Episode 3
Creating Playgrounds
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!
Transcript
When is the last time that you played?
Speaker B:This morning.
Speaker B:So I was on the call with a group of colleagues and they wanted to kind of brainstorm ideas together.
Speaker B:And for me, not necessarily about brainstorming and coming up with ideas, that part is of course that can be applied, but actually like just coming together in a place, place is getting ready to play.
Speaker B:So, you know, you go into some meetings thinking that there's like, here is an agenda, you know, somebody will present and you will discuss it going in.
Speaker B:You know, that's not a play because there's certain expectations for me to be, you know, muted in a scheme of color.
Speaker B:But when we come in to like, just to share ideas and talk about things that is possible, then it comes entering into a playground that, you know, the mindset of coming into this space is no longer about the goals and achievements and outcomes.
Speaker B:It's about being open and listening to each other and being open, open and honest.
Speaker B:Actually.
Speaker B:No pretense, right?
Speaker B:Be nice to each other.
Speaker B:So this morning I played and it was with familiar faces, some familiar faces who know how to play and then also some new colleagues who also came.
Speaker B:And we just had such a great time connecting with each other, connecting with ideas, but also connecting with different kind of perspective shifting and all those things.
Speaker B:So this morning I played with my colleagues and of course, you know, I also consider this could be a play, see how it goes.
Speaker B:You know, I think both of us are coming into openness and kind of unexpected surprises will happen.
Speaker B:So we'll see.
Speaker A:Welcome to lead with a dash of play.
Speaker A:Here we talk about the how and why of reclaiming playfulness as adults in order to build more connected, innovative and human centered workspaces.
Speaker A:Isn't that what leadership is all about?
Speaker A:I'm your host, Mary Hendra.
Speaker A:Let's play.
Speaker A:My guest today is Lee Kim.
Speaker A:Somewhere along my journey of exploring play, a friend shared a video about Lee.
Speaker A:It was a New Yorker documentary titled How Wearing Silly Hats Helped a Mom find Joy.
Speaker A:That connection sparked my reaching out.
Speaker A:Lee would call this In Yin.
Speaker B:There's a movie that came out called Past Lives and it is done by a Korean director and it talks about the, the.
Speaker B:The Korean word is in yan.
Speaker B:And that is like what is meant to happen is going to happen.
Speaker B:But it's, it's actually more of a, A threat of human connection is not by chance.
Speaker B:It, it was with like probability of one out of million times that you were, you know, going to meet today, but you don't even know.
Speaker B:So the, the chance of me just to like passing by someone and then touching his or her sleeves or some kind of fabric.
Speaker B:And so we both don't recognize that we had some kind of connection.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Just like our fabrics touching each other.
Speaker A:Since that first introduction, Lee and I have connected multiple times to talk about play in different settings in different playgrounds.
Speaker A:This interview was recorded a couple years ago, but when I decided to relaunch the podcast this year, we had another great conversation.
Speaker A:Lee continues to inspire me with how she deliberately and thoughtfully creates playgrounds in her workplace and beyond.
Speaker A:We start with description so you can picture how she shows up both on the streets of New York where she lives, and for our podcast conversation.
Speaker A:If people were to see you on the street in New York City, what would they see?
Speaker B:They will see a woman with something on her head.
Speaker B:At first you be like, oh, is that like a 3D printed hat that she's wearing?
Speaker B:Because it's very structural.
Speaker B:And then when you get closer, you will recognize that it's actually pipeliners weaved into a shape of a fascinator or a shape of something.
Speaker B:This one actually have yellow and green combination, and it has a tail that's kind of like a fish tail.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And then it has a head that's almost like a flower petal.
Speaker B:So I don't know what they will see because it different directions.
Speaker B:You know, you kind of see, like, in one side you will see a fish.
Speaker B:On the other side you might see a bird, and on the other side you might see a dragon.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:But it's about 2ft, 2ft long.
Speaker B:You know, a foot and a half high.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker A:And I love that it has the different ways that the.
Speaker A:The person seeing you could interact with it too.
