, and leadership. This included a year studying at the Air Force school for strategists, earning a PhD in the history of technology, coaching innovation teams across the federal government, and leading the design team for Space Force education. He has extensive training in facilitation and design thinking and is also certified as a performance coach, personal trainer, and an Ironman triathlon coach. 

In a world filled with uncertainty, urgency, and division, what happens when leaders show up with a playful mindset? Lead with a Dash of Play returns to explore how play can help us navigate serious challenges with connection, imagination, creativity and courage. Maybe play is exactly what is needed in this moment.

The final bash of summer should give inspiration and release - and in the case of play, we find that with curiosity and one of its most passionate advocates, Scott Shigeoka. Even beyond play in professional spaces, Scott seeks to make the curiosity that transforms political structures more accessible, more playful, more joyful.

Scott Shigeoka is an internationally recognized curiosity expert, speaker, and the author of SEEK: How Curiosity Can Transform Your Life and Change the World. He is known for translating research into strategies that promote positive well-being and connected relationships around the globe, including at the UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and through his groundbreaking courses at the University of Texas at Austin. Scott implements his curiosity practices in the public sector, Fortune 500 companies, Hollywood, media organizations, education institutions, and small businesses.

Learn more about Seek: https://seekthebook.com/

How do you keep play accessible? It can be through physically keeping something close, through the questions we ask ourselves, or through verbal and visual cues we notice during the work day.

Featuring Past Guests:

• Garry Ridge
• Kathy Klotz-Guest
• Ruksana Hussain
• Neville Billimoria

Meetings are such a ubiquitous part of work - and often one of the spaces that can feel energy-draining. What if that wasn’t the case? The clips in this episode of “Summer Session” specifically highlight ways to make meetings better. After all, there is so much potential when people gather. Why waste that time and space?

Featuring past guests (along with the offerings they share): 

• Natalie Nixon - a free chapter of her book The Creativity Leap
• Jocelyn Brady - Tiny Tips on YouTube
• Mark Collard - a database of ideas on Playmeo 
• Amy Climer - 30d free trial of her famous Climer Cards virtual deck
• Dave Mastronardi - Gamestorming protocols for all your work woes