Finding Play

Play has no intended outcome. Play happens out of joy and curiosity. It doesn’t seek any external goal or validation.

Life starts with play. As we grow up, many of us forget about it.

It’s being present and curious. At some point, we are taught to pursue certain progressions in life, like money, family, and a good life. We are taught that the way to get there is through hard work and following rules. Play gets a bad name. It has the connotation of not-serious and counter-productive.

Play is not just for kids. It’s a personalized and unique key to unlock everyone’s Zone of Genius.

Life as a CEO is more like a marathon than a sprint. What if you ask yourself, “How can I make this life more fun?”

When you start playing more in your business, it will make your life better. You will lead with curiosity and joy versus your ego. Conscious leadership is play, because play is understanding oneself, listening, and responding.

I once coached a CEO who was on the brink of selling her company.  She was constantly stressed and exhausted and found herself never present with her loved ones during non-work hours.  Together, we made the discovery that her life was all work, goals, and responsibilities — no play.

The first form of play we incorporated is in finding her original inspiration for the business. She rotated to the marketing department and wrote a few blog posts for her company. That made her happier and attracted new employees to come work for her.

The second type of play was in relationships with her co-founder. They tried taking their meetings outside, without electronics, over dinner, etc. It turned a strenuous relationship into a deep friendship.  The result:  her co-founder turned into a better COO than the CEO could’ve ever could’ve imagined.

Play isn’t slacking off. It’s actually a productivity hack. When you are great at restoring with play, you will be more creative.

Rather than giving you line-by-line instruction on how to play (which rarely works since everyone’s definitions of “play” are vastly different), the better thing I can do is teachyou how to play.

Coaches can teach you to play with the guidelines and find out what resonates with you. You play with fear to find your truth. You learn to experiment and learn instead of taking things personally. You find your personal Zone of Genius and delegate the rest of your responsibilities. You play in personal lives and relationships so you feel fuller; therefore, you have more to give to their business.

Life starts again when you discover play. You look at the world with childlike excitement and joy, but this time, powered up by your adult wisdom and resources.

If you are intentional, you will begin to find outlets in your life that spark pure, unadulterated curiosity and playtime. That will lead to a more joyous life. And that joyous life will lead you to show up fully for your team and your company.

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Here are a few ways you can incorporate more play:

1. Block out 1 hour per week doing something that’s fun for you. Before this time, sit down and journal for 10 minutes on what would be fun for you that day. Then, commit to not being sidetracked by other people or electronics during this time.
2. At your next team meeting, ask your team how can work be more fun? Collect their answers and keep each person accountable for 1 action item.
3. Pick 1 important person in your life (spouse, parent, friend, etc.) and ask each of you to write down what the funnest day could be for the two of you. Then, block out your calendar and make it happen.

Just like any habit, play takes repetition to be more powerful. Make time and space for regular play in your life. If you have an EA or Chief of Staff, cause them to check in with you on when you are making time for play, and what play looks like for you. Remember that play is beneficial to the company, so this can fall within their areas of responsibility (AORs). They may even be able to help you block out time in your calendar to experience this. Either way, empower those around you to hold you accountable for living a fulfilling, playful life.

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About the Author

Sabrina Wang is a CEO coach for extraordinary leaders of Series A to Unicorn companies. She is a founder, CEO, and operator who brings real-life experiences in building products and scaling revenue into her coaching. She is a writer, creative, and trained meditation teacher.