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By Kevin
Carroll
Think back to your childhood and
the years dominated by playtime, when there were endless hours to fill and
the only agenda was to have fun. But playtime was also productive time, even
if as kids we didn’t realize it. What we thought was entertaining was also
instructive. Activities we called tea party, kick-ball, finger-painting,
hide-and seek, daydreaming and tag were also exercises in planning,
strategy, design, decision- making, creativity and risk-taking.
In play we didn’t avoid obstacles. We looked for them by voluntarily
challenging ourselves. We eagerly tackled insurmountable odds — height,
speed, lack of money — to make our desires reality. Using imagination, we
climbed Mt. Everest, competed in the Super Bowl, conquered the world, made a
house out of a cardboard box, and ran a restaurant. We voluntarily tested
ourselves and accepted failure as part of the play.
We ran, stumbled and got up to run again. When we lost a game we simply
started a new one. When something didn’t pan out, we came up with a new
solution until we were satisfied. When faced with an enemy or new challenge
— be it a competing team, a broken toy, or our friend playing a cop to our
robber, an ogre to our princess — we figured out how to win, remedy the
malfunction, or flee the imagined danger.
Far from frivolous time, childhood activities were constructive because they
strengthened our resolve as well as our skills. Play gave us courage and
instilled confidence. No doubt about it, the many forms of play — board
games, sports, pretending, arts-and-crafts, exploring, building — required
us to invent, analyze, innovate, socialize, plan and problem solve. These
are among the very same skills required of us at work.
Why, then, do play and work seem so contradictory? Why, as adults, do we
relegate them to separate spheres, and why do so few workers and companies
value play as a means to effective work?
Perhaps it’s because we’re brought up to believe that the two can’t coexist.
At school, teachers insert play in between class time; play becomes
something we do after chores and homework. Over time, our instinctual play
behavior is slowly replaced with institutional processes and boundaries,
such as classes, test taking and structured activities.
By the time we enter the workplace we have effectively relegated play to
weekends and vacations. Worse, competition and deadlines further stifle our
ability to exercise many of play’s most productive instincts, such as
creativity and imagination. How sad that as adults we push play to the
margins of our lives, forgetting that play isn’t frivolous at all but highly
productive.
We don’t have to live this way. Adult responsibilities do not mean there’s
no place for child-like joys. Delight and productivity can coexist, and it’s
possible to tap what I call the genius of youth so that the most engaging,
entertaining and educational aspects of play co-exist with our labor.
I believe that you can want to work, just as you once wanted to play. The
result: jobs that feel more like fun than like drudgery; workplace
satisfaction; increased employee retention; and, ultimately, more
innovative, successful companies.
The Merits of Play
Play isn’t just about having fun; it’s serious business. Research has shown
that play — particularly unstructured, spontaneous games vs. scheduled
activities like music lessons and football practice—is a powerful force in
human development. Play experts such as Stuart L. Brown, founder of the
Institute of Play, early childhood professor and author Vivian Gussin Paley,
and Yale research scientist Dorothy G. Singer believe that spontaneous play
and fantasy play help children learn about the world, cope with life’s
pressures, and process negative emotions.
They have found that role-playing prepares us for real-life situations,
allowing us to practice, for example, making decisions under pressure,
leading a group or thinking abstractly. Group play teaches us to socialize
and to cooperate. Play also gives us a chance to better know ourselves
through self-evaluation and self-reflection, which are critical development
tools, and it encourages creativity.
Research has also identified two types of play: Playful play and productive
play. Playful play is doing an activity for the pure joy of doing it, such
as skipping rocks on a pond, rolling down a hill until you’re dizzy and
giddy, or playing air guitar. Jeri Robinson, vice president of early
childhood programs at the Boston Children’s Museum, defines playful play as
“exertion without serious consequence.”
Productive play has consequences, a specific outcome, and goals other than
pure pleasure. It has a specific purpose, such as producing a tangible
thing, like a new and better widget, or playing tennis to win a tournament
vs. just for fun. Although both types of play teach us valuable skills,
productive play is the type we can easily weave into our work.
Tag, you're it! Catch Kevin
Carroll as he presents “Rediscovering Play: Bringing Fun and Passion to Your
Work … and Life.” Carroll is the closing keynote speaker for the 82nd Annual
IAAM Conference & Trade Show and the opening keynote speaker for the 7th
Annual University Venue Management Conference on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, in
Salt Lake City. Olly olly oxen free |
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