Leadership’s Role in Fostering Play

The traditional leadership model- driving productivity through control, compliance, and rigid processes is no longer enough. In today’s hybrid, high-change environment, performance depends on connection, trust, and shared momentum. Leaders who understand this aren’t working harder to extract results; they’re building cultures that generate results naturally and play is one of the fastest, most strategic ways to do it.

According to the CCE Industry Insights Report 2025, most teams today remain stuck in a “building” or “improving” phase; not because they lack skills, but because they lack the daily habits of connection that underpin high performance. Hybrid work has stripped away spontaneous team moments. And while traditional one-off events have value, they must be part of a larger play-driven culture to create lasting impact.

Embedding play is not about making work lighter, it’s about making teams sharper, faster, and more adaptive. Leaders who fail to evolve will soon find themselves managing disengaged, disconnected teams, forced into reactive firefighting. Leaders who prioritise play will build environments where collaboration, innovation, and energy thrive—and where results come easier, not harder. 

If play still feels intangible, it’s worth looking at leaders who have built empires, transformed industries, and redefined how teams operate; not through rigid control, but by embedding play into their leadership DNA.

Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

Richard Branson has long positioned fun and play as strategic levers at Virgin. He famously declared, “Fun is one of the most important — and underrated — ingredients in any successful business” (Branson, 2014). Virgin employees were encouraged to take risks, pitch creative ideas informally, and celebrate milestones with flamboyant company-wide events. For example, Virgin Atlantic’s playful marketing stunts and internal innovation challenges created a sense of ownership and joy across departments. This culture of permission to laugh, try, fail, and try again kept Virgin nimble in industries dominated by bureaucratic giants.

Ed Catmull, Co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios

At Pixar, play was not a side activity; it was embedded into the very workflow of storytelling. Daily “Notes Day” meetings allowed any team member, regardless of seniority, to give feedback on creative projects in a candid, playful atmosphere (Catmull, 2014). Improvisation workshops, group brainstorms conducted in costume, and open-concept creative spaces supported an environment where risk-taking felt safe. Catmull understood that real innovation emerged when people played with ideas — not when they feared getting it wrong.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

When Satya Nadella stepped into leadership in 2014, Microsoft was stifled by internal competition and fear-based leadership. Nadella shifted the company towards a “learn-it-all” culture, encouraging experimentation, curiosity, and cross-team play (Nadella, 2017). Hackathons, once small, became massive all-company events, where employees could explore playful tech solutions without judgment. This culture of internal play, creating apps, designing AI solutions, experimenting without pressure reignited Microsoft’s innovation engine, leading to major successes like Azure’s rapid growth and a revitalised brand image.

Herb Kelleher, Founder of Southwest Airlines

Herb Kelleher famously fostered a playful, spirited culture at Southwest Airlines. Flight attendants cracked jokes during safety announcements, corporate meetings began with themed costumes, and leadership encouraged spontaneous moments of fun across teams (Gittell, 2003). These rituals were not distractions; they built resilience during industry downturns and established Southwest as one of the most profitable airlines, despite charging some of the lowest fares.

How Play Built Market Share and Consumer Loyalty

The leaders who prioritised play didn’t just create happier workplaces; they built category-defining brands. Virgin’s playful reputation made it a beloved brand across travel, telecom, and finance sectors, commanding fierce customer loyalty. Pixar’s culture of creativity led to an almost unrivalled box office track record. Microsoft’s playful internal reframe under Nadella saw its market capitalisation triple between 2014 and 2021, positioning it again as a global tech leader. Southwest’s customer satisfaction scores consistently outpaced competitors, even through volatile market conditions.

Play didn’t happen after success — it enabled it. Leaders who cultivated playful environments created teams that thought differently, served differently, and competed differently, winning not just talent wars, but hearts and market share.

Leaders today are expected to drive results in increasingly complex environments. Retention, innovation, resilience, and productivity are no longer just HR issues – they are executive priorities that directly influence organisational success. Embedding play into leadership strategy offers measurable advantages in each of these critical areas.

1. Retention and Talent Attraction
   According to the CCE Industry Insights Report 2025, dispersed teams and loss of connection are key barriers preventing teams from progressing beyond a “building” or “improving” stage of workplace culture​. Without strong internal relationships, organisations face higher turnover and weaker engagement.

This finding aligns with the Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2023 report, which highlights that only 23% of employees globally feel engaged at work. Gallup also reports that highly engaged teams experience 43% lower turnover compared to their less engaged peers. Leaders who embed play into daily culture — creating authentic moments of connection — are better positioned to attract and retain high-performing talent.

