208 | You’ve Learned How to Work. But Have You Learned How to Play?

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Previously titled “208 | How Your Play Personality Changes the Way You Lead” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 10, 2026

Your Money, Your Rules | Financial Mastery, Wealth Mindset, Leadership Principles, Intuitive Decision-Making, Human Design 11 min 1 speaker 8 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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What is a play personality and why does it matter for leaders?

Erin Gray 0:02

Welcome back to the podcast. Today, we're going to talk about your type of play personality, the book Play by Stuart Brown, and how it actually helps you become a more effective and compassionate leader. So let's dive in. So I've been talking about teaching, advising, advocating for play probably for the last six or seven years since I have become more of a playful person myself as I have incorporated more play into my life where it's not just about the grind and all of that stuff. stuff that I was taught growing up. And I highly recommend, I'm not going to go through each play personality. You can go do that on your own. You can go read it, the book, but I highly recommend reading the book Play by Dr. Stuart Brown.

Erin Gray 0:51

He talks about how play shapes the brain and how it opens your imagination, how it invigorates the soul. And I also think that this is when we play more as founders, I think that that is where we connect to our flow. And we also are able to get so many different insights. And I think we are also able to be a better leader and founder for our team and for our employees. So the awareness that I had the other day is my daughter recently has started playing volleyball and she is definitely one of the play personalities that Dr. Stuart Brown talks about is the competitor. That is someone who genuinely enjoys competing, like the fun and the joy of winning, of keeping score, of doing. Beating someone else is actually a form of play for them.

Erin Gray 1:41

That is my daughter to a T 100%.

How does the competitor play style show up in my family and work?

Erin Gray 1:45

If you ask me, I could care less about winning. Like when we play badminton outside or we play volleyball with her or any other sport that I play, I don't even care about the score. I just want to know, are we having fun? Am I having fun? And is this an enjoyable experience? For me, actually, when someone is competitive and they start getting upset and all of that, for me, that actually, I don't wanna say takes the fun out of it, but that's just not a joyful thing for me. So the awareness that I had was, oh, that's how she likes to play. And I am more of the play personality of a kinesthete or I think it's also an explorer, right? As an explorer, I love to travel. I love to move through time and space.

Erin Gray 2:29

I love to meet different people. Like that is one of the ways that I play. The kinesthete is more someone who loves to move their body. So I get genuine satisfaction of riding my bike, of surfing, of e-foiling, of surfing. kayaking or stand up paddling. Like I love to move myself through time and space. It's where I get some of my most creative ideas.

What are the kinesthetic and explorer play styles and how do they fuel my creativity?

Erin Gray 2:50

And when I don't do that enough, I notice where my creativity kind of wanes. So recognizing if you get the book, you read the book, recognizing what is your play personality. And are you actually playing in the way that is best for you, is in alignment for you? I think that there are two parts that I want to kind of mention here on the podcast. The first part is when you recognize what your play personality is, you will start to see how much we have kind of been forced into a different way of playing. I think we look outside of ourselves. We see people on Instagram. We see people doing certain things, some of our friends, and we're like, oh, I want to go do that. Or I should do that. Or I should like to do that.

Erin Gray 3:32

Like pickleball is a huge thing. I have no desire to play pickleball. That doesn't mean that that's not correct for somebody else. It's just not my, one of my favorite ways to play. I thought that I would like a hip hop class. So I took private lessons for a while. Recognize I'd much rather spend my time on the water than I would dancing.

Why should I stop forcing myself into the wrong kind of play?

Erin Gray 3:52

it's not a problem. It's not that that hip hop is bad and I don't like it, or it's not for everyone else. It's just, it's just not for me. And so I think first and foremost, we have to allow ourselves to play with the idea of play. Don't be so serious about finding out what is your number one play personality. And also what are the ways that you actually like to play? I think the Somewhere along the way, we were taught and told that play was like for kids.

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Chapters

8 chapters

1 What is a play personality and why does it matter for leaders? 0:02–1:45 2 How does the competitor play style show up in my family and work? 1:45–2:50 3 What are the kinesthetic and explorer play styles and how do they fuel my creativity? 2:50–3:52 4 Why should I stop forcing myself into the wrong kind of play? 3:52–4:49 5 How can understanding team members’ play personalities improve sales motivation? 4:49–6:42 6 What practical steps help me match leadership tactics to each play style? 6:42–8:15 7 How does aligning roles with play personalities reduce workplace friction? 8:15–10:03 8 What first‑action plan should I follow to discover and use my own play personality? 10:03–11:15

Speakers

1 identified

Erin Gray 11 min

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Topics in this episode

human design 2 KPI 1 Stuart Brown 2 Play 3 Explorer 4 sales team 3 competitor 4 kinesthete 3

Source

Recorded30 Jul 2026

Publisherfeeds.buzzsprout.com

Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

Handlerec:19576609

Show notes

Have you ever noticed that some activities leave you feeling energized while others feel like another task on your to-do list?Many leaders and entrepreneurs believe they need to work harder to become more creative, more productive, or better at leading their teams. But what if the answer isn't more work at all? What if it's learning how you were designed to play?In this episode, we explore the powerful concept of play personalities from Dr. Stuart Brown's book Play and why understanding your natural way of playing can unlock greater creativity, reduce stress, and help you lead with more energy and authenticity.We discuss why forcing yourself into someone else's version of fun often leads to burnout, while embracing the kind of play that's naturally wired into you can restore your imagination, calm your nervous system, and improve your relationships both at work and at home.We also dive into how understanding play personalities can transform the workplace. From competitors who thrive on goals, leaderboards, and recognition to explorers who flourish through curiosity, learning, and new experiences, you'll discover why different people are motivated in different ways and how recognizing those differences can improve team performance, engagement, and culture.Whether you're a business owner, manager, or simply someone looking to rediscover joy outside of work, this conversation may change the way you think about productivity forever.In this episode, we cover:• Why play is essential, not optional, for creativity and leadership • Understanding Dr. Stuart Brown's eight play personalities • Why the wrong kind of play can feel exhausting • How your play personality influences energy, focus, and fulfillment • The connection between play, stress reduction, and nervous system regulation • Using play personalities to build stronger, more engaged teams • Why different employees are motivated by different things • How the right role fit leads to better performance and less workplace frictionResources Mentionedhttps://www.amazon.com/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789 Ways to Connect with Me and Learn More:Apply to Work with MeGenerate a Life Well Lived WebsiteInstagramLinkedInYouTubeGrab your free Human Design chartFoundational Resources

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