Almost every coaching conversation I've had over the past few months has come back to the same place. A founder who's stepping into a new identity. A leadership team trying to grow without burning everyone out. A business that's successful on paper but feels heavier than it used to.

At first, I thought the common thread was friction. This makes sense because both growth and change creates friction. Also, being in a leadership position usually means you’re navigating some type of friction.

So, naturally, I sat down to write this month's newsletter about it.

And then I couldn't.

Not because the topic wasn't important. It just didn't feel like the story I wanted to focus on or tell.

I kept opening the document, reading the research, writing a paragraph, and walking away. At first I told myself I was just busy with clients, meetings, emails, and life. 

Eventually, I realized something: I didn't want to spend July thinking about friction. I wanted to think about summer! I wanted to be present in the long evenings with friends, hiking without a destination, and watching kids ride their bikes through the neighborhood while families set up for Fourth of July barbecues. 

Becuase in each of those cases, what struck me most wasn't what people were doing, it was what they weren't doing. No one was talking about productivity. No one was trying to optimize anything. They were just playing. 

That made me wonder...

When did we stop playing in business and leadership?

When we first start a business, step into a new role, or begin building something meaningful, we play all the time. We throw ideas around. We experiment. We test things just to see what happens. We're driven by curiosity more than certainty.

Then the business grows, the team gets bigger, and decisions carry more weight.

After time, without realizing it, we stop experimenting and start managing. We stop exploring and start optimizing. I'm not suggesting leadership isn't serious, because it is. The work matters, the people we lead matter, and our decisions have real consequences.

I do wonder if somewhere along the way we've started believing that being serious is what makes us good leaders. I'm just not sure that's true.

Once I started looking into it, I realized something that surprised me.

The research doesn't treat play as the opposite of productive work. It treats it as part of how we do our best work.

In his TED Talk Play Is More Than Just Fun, Dr. Stuart Brown argues that play isn't something we outgrow. It's one of the ways adults stay creative, adapt to change, strengthen relationships, and keep learning.

Then I came across Duncan Wardle’s research on creativity. After asking more than 15,000 people where they get their best ideas, over 80% said those ideas came while they were in the shower, out for a walk, exercising, or playing with their kids. Not one person said they’re getting their best ideas in meetings or at work. His argument is simple: a playful mindset helps us move out of constant busyness and back into curiosity, where better ideas begin to emerge.

That idea kept showing up. Research on workplace culture suggests that fun isn't a distraction from meaningful work. It increases engagement, creativity, resilience, and even our sense of purpose.

Even the research on finding flow points in the same direction. We don't do our best thinking when we're forcing it. We do it when we're immersed in what we're doing, relaxed enough to stop overthinking, and engaged enough to lose track of time. That's when ideas connect naturally.

Reading all of this made me think differently about friction.

Maybe the goal isn't to eliminate every obstacle.

Maybe it's to create enough space that we can meet those obstacles with curiosity instead of tension. Because curiosity changes the questions we ask. And better questions almost always lead to better decisions.

For the next week, pay attention to the moments when work starts to feel heavy.

Instead of asking yourself,

"How do I push through?"

Try asking,

"How could I play with this instead?"

Then notice what changes

One of the things I've learned is that the ideas worth exploring tend to find us more than once.

As I was writing this month's newsletter, I kept coming back to an older Nat Chat about recovery. At the time, I thought it was about avoiding burnout. Watching it again, I realized it was really about something much bigger.

Recovery isn't just about taking time off. It's about creating the space where curiosity returns, creativity comes back online, and we reconnect with the parts of ourselves that make work meaningful in the first place.

Looking back, I think that's also where play begins.

If this month's newsletter resonated with you, I think you'll enjoy revisiting this conversation with fresh eyes

→ Watch: Nat Chats Episode 3: How to Actually Recover

A few things I've been enjoying lately...

🎵 On Repeat

Apparently, my Spotify has decided this month is equal parts strategy, freedom, and emotion... and honestly, that feels about right.

📖 On My Nightstand: I'm currently reading The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jaouad, and it's been a beautiful reminder that some of our best thinking doesn't happen when we're trying to force an answer. It happens when we slow down, pay attention, and make space for curiosity.

🎧 In My Headphones:I've been listening to the Harvard Business Review Leadership podcast, especially the episode “How Leaders Create the Conditions for Innovative Thinking”. One of my biggest takeaways is that innovation doesn't happen because leaders have all the answers. It happens because they create an environment where people feel safe enough to ask better questions, experiment, and think differently.

🥾 This Month's Experiment: I'm intentionally protecting one hour each week with absolutely no agenda.

This might mean going for a hike, wandering through a bookstore, sitting outside with a journal, or just reading something that has nothing to do with work.

The only rule is that it can't have an outcome attached to it. I'm curious to see what happens when I stop trying to optimize every minute.

Leadership doesn't become more meaningful because we take it more seriously.

It becomes more meaningful when we stay curious enough to keep growing alongside it. So before you rush into whatever comes next this month, I hope you leave a little room to play.

You might be surprised by what you discover.

I hope you play!

Natalie

If you're navigating growth, leading through change, or trying to determine your next strategic move, I'd love to help.

A Business Breakthrough Session is a complimentary strategy conversation where we'll step back from the day-to-day, identify what's creating friction, and uncover practical next steps for moving forward.

If you're leading a larger team or organization and looking for leadership development or executive coaching support at scale, I'm also the Co-Founder of The Bench, a collective of experienced coaches dedicated to helping organizations strengthen leadership, develop teams, and build healthy, high-performing cultures.