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

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