Speaker A:It reminds me of the.
Speaker A:The clouds up in the sky.
Speaker A:And when we look up with a playful mindset, we might see a dinosaur or a fish or something.
Speaker A:Something else we bring to it part of ourselves when we.
Speaker A:When we view it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, that is so true.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I think I've heard so many times, people on the subway, especially children, will be like, mom, what is that?
Speaker B:Because, you know, it's not something anybody can recognize.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:But they're curious.
Speaker B:They're like, huh, it looks strange.
Speaker B:What is that?
Speaker B:And so it's not a shape of something that you might be able to recognize, but it's something that, as you said, you can certainly put your imagination into it and then say, like, oh, it's a cat, you know, and then you just let your imagination to take the shape of what it could be.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And I Loved reading about the story.
Speaker A:And we'll put a link to this in the, in the podcast notes of how you started making these and would make a new one every day.
Speaker A:And your daughter was really an active supporter of it as well, as I recall.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And you gave yourself rules, one of which was that you had to engage with people who, who came up and asked about it.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah, that's the third rule.
Speaker B:So the third rule is if somebody questions, because I was sure that there will be people who will be questioning, and I wanted to make sure that there is something that I can use the questioning.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, yes, if somebody comes and say, what is this all about?
Speaker B:Why are you doing this?
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:Or there must be a story behind this.
Speaker B:Whatever the prompt that they give me, I have to engage in a conversation.
Speaker B:Of course I'll tell them the story, but I end with what is your name?
Speaker B:And that came actually from the conversation I just started with you.
Speaker B:In the beginning, the concept of Inian, where you and I are not here by chance, you and I are here with miracles of chances to happen.
Speaker B:So at least let's recognize each other by calling each other names.
Speaker B:And then when we depart, I'll remember, oh, you know, I talk to Mary, I talk to Lee, and we might forget, but the moment that I ask your name, I think it becomes a real connection moment rather than, oh, I heard about this, I heard about that.
Speaker B:That's just what is out there.
Speaker B:But when the moment I show what's your name?
Speaker B:It's not.
Speaker B:It's no longer about me, it's about you.
Speaker B:And so I have met so many people, but because I asked their names, it continued on to the next meetings.
Speaker B:And even if I don't meet them the next time, I still remember the time, the moment I asked and how their face lit up.
Speaker B:And there definitely is that momentum connection that's happening.
Speaker A:Using their name feels to me like you are.
Speaker A:Are letting them know that they are seen.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So often in our world, we can kind of think we're invisible.
Speaker A:But the, the pipe cleaner hats feel like an invitation to playfulness, an invitation to be playful, because it's a surprise.
Speaker A:It sparks curiosity.
Speaker A:It reminds us perhaps of when we were little and we built with pipe cleaners.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:So it's that invitation to playfulness and, and, and the asking of their name is, is almost like cementing we're in this together.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:We together have had this moment of playfulness.
Speaker B:So I love it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I mean, it has given such a powerful way for me to know there Are people out there who will be willing to come to a stranger and connect with me.
Speaker B:Like, I.
Speaker B:Until this point, until, like, six years ago, when I began doing this intentionally, I didn't know how to do that.
Speaker B:Like, who are out in the world, who is really curious, who are out in the world, who will.
Speaker B:Just wants to know who I am, why I do this?
Speaker B:How would you know?
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:In the world of strangers, how would you know who is open?
Speaker B:How do you know who is willing to play?
Speaker B:It's easy enough for us to go to playground because they're all ready to play there.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:And easy enough for us to approach someone and say, hey, do you want to go on a swing?
Speaker B:But when you're out on the street, how.
Speaker B:How would you know?
Speaker B:Yeah, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:I call it actually almost like a signal.
Speaker B:I'm sending signals out into the world for others to pick it up and then come to.
Speaker B:Come to me and say, hey, I. I saw your signal.
Speaker B:I feel your signal, and I have the same wavelength that.
Speaker B:To play with.
Speaker B:So, yeah, I wish.
