OTS 330: Good Mischief - Jeff Harry

Today’s guest is healing workplaces through play and positive psychology. He believes fully embracing your nerdy genius gives you the power to make a difference and change lives. We already have many of the answers we seek, and by simply unleashing our inner child, we can find our purpose and, in turn, help to create a better world. He helps teams build psychological safety and assist individuals in addressing their most significant challenges by embracing a play-oriented approach to work.  He was selected by BambooHR & Engagedly as one of the Top 100 HR Influencers and has been featured in the NY Times, Mashable, Upworthy, Huffpost, Shondaland, & Wired. He has worked with Google, Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Adobe, the NFL, Amazon, and Facebook, helping their staff infuse more play into their daily lives. As he says, “Work sucks, but it doesn't have to.” Please join me in welcoming Jeff Harry.  In this episode, we discuss: His thoughts on leadership: “The leader is the person everyone gravitates towards. They are the person you want to follow. Almost always, this is not the person with the leadership title.” Why he found trying to be cool exhausting and turned his life towards games and how that connected to his life today. Feeling unseen in the 7th and 8th grades. Starting a leftist magazine while in college at Tufts University. Creating mischief to inspire belonging. Being fully present was how he connected with others. His experience attending a party where he felt the loneliest he ever felt in his life even though he was in the space of acceptance. How he ended up working for a toy company in New York. Why he wants to heal the hardest situations through play, including how to heal your inner critic. How he tried to unionize the flagship Toys R Us store in Manhattan. How he found potential through a Craigslist ad job. Why his bowtie reminds him not to take things seriously. How he picked the different curriculums collaboratively. “We would listen to everyone’s opinion.” His time spending five years travelling with Lego. How he started his TikTok during the pandemic and that led to him experimenting with pitching himself to podcasts. How he started getting paid for speaking gigs. How he nurtures and sustains the outer levels of his network. Listen, subscribe, and read show notes at www.OnTheSchmooze.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices