Being Playful Podcast: Embracing Change
Minola Jac calls herself a “change enthusiast.” Which is either deeply optimistic or slightly unhinged, depending on how many org restructures you’ve lived through. She grew up in an environment that valued conformity. Did what she was supposed to. Followed the rules. And then realized: “They couldn’t educate the rebel out of me.” So she […]
Being Playful Podcast: The Playful Side of Risk
Adam Rackley manages other people’s money for a living. Which means every decision he makes is high-stakes, incomplete information, and someone’s going to judge him for it later. He’s also rowed across the Atlantic. So he knows a thing or two about sitting with discomfort. In this episode, Chris talks with Adam about how playfulness […]
Being Playful Podcast: Humanizing the Workplace
Most companies say they care about people. Then they design everything like humans are inconvenient interruptions to the spreadsheet. Stela Lupushor’s spent her career fixing that. She’s on a mission to bring humanity back to the workplace. Not the “we have a ping pong table” kind. The actual kind. In this episode, Stela talks with […]
Minimal Viable Structure: The Secret to Leading With Playfulness, Not Chaos
You want your team to move fast. Stay creative. Adapt when things shift. But here’s the problem: most founders swing between two extremes. Over-structure: Lock everything down. Kill the spontaneity. Wonder why no one’s bringing ideas anymore. Under-structure: Wing it. Hope something magical happens. Watch the team spin out because no one knows what they’re […]
What Your Team Is Reading (That You’re Not Saying)
Your team watches you constantly. Not what you say in the all-hands. Not the Slack message about priorities. They’re reading your state. Are you tense? They tense up. Are you spiraling? They brace for impact. Are you curious, loose, present? They exhale. You think leadership is about decisions and direction. But half of it is […]
If Your Team’s Stuck, It Might Be the Room, Not the People
We’ve all walked into rooms that felt heavy before a word was spoken. And others that felt alive with possibility. Same people. Same agenda. Different vibe. The space we work in (physically, emotionally, relationally) isn’t neutral. It shapes how we think, engage, and make decisions. If we want better thinking, more inclusive dialogue, bolder creativity, […]