Speaker B:I wish I can see that, like, you know, you.
Speaker B:You walk into a room of full strangers, and then you see, like, oh, here is a moment of curiosity.
Speaker B:Oh, here is moment of storytelling.
Speaker B:Here is moment of connection.
Speaker B:Are you ready?
Speaker B:It will be so easier to build partnerships, build trust, you know, build relationships.
Speaker B:Because oftentimes we don't see.
Speaker B:We don't see the sign we wish we can see.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:That's such a good point.
Speaker A:And it reminds me of times when I have worn something, article of clothing that is particularly playful or outlandish, whether it's funky sneakers, which I sometimes do, or a particular jacket.
Speaker A:And there is that moment at times when somebody comes up to me because of that, or we're talking and their eye turns to it, and it's almost like there's this moment of recognition of, oh, you like color as well.
Speaker A:You came to this event wearing a bright pink jacket instead of everybody else who's in black.
Speaker A:There's this moment of recognition almost of, you could be somebody that I. I connect with.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:It could also be a deterrent to those.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:I don't want to talk to her.
Speaker A:Clearly did not know what's going on here.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, a person is like, why are you.
Speaker B:Why are you doing that?
Speaker B:Like, it's not really making sense to me.
Speaker B:I'm feeling very uncomfortable in this space with you, because for someone who is not ready to play, you know, imagine someone just coming up to you while you are, you know, being In a serious conversation and the person just like barged in and say, like, hey, do you want to play?
Speaker B:They're not ready.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So, yeah, it could, it could give some people who are not ready to play a real shock.
Speaker B:Like, it's almost like a visible or sense, like you can sense the discomfort.
Speaker A:So you've mentioned playgrounds a couple times and even on your website, I think you, you identify indefinitely.
Speaker A:Last time we talked, you identify creating a playground.
Speaker A:Could you share how you create playgrounds?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I grew up in a really small village in South Korea.
Speaker B:And for me, the playground was a whole village.
Speaker B:The whole village with the mountains and, you know, the rivers.
Speaker B:It was a playground.
Speaker B:So there was no distinction between my home and the playground.
Speaker B:There was no playground that was built for children.
Speaker B:It was the whole thing when I moved away.
Speaker B:And then you grew up and you then begin to search for these places to play, to explore.
Speaker B:And when there is none, then you begin to say, isn't there a place like a place I grew up where we can just explore, we can just be free and, and play, you know?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So the way that I have created, there were multiple playground that I, I created.
Speaker B:One is a community.
Speaker B: And that was created in: Speaker B:When I first started working for Pfizer.
Speaker B:I thought, and this was my assumption because I have never worked in such a large corporation before, I assume that there will be a lot of restrictions, a lot of politics, a lot of things that I will not be able to do.
Speaker B:And this was my assumption.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So before going into the place like that, I wanted to have a place of.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So it was more of like a survival instinct that I needed to have a place of.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so I created a playground called Design Dream Lab.
Speaker B:And it's a community of people who wanted to come together to practice the idea of social impact, applying design thinking, but without having the background of, you know, do you have a certificate in design thinking?
Speaker B:Do you have, you know, knowledge in design?
Speaker B:But what if we can create a place of heart driven.
Speaker B:So it's not about agenda, certificate or qualification driven.
Speaker B:Community is do you have a heart to create something meaningful and can you just to come and play?
Speaker B:Play in a sense of.
Speaker B:At the end of the play, we're going to have something to share with whoever wants to, you know, be part of this?
Speaker B:So, so that was just like a monthly community gathering.
Speaker B:But also beyond the community gathering, we also created things, you know, whether it like when, when I grew up, we used to, you know, go to the river and then we create this like, you know, tiny houses out of rocks and, you know, earth.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So for this playground, we created games out of paper and imagination and then you kind of see how, how things work.
Speaker B:So that was like a live community we created.
Speaker B:And I call it, you know, place of.
Speaker B:Yes, but also a place of joy and human hearts.
Speaker B:We don't.
Speaker B:I mean, of course there are some dogs.
