Playful Thinking Under Pressure: Q&A with Cas Holman & Michelle Lee

How do leaders apply playful thinking at work when time is short and the stakes are high? In this Q&A episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman is joined by play designer and author Cas Holman and IDEO Partner Michelle Lee to explore how a playful mindset holds up under real-world constraints. Building on their earlier conversation about why play matters at work, this episode focuses on what it looks like in practice: navigating tight timelines, creating psychological safety quickly, collaborating without losing your competitive edge, and leading in high-stakes environments like policy and healthcare. Through real stories and answers to listener questions, Cas and Michelle share practical ways leaders can make values-aligned decisions under pressure, design safety through structure, use constraints to fuel creativity, and model vulnerability to unlock better thinking. Related resources: Playful by Cas Holman Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving online course with IDEO U, taught by Michelle Lee Full episode recap on the IDEO U blog __________ Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast . Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Playful Thinking Under Pressure: Q&A with Cas Holman & Michelle Lee is an episode from Creative Confidence Podcast by IDEO U.

This episode is 39:14 long.

This episode was published on Feb 18, 2026.

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