For this week’s Inspirational Leadership Podcast I spoke with Jeff Harry. Jeff shows individuals and companies how to tap into their true selves, to feel their happiest and most fulfilled — all by playing. Jeff has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon, and Facebook, helping their staff to infuse more play into the day-to-day.
Jeff is an international speaker who has presented at conferences such as INBOUND, SXSW, and Australia’s Pausefest, showing audiences how major issues in the workplace can be solved using play. Jeff was selected by BambooHR & Engagedly as one of the Top 100 HR Influencers of 2020 for his organizational development work around dealing with toxic people in the workplace. His play work has most recently been featured in the Upworthy, Mashable, Shondaland, and the NY Times. He has also been featured on AJ+, SoulPancake, the SF Chronicle, and CNN.
While we spend most of our time pretending to be important, serious grownups, it’s when we let go of that facade and just play, that the real magic happens. Fully embracing your own nerdy genius — whatever that is — gives you the power to make a difference and change lives. Jeff believes that we already have many of the answers we seek, and by simply unleashing our inner child, we can find our purpose and, in turn, help to create a better world.
Here are some of the topics we discussed:
- How to determine if you and your team are operating in their zones of genius
- Why the organizations that are the most willing to fail are the most successful
- Why fixating on results and expectations are the thief of joy
- How boredom can become a powerful driver for your best ideas
- Why PLAY is the opposite of perfection and is a revolutionary and rebellious act
- How to stop chasing your worth and letting go of external validation for your happiness
- Recognizing the worst behaviors you are tolerating at work = your culture
- Specific questions you can ask to assess the psychological safety of your workplace
- How to deal with brilliant jerks at work more effectively
Listen to the podcast here:
Watch the video here:
Show Notes:
Learn more about Jeff’s work – Rediscover Your Play
Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram
Have you subscribed to the Inspirational Leadership Community? If you enjoyed this episode, please head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram and share your favorite episodes across social media.