The Transformative Power of Play in Organisational Change

By Nathan Waterhouse · 2025-02-18

Every three years, a company you've likely never heard of—but whose products quietly shape our daily lives—hosts a unique management meeting in Frankfurt. Over 450 of its top leaders convene, not to endure a slog of presentations, but to challenge the status quo and imagine the future. For more than a year beforehand, cross-functional teams dive into research on key topics, culminating in a four-day experience.

You might picture a dry conference with a barrage of slides. Instead, picture Formula 1–inspired games, magicians, and even a 450-person orchestra. Participants from Freudenberg Group consistently describe these days as some of the most energising and meaningful of their careers.

The secret? They harness the power of play.

Why We Need to Play

In an era of constant disruption, organisations face relentless pressure to adapt—whether it's responding to how A.I. might disrupt their business – or transform it, navigating hybrid work, or meeting shifting customer demands. Traditional approaches often stifle creativity, discourage risk-taking, and reinforce silos. Play turns this logic on its head.

Yet the idea of treating challenging situations as an opportunity for play is usually seen as an anathema to leaders I work with. One team I was coaching last week was so focused on delivering ground breaking solutions along with solid business cases, that they couldn't see that this intense fear was paralysing them from moving forwards. They had wasted months of work and not produced anything new at all. When I suggested they run a brainstorm to explore fresh thinking or start thinking how they could learn from imagining how a 5 year old might solve their issue, it felt like I was suggesting they drink battery acid.

This resistance to play in professional settings isn't surprising when we consider our recent history—but it might surprise you to learn just how recent this divide between work and play really is.

The Work-Play Divide: A Modern Invention

The stark divide between work and play is, historically speaking, a relatively modern concept. In traditional societies, ritual and myth were not segregated from work—they were an integral part of it. As the anthropologist Victor Turner observed, many tribal cultures use "ludic" (playful) practices—sacred games, mock ordeals—as essential rituals binding the community.

Culturally, play is deeply embedded in how societies innovate and make collective decisions. Johan Huizinga, in Homo Ludens, argued that "culture arises and unfolds in and as play." Many cultural practices – from debates in parliaments to courtroom procedures, from market negotiations to artistic performances – have playful, rule-bound elements akin to games.

The Industrial Revolution and the Protestant work ethic introduced a separation of work and leisure, often positioning play as the enemy of productivity. Over time, however, technological advances, workers' political organisation, and forward-thinking management practices have started to erode these rigid boundaries.

Neuroscience and the Flow of Innovation

This historical wisdom is now being validated by modern science. Neuroscientists have shown that play isn't just a pleasant distraction. Engaging in playful activities fires up the brain's reward system, boosting the release of dopamine—the 'reward neurotransmitter'. This dopamine surge elevates mood, enhances cognitive flexibility, and improves problem-solving abilities.

It also helps us slip into a state of flow, where the usual constraints of the prefrontal cortex ease (in charge of self-censorship and executive control), allowing ideas to spark and connect in new ways.

In an experiment, subjects induced into a flow-like state solved the classic difficult "nine-dot" creativity puzzle at eight times the normal success rate. Much like a Formula 1 pit crew refining race strategy on the fly, our minds become more attuned to potential breakthroughs when play is central to the process.

Experiential Learning in Action

Adaptability – by its nature – is about learning as quickly as you can to deal with a changing world. When we design Freudenberg's Dialog event, designing an experience where participants are both learning, but also applying, is one of our design principles.

Doing that through play enables participants to think about new ideas in more expansive ways. Playful behavior can induce brain plasticity (the growth of new neural connections), improving our ability to adapt and learn – essential for managing through a change process, where there's so much that's new that we need to learn.

Children learn through play by adopting roles, testing scenarios, and pushing boundaries in a safe environment. Educational psychology, drawing on theories from Lev Vygotsky and David Kolb, repeatedly confirms that active, hands-on learning is more effective than passive, lecture-based methods.

Liminality: The Chrysalis Stage of Transformation

Just as a caterpillar enters a chrysalis stage - neither what it was nor what it will become - organisations undergoing transformation enter their own liminal space. This in-between state, while potentially uncomfortable, holds enormous potential for reinvention.

Anthropologists call these moments "liminal spaces" - transitions where normal rules and structures temporarily dissolve, making way for new possibilities.

What makes play so powerful in organisational change is its ability to create and accelerate these liminal moments. Whether through immersive events like Freudenberg's Dialog or smaller everyday practices like storytelling sessions, play acts as a catalyst for transformation. It provides safe spaces where teams can experiment with "what might be" while letting go of "what was."

Think of each playful moment as a mini-chrysalis: a design thinking workshop where hierarchies temporarily dissolve, a strategy game that lets teams try on new ways of working, or even a simple brainstorming session that suspends normal constraints. These aren't just breaks from work - they're crucial incubators for change, accelerating the journey from current state to future potential.

Everyday Applications

Reimagining Regular Rhythms - At Atlassian, for instance, some teams have evolved their weekly stand-ups into storytelling sessions. Instead of a dry status update, team members share real customer interactions from the previous week—both wins and challenges. Using improvisational techniques like "yes, and…", these sessions transform routine meetings into vibrant spaces for uncovering new product ideas and process improvements.

Creating Purposeful Pauses - Google has long embraced the idea of an "impossible challenge." In some of its planning sessions, teams kick off by tackling problems as if they had unlimited resources—almost like a mini moonshot exercise. This intentional pause shifts the mindset from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Cross-Pollination Play - In the manufacturing world, Toyota stands out with its cross-functional rotation programs. Employees from corporate roles, finance, and engineering practice "Genchi Genbutsu" (go and see) and spend time on the factory floor or in customer service roles. This "walk in their shoes" approach isn't just a shadowing exercise—it's structured as a playful challenge with specific goals.

Ritual and Recognition Reimagined - Tesla has consistently employed backcasting as a core strategic planning tool since its inception in 2004. Rather than simply reviewing metrics, teams imagine an ideal future scenario and then work backwards to chart a path from today to that vision.

Challenges and Considerations

Naturally, introducing play into a traditionally structured workplace can be challenging. Leaders may ask if it distracts from the "real work," and employees unaccustomed to it might feel awkward. Forced fun can be counterproductive, breeding cynicism if staff feel judged rather than empowered.

The key is to invite, not mandate. Start small, with voluntary storytelling sessions or brief, playful icebreakers before meetings. Let natural advocates—people with a playful spirit—set the example. Above all, give play a clear purpose: it's not play instead of work, but play for better work.

Conclusion: Play to Change, and Change Through Play

In a fast-paced business environment, traditional change programmes often fall short because they fail to create the vital space between 'what is' and 'what could be.' Play offers us this precious middle ground—a chrysalis state where transformation becomes possible.

By tapping into the brain's natural reward systems, embracing experiential learning, and consciously creating these liminal spaces, organisations can craft environments where innovation naturally emerges.

Whether through immersive events like this or smaller daily practices, play creates the conditions necessary for genuine transformation.

Next time you're planning an organisational initiative, consider: Are you just presenting change, or are you creating a space where change can emerge? Instead of another slide deck about transformation, could you craft an environment where people can actually experience and shape that transformation?

As the old adage (often attributed to Plato) goes: "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." Perhaps it's time we fully embrace that wisdom—seeing play not as a break from transformation, but as the very space where transformation becomes possible.

Play to change, and change through play: this isn't just a catchy phrase, it's a fundamental truth about how organisations can evolve in an age of constant disruption.