2. Innovation and Performance
   Creativity and innovation thrive in environments where psychological safety is strong. According to McKinsey & Company’s 2021 Psychological Safety and Innovation Report, organisations with high psychological safety are up to 67% more likely to outperform on innovation outcomes.

The CCE Industry Insights Report 2025 also notes that hybrid work environments have reduced the frequency of informal, spontaneous interactions — historically a major driver of innovation​. Leaders who intentionally foster play, even through micro-moments like team challenges or collaborative exercises, help restore these critical pathways for idea generation and problem-solving.

At Pixar, daily playful practices such as open feedback loops and improvisational storytelling built the world’s most consistently innovative creative teams.

As Ed Catmull explains in Creativity, Inc., ” It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them.”

3. Resilience and Productivity
   The need for team resilience and the ability to adapt to change without losing momentum has never been greater. While the CCE Industry Insights Report 2025 does not directly quantify resilience outcomes linked to play, it does confirm that leadership support is critical for embedding practices that strengthen team culture​.

External research supports this link: the Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2023 report found that highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable and 17% more productive than disengaged teams. Cultures strengthened by consistent leadership-driven play are better equipped to maintain collaboration, focus, and agility under pressure. 

Leaders who view play as a strategic advantage, rather than a cultural add-on, are building organisations that outperform and outlast their competitors. Play is not about scheduling occasional social events; it is about embedding practices that consistently fuel trust, connection, innovation, and resilience.

Here are five practical ways leaders can begin embedding play into their leadership strategy:

1. Model Playful Curiosity at the Top

Leadership behaviour sets the tone for organisational culture. Leaders who demonstrate curiosity, humour, and creative thinking give permission for teams to do the same. This does not mean being unserious — it means asking open-ended questions, encouraging exploration, and welcoming new ideas without immediate judgment. Satya Nadella’s shift at Microsoft from a “know-it-all” to a “learn-it-all” culture demonstrates the power of curiosity-led leadership.

2. Build Play Into Existing Processes, Not as Extras

Embedding play does not require creating new programs. Instead, leaders can infuse playful elements into existing meetings, project kickoffs, and problem-solving sessions. Examples include short creativity challenges at the start of meetings, rotating leadership of brainstorming sessions, or introducing “idea jams” where quantity of ideas is celebrated over immediate feasibility. The goal is to normalise play as part of productive work, not as a separate activity.

3. Champion Psychological Safety Through Play

As McKinsey’s research has shown, psychological safety is critical for innovation. Leaders can use playful formats such as anonymous idea submissions, reverse brainstorming (imagining how to cause a problem instead of solving it), or storytelling exercises  to lower barriers to participation and foster inclusive dialogue. Play gives teams alternative channels to express themselves, strengthening trust and collaboration.

4. Support Micro-Play Moments in Hybrid Environments

Our recent report highlights the erosion of spontaneous connection in hybrid teams. Leaders must intentionally create space for short, authentic moments of interaction — whether through virtual games, informal check-in rituals, or collaborative social platforms. Regular, low-effort micro-play moments build ongoing relational capital, reducing friction during critical work phases.

5. Measure and Celebrate Connection as a Core Metric

What gets measured improves. Leaders can include team connection scores in engagement surveys, celebrate collaboration milestones, and publicly recognise playful contributions that lead to serious results. By elevating connection alongside traditional performance metrics, leaders signal that how results are achieved matters as much as the results themselves.

Leadership today demands more than operational efficiency. It demands cultures where people are motivated to bring their best ideas, energy, and commitment to the table. Play is not a distraction from this work — it is the catalyst for achieving it.

Leadership has evolved. In today’s complex environment, achieving results is no longer about driving harder; it is about connecting smarter. The best leaders understand that play is not a distraction from serious work — it is the serious work. It forges trust, accelerates innovation, and builds resilience in ways that traditional management strategies cannot.

The data is clear. The examples are proven. Organisations that embed play into their leadership strategy are not just creating more enjoyable workplaces; they are outpacing competitors on talent retention, product innovation, and market agility. Leaders who embrace this shift will unlock teams that are faster, stronger, and more adaptive than ever before.

Those who dismiss play as a soft skill will find themselves managing disengaged, fragmented teams in a world that demands connection and creativity.

Leadership’s role in fostering play is not optional. It is essential. The question is no longer whether play belongs at the leadership table — it is whether you are willing to lead the kind of team that will thrive because of it.