How to bring more play into your team – and why you should
When play is part of your culture, your team feels safer, works better and enjoys their work more
Ellie McCarthy leads our product management and client relationship practices at William Joseph
Bringing more play into your team is not about forcing fun, it’s about creating space for laughter, positive thinking and presence. These small shifts build resilience, creativity and stronger connections. When play is part of your culture, your team feels safer, works better and enjoys their work more.
Every charity leader wants their team to do great work and feel great doing it. But what if the key to unlocking joy and productivity was as simple as play?
That’s what Em Stroud aka The Comic Coach believes. And when she recently spoke to William Joseph and our clients, her words sparked real lightbulb moments.
Em’s mission is to help teams laugh more, think more kindly about themselves, and play more. These aren’t fluffy extras, they’re core tools for building resilience, creativity and better performance at work. Additionally, play also helps to stimulate all the powerful feel-good hormones – endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine – which is helpful when we’re often flooded with the stress hormone, cortisol, at work.
Here’s what we learned from her, and how you can bring more play into your team.
Laugh: because joy is a strength
A four-year-old laughs around 300 times a day. A 40-year-old? Just as many times, but spread over two and a half months. The joy of laughter really seems to have been lost somewhere along the way.
Laughter changes how we feel and how we show up. It helps us bounce back between meetings, feel more connected to others, and stay motivated even during long planning sessions or tricky conversations.
Small ways to bring more laughter into your day
Give yourself a minute between meetings to watch a video that makes you laugh.
Share a silly thought or joke at the start of a team meeting.
Encourage light-hearted chats in Slack or WhatsApp.
When people around you smile, you feel it too. Laughter creates micro-moments of joy that fuel resilience and better teamwork.
Think: because mindset shapes everything
One of the most powerful things you can do as a leader is to help your team be kinder to themselves. Em reminded us that we’re only in charge of our own minds, so we need to challenge the voice that tells us we’re not good enough.
Helping people move from self-doubt to self-belief doesn’t just boost morale. It leads to a growth mindset across your team, where people are more willing to take risks, try new things and own their progress.
Ways to build a more positive mindset in your team
Encourage team members to ask themselves, “whose voice is telling me I can’t do this?” or “why do I believe this thing to be true?”
Get everybody to notice and celebrate ‘glimmers’ - small moments of joy and wonder - throughout your day. This can be done through moments of personal reflection, or in shared space like a Teams chat or Slack channel.
Model finding a positive or productive stance in a situation. Asking, “what can I do to change this?” can move mindsets from negative to neutral or positive.
Shifting thinking starts with noticing. Over time, your team will build more self-awareness and emotional agility, skills that are vital for navigating complex challenges in the sector.
Play: because being present unlocks performance
Play might feel like a luxury for adults but it’s one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. Em shared that when we play, we’re fully present. We feel joy. And we often enter a flow state, where we’re deeply focused, creative and productive.
Research from The Comic Coach has uncovered 12 play styles. Sharing them all wouldn’t be fair on the sales of Em’s upcoming book, but here’s a taster.
Mover: loves physical movement.
Dreamer: enjoys time in their own head.
Organiser: finds joy in creating order and planning.
Maker: seeks to make physical objects such as clothes.
Spectator: wants to watch things with other people like sports or theatre.
Most people resonate most strongly with two or three styles. When we carve out time for them, we feel more content, balanced and whole.
How leaders can bring play into the workplace
Creating a culture of play doesn’t mean scheduling ‘fun time’ for the sake of it. It means making space for people to be themselves, and for connection to grow naturally.
Help your team members link how they like to play with the role they do. Do they love organising? Give them the responsibilities to do more of that. Making? Help them find space for it in their day to day.
Curate moments to play together, from creative icebreakers to collaborative games (get in touch for a full list).
Encourage people to set time aside for their own play, whether that’s crafting, running, gaming or gardening.
Use team meeting or away day time to explore what play styles resonate most across your team and how you can harness that.
Make room for unstructured thinking time, it’s where the best ideas often surface.
Conclusion
When play is part of your culture, your team will feel safer, more creative and more connected. And when people are content, they do their best work.
Play is not a distraction. It’s a strategy for better work and better wellbeing.
To learn more about Em Stroud’s work, follow her on LinkedIn or visit emstroud.com