Speaker A:But dogs bring joy and.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Dogs always say yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then of course during pandemic, it became really hard to bring people together in, you know, live setting.
Speaker B:So then I created another community called Design Thinking Zeal.
Speaker B:And I did this with both of these communities I created with others.
Speaker B:And that one was to bring people together at first to share how to really utilize tools and resources in a virtual setting to facilitate gatherings.
Speaker B:But then eventually my partner Andy, who is an amazing facilitator and strategist, said, you know what is really difficult in virtual setting?
Speaker B:It's not necessarily learning about the tools, but it's about how to keep the humanness in this space.
Speaker B:And so she has done amazing, awesome thing of doing that, you know.
Speaker B:So I think for me, creating playground is no longer about having the space, physical space, but it's having a place where people can come experiment, create, share, and most of all, how do we really create that connection, the human connection that might not happen if we don't play together.
Speaker B:Because I think I've gone to many, many different webinars where I get the knowledge, but I leave not knowing who was there.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Other than, I mean, I know the presenters were there, but do I really know them?
Speaker B:I know the content that was shared, but I don't know who that person is.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So for me, that is really kind of key factors in creating community.
Speaker B:Who are in that playground willing to give their self, you know, not just the time, but stories that they hold within their heart, the knowledge, the practice, but also be willing to create something together.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it doesn't have to be a product, but it can be a story.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We can create a story together.
Speaker B:Right now we're creating a story together so that in probably most interesting journey over the last seven years of like, how can we create community that's not about just content.
Speaker B:There are so many content driven communities.
Speaker B:But about that, that human, the humanness, as Andy said, how do you keep the humanness in the virtual world but also in the live world as well?
Speaker B:I think it's difficult, especially now with so many things distracting us.
Speaker B:How do we make sure that you and I are Actually talking, but also listening and not be distracted by this little device that we have, by our.
Speaker A:Phones, by the dings, by other screens around us.
Speaker A:So often even in physical spaces, we're surrounded by digital screens, whether small or big, so it can be really easy to be distracted.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Part of what I.
Speaker A:What I really appreciate about how you've defined playgrounds is that you can create it in almost any space.
Speaker A:So you described the meeting this morning as a playground, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And a community gathering.
Speaker A:And, you know, so each one of these spaces can be a playground when we come to it with our hearts, with the right mindset, with the.
Speaker A:The interest and curiosity to play together.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, yeah.
Speaker A:And you talked about the social impact, especially of the Design Dream Lab.
Speaker A:What are some of the things that you have created collectively when you came together to.
Speaker A:To dream and to design and to play?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:One thing that, you know, we create the way that we create is first, of course, come.
Speaker B:People come together, and then we have this idea.
Speaker B:Like factory sessions, right?
Speaker B:Like just any kind of idea, let's throw it.
Speaker B:But there is good ideas come out when we actually have some kind of deadlines.
Speaker B:You know, like, I mean, imagine if the baseball game can go more than, you know, nine innings or, you know, like soccer game can go for first, you know, like forever.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Because there's a time deadline, like, you know, you know, it's gonna end at certain point.
Speaker B:And so I think for Design Dream Lab, really successful product or things that we create, the creation came out when we had that deadline or when we had that reason to do things.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So one was we created something called I yearn to.
Speaker B:I was experience design for end of Life.
Speaker B:And it combines I. I'm yearning to be something.
Speaker B:I'm yearning to go somewhere also with this.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:The ash.
Speaker B:The urn.
Speaker B:Put your ash in.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So we kind of like put those two words together and then say I yawn to.
Speaker B:And that is if you go out in the world and you put some kind of wish list, and if somebody can tell you, oh, I can actually make that happen, you know, you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
Speaker B:My life is.
Speaker B:Today is my last day.
Speaker B:These are the things I would like to do.
Speaker B:But I cannot be, you know, going to Tibet or I cannot go to Mount Everest tomorrow.
Speaker B:But that's what I am wishing to do.
Speaker B:If you can put your wishes out in the world and somebody can catch that wish and make that happen on your behalf and share that experience with you, wouldn't that be wonderful?
