Playing Up - A Leadership Discipline

Playing Up – The Benefits of A New Perspective

A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting in a room in New Orleans at a professional speaking conference.
I was surrounded by people who operate on a different level than I do.
They had a different energy, a different way of thinking, and different standards than I was accustomed to.

And if I’m being honest, it was uncomfortable.
I don’t mean intimidating, more like exposed.
I could see my ceiling.

And, I want that challenge!

I don’t need to come home and copy everything I saw, or reinvent myself overnight. But I am looking for one or two new ideas or perspectives. One or two small shifts that, over time, compound into something better.
That’s the discipline of playing up a level.

Be Brave – Explore New Resources

I spend a significant part of my work introducing leaders to thinkers, ideas, and perspectives that sit outside their day-to-day networks and environment.

I find excellent resources from places like MIT Sloan Management Review or the Harvard Business Review. They recommend books and case studies that have real-world applications. The room becomes energized every time.

People lean in. Many of them are realizing, often for the first time in a while, that there is more out there than what they’ve been exposed to. New ways to think. More ways to lead. Better ways to show up.

It is Possible to Live in a Vacuum

Many organizations – especially well-intentioned teams – become heavily reliant on internal development, programs, facilitators, and perspectives.

On the surface, it feels efficient and maybe aligned. But over time, something subtle begins.
“Group thinking” starts to recycle. The same ideas are repackaged. And familiar conversations – the oft-repeated ideas and perspectives are reinforced. Inevitably, what sounds like development quietly becomes maintenance.

The Risk of Stagnation

When teams are not exposed to thinking that sits beyond their current environment, they don’t stretch – they stabilize.
Over time, stabilization can become another form of stagnation.
This is why “playing up” matters.

It’s not about bringing in outside voices because internal people aren’t capable.
We need to recognize that no environment can fully challenge itself from within.

Growth Requires Contrast

Growth, both professional and personal, requires exposure to people who:

Ask different questions
Challenge familiar assumptions, and
Operate with a different standard.

In that friction, development happens.

What People Don’t Know About Me

I think about a comment someone wrote recently after one of my workshops: “Phil is an unreal facilitator. A brilliant communicator.”
I appreciated the sentiment. It felt good.
But I also know something about myself that they don’t see.
I’m a natural introvert. An INFJ, if you’re curious.

This version of me the commentor referred to – he didn’t happen by accident.
It is the result of years of intentionally placing myself in rooms where I was not the most polished person. I wasn’t the most experienced or confident. I had to learn in those rooms – to adapt and stretch. I had to play up!

Are You an HR Leader?

This is a valuable opportunity and responsibility for those HR leaders who are responsible for growing people.

Don’t limit people’s development to only what is inherent in the system. Instead, deliberately expose them to what exists beyond it!

When managers and supervisors see their organization investing in that kind of growth, it builds credibility. These valuableeaders see and feel the results and begin to replicate them with their teams. Growth, when modeled, becomes contagious. A leadership team that invests in external exposure creates permission for everyone else to do the same. And over time, that shifts the workplace culture.

So here’s the question worth thinking about.
When are your people being challenged by thinking that doesn’t originate inside your organization? If the answer is “not often,” then there is an opportunity.

Start Small – Start Today

You don’t need to overhaul everything.
You can start small. Introduce one new voice, or one new idea. Bring in perspectives that perhaps have not been applied to your industry. If for no other reason than to challenge the status quo.
Let that be the beginning.