Speaker B:So that was kind of like ideas that we wanted to make it happen.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So we came together and we had two day festival called Before, End and End after.
Speaker B:And it was about life before the end and life after the end.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And then one of that was actually having this outdoor experience gathering where we had set up on the green market where people come and go and we had a table where people can write down what their wishes are for, you know, if their life ends whenever.
Speaker B:And then they write down their wishes.
Speaker B:We hang that on like a clothing line that we created.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then they write down their names and their contact information.
Speaker B:And idea was for someone else who can fill that wish to write down their name and then they go and complete it and then share it.
Speaker B:So that was an experiment.
Speaker B:You know, it's not that like somebody actually was able to go out and do and then share it, but idea was, can we activate people to share their dreams and can we have someone take those things and make it happen?
Speaker B:And for me, as the playground maintenance person is not necessarily that something has to happen, but can we activate people to dream what that, what that could be ideas.
Speaker B:And, you know, the result does not have to always come together, but can we make people to go out and write down something?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then, and then see what, what happens in the world.
Speaker B:So I want to.
Speaker B:Was an experiment that we ran during that festival, one of the festivals we had.
Speaker B:And it was fun.
Speaker B:It was fun in a way that the players, you know, the players of the Design Dream Lab together and put together and then have people to activate, engage with our ideas and then have people to write down, you know, their wishes.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was one that I remember from Design Dream Lab.
Speaker B:Another one was actually partnering with local community organizations.
Speaker B:So Queen's Public Library had reached out to us and asked us, is there a way that you can create a game that people in Queens.
Speaker B:Queens is one of the boroughs in New York City, one of the most diverse boroughs in New York City.
Speaker B:And the librarian wanted to know whether the people who live in Queens who immigrated from another country because it's, you know, a very diverse neighborhood, do they know their family, you know, about, you know, what happens in New York, but do you know what happened in Bangladesh, in Korea, in, you know, right.
Speaker B:Wherever they came from?
Speaker B:And what is the story of their grandmother?
Speaker B:What's the story.
Speaker B:Story of their mother?
Speaker B:Because that you don't share.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:You, once you come to America, you share about how to live here.
Speaker B:You're not necessarily sure about the things that happened in the past.
Speaker B:So they asked us whether we could create a game, and we went through many different iterations.
Speaker B:And then the way that we create a game is to actually using a visual cue, rather than using, oh, tell me about your childhood, which is a verbal cue.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We created the game using a visual cue.
Speaker B:So there are 45 cards, image card that was selected from museums that allowed people to use in their Creative Commons license, or libraries that actually had picture collections or image collections.
Speaker B:And then we used those images to prompt the memories.
Speaker B:So you can select four cards at random.
Speaker B:And then we asked, does any one of these image prompt a memory for you?
Speaker B:And inevitably, I mean, maybe sometimes people just have a hard time, but most of the times, one will prompt memory.
Speaker B:If you saw, like a painting, a pair of shoes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Or if you saw a painting of seaside.
Speaker B:If you saw a painting of a bird or a cat or, you know, a children playing, it somehow prompt a memory from their childhood from, you know, long ago.
Speaker B:And so people then begin to share their memories.
Speaker B:And then people who are playing are now going from listening mode to actually inquiry mode to say, like, oh, tell me more about this and what about that?
Speaker B:So it became a storytelling, but also connection about understanding and sometimes a moment of vulnerability.
Speaker B:And then at the end, the pictures that were selected with the themes that we have collected, we put them together, four or five of them.
Speaker B:Because by the time we end with four or five people at the group, we now created memory of the memory, memory of sharing the memories.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:That became another component.
Speaker B:And this has been probably one of the most, I guess, pride that we had.
Speaker B:We felt like the.
Speaker B:We had something tangible.
Speaker B:I'm not talking about, like a tangible result, but something that we can touch and see and flip and.
Speaker B:And say, like, we actually created this together as a community and, you know, without having any funding, without having any kind of resources other than our hearts.
Speaker B:And none of us were game designers, but we were all trying to kind of figure it out together.
Speaker B:And so the memorial Kaleidoscope game that we created for Queen's Public Library, now actually, like many branches of Queen's Public Library, they have these games that they can play and many stories that came out of that has, like, another stories that came from it as well.
Speaker B:So it has been really fulfilling experience for, not just for me, but for, you know, all the community members who got to be part of this game creation.
Speaker A:That sounds so beautiful.
Speaker A:Lee's creation of playgrounds is so generous.
Speaker A:A space of, yes, created in support of community.
Speaker A:But the games she describes are not just for bringing strangers together.
Speaker B:I went back to Korea because I wanted to know whether this game can actually lend itself to my family as well.
Speaker B:So I went back to Korea and, and I played with my parents and my brother and I heard the stories that I never knew about my parents, you know, when they were first married.
Speaker B:And so it was also a moment for me to connect with my family the way that I didn't know how to.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I, I so love hearing how play intersects with connection for you time and time again.
Speaker A:And I'm curious what your play journey has been.
Speaker A:Have you always had this sense of play and desire for it, or is it something along the way that got you into a play journey?
Speaker B:I don't think I thought about play until I got into design thinking.
Speaker B:You know, of course, you know, like, of course if you ask anyone have you ever played, people will say yes, right?
Speaker B:Like whether they were three years old, four years or five years old, or you played at least once in your lifetime, you know, you cannot say no, right?
Speaker B:But I never thought about play more in a conscious mindset until I did design thinking because, you know, once you get into working, I'm talking about like academic work or professional work, we, I mean, at least for me it was work.
Speaker B:It was not anything that you approach with this idea of play.
Speaker B:You, you do good work, you do hard work, right?
Speaker B:And then you produce good result.
Speaker B:You don't think about, oh, you come in with openness, you come in with the curiosity, you enjoy what you are doing and you don't even know the time pass so much during that time.
Speaker B:You don't, at least for me, I didn't about that.
Speaker B:It was always like, okay, here is the goal that you have to reach, here is the thing that you have to do.
Speaker B:And did you get there.
Speaker B:When I was first introduced design thinking about 10 years ago, that was really moment that I thought about maybe I am approaching problem solving or the way I'm approaching life in a very linear way, one plus one becomes two.
Speaker B:You know, if you do this, you, this will happen.
Speaker B:It doesn't leave much to spontaneity or, you know, things that's unexpected will happen, right?
Speaker B:It becomes if something unexpected happen, then you're, you're stuck because that's not in your, in your three month, six month, nine month plan.
Speaker B:So design thinking, which you come in with, well, do you know whose problem this is?
Speaker B:Have you gone to talk to the person or have you even observed the person's life?
Speaker B:Have you thought about maybe your solution that you already have in your head might not be the right place to begin.
Speaker B:And just being open to, let's not make an assumption about the problems.
Speaker B:Let's go in and say, like, can you tell me about what is your day, what your day was yesterday?
Speaker B:Just from the beginning to the end, does it tell me right, without thinking about, oh, I have a solution for you to increase your productivity.
Speaker B:That was very new.
Speaker B:We go in knowing that, oh, you know, there was traffic jam in New York City from 6am to 9am we need to solve this.
Speaker B:Well, let's change.
Speaker B:Maybe we, you know, charge more people for coming into the city.
Speaker B:We come in with a solution and then we verify that.
Speaker B:So my play journey began when I thought about maybe one plus one does not have to be two.
Speaker B:And maybe if I don't come in with a solution, it will be more.
Speaker B:I don't know if it's going to be awesome, but it will be more like unexpected surprise could be better than expected result for at least for me.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because this one working if I just work with that expected result.
Speaker B:And so then you have to get into the mindset of this playfulness.
Speaker B:You know, when you come in, are people in that room willing to play with you?
Speaker B:Can they at least let go of that given assumptions and be able to open their mind and a little bit more into what if instead of what is.
Speaker B:So I think certainly that had pushed me into ideas of playfulness.
Speaker B:What if.
Speaker B:And I think this one also happened.
Speaker B:What if I do this for a whole year?
Speaker B:What if I create pipe cleaner hats on my head and wear it every day and wear it not during the time that I'm not seeing people, but wear it from 9 to 5 where I will be visible going into meetings and, you know, interviews and things.
Speaker B:What if.
Speaker B:And so that openness of like, I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll just, I'll just see how it goes.
Speaker B:And I think with that came a lot of unexpected surprises which I just go with mindset of yes.
Speaker B:And Right.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:And what if I do this?
Speaker B:And now what if you do this?
Speaker B:If somebody has like, oh, can we do this?
Speaker B:Yeah, let's figure out how we can make that happen.
Speaker B:So I think, and there are so much that I can learn by not knowing, like by, by admitting that I don't know.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Like I was an expert, I was in transportation sector and I was an expert in pedestrian transit.
Speaker B:Analysis.
Speaker B:I have the formulas, I have analysis.
Speaker B:You're always in defending mode.
Speaker B:Somebody will Say, oh, your analysis is.
Speaker B:No, no, I can tell you number one, number two, number three, here are the formulas I use, here's restrictions, here are the constraints.
Speaker B:This is how I solved it.
Speaker B:You're always into this idea of why you did it.
Speaker B:Defend it and make sure that you can pass that, that bar.
Speaker B:With design, you're always iterating.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:With design, there is no one way to do it.
Speaker B:You know, like I have, I don't know why I have bellier, but you can certainly use, you know, cowbell to tell people like, it's time for you to come to dinner.
Speaker B:But maybe there was other ways to do that as well, or maybe one way to use one thing for the other.
Speaker B:So I think there's just the idea of play came with design thinking and maybe that's why I think the human connection, which is part of like core of design thinking, of empathy, comes alongside the play.
Speaker B:Right, Right.
Speaker A:You may be pondering by this point how you might create a playground yourself.
Speaker A:As we wrap up our conversation, Lee gives an idea for your next meeting.
Speaker A:Is there one invitation you would give to people who are listening to this podcast episode to play at work?
Speaker B:Yeah, if you can.
Speaker B:I usually start asking people, if I were to think about one thing that I can learn about you is by actually asking about a way to get into their child, inner child.
Speaker B:If you are running a workshop or if you're having a team meeting, if there's a chance for you to ask people to share their childhood photos and then start your meeting with, we have invited, you know, our childhood self to this meeting.
Speaker B:And for next five minutes, we are going to invite each child to talk about whatever they want to talk about.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:And that makes everybody to be a little bit more playful in, in a way that, you know, what would you play if you were seven year old, one year old, like, I have a picture from a, a colleague who is probably like one year old, baby.
Speaker B:What would they play?
Speaker B:You know, they probably Google Gaga.
Speaker B:Learn to speak other.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Communicate.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you know, I saw somebody else share something about like when they were in elementary school and maybe they're just learning to be friends with each other.
Speaker B:What does that look like for a newcomer coming into your group?
Speaker B:So be able to tap into your inner child or tap into somebody else's inner child.
Speaker B:Invite them to share their ideas from, from that perspective and then make that as some way to bring the teams together.
Speaker B:Let me know how that goes.
Speaker A:Thank you so much for that.
Speaker A:I look forward to the next meeting where we invite our inner child to come out and be present and vocal in the.
Speaker B:We'Re gonna replace our zoom photos with our inner child.
Speaker B:Love it.
Speaker A:Thank you for listening to the Lead With a Dash of Play podcast.
Speaker A:Reza Zaidie and Joanna Stevens created and provided the beautifully playful and reflective music you hear in this podcast.
Speaker A:The song is titled Holding Rain.
Speaker A:This podcast was created out of curiosity and I hope you'll share your thoughts and questions with me.
Speaker A:Email me@maryaryhendra.com or join the conversation on LinkedIn.
Speaker A:Redefining play and reclaiming this leadership skill for its potential to bring authenticity and joy into our professional spacing.
