A message from Steve...

If you close your eyes and rewind to when you were a kid around seven years old, there’s a good chance you can clearly remember the sights, the sounds, and the thrill of playing “Hide and Seek”. 

Playing this seemingly simple game is one of our earliest experiences of confidence built in community. It’s not just running and hiding. It’s a shared promise that you’ll try, I’ll try, and we’ll keep it fun. And when you feel safe, know the rules, and trust the people you’re with, you become brave enough to step into the unknown with joy, while trusting someone is going to seek you because the game doesn’t work otherwise, and no one wants to feel or be lost.

That’s why this incredibly popular childhood game maps so perfectly to improvisation, and one of the many reasons we use improv-based exercises in all our Game On sessions. “Hide and Seek”, like improv, gives you the right mix of challenge and support, and allows us to learn by doing, so we can all... play well. 

When you were seven, confidence wasn’t a speech. It was a moment that starts with, “you’re it”, and your heart starts pounding, and you’re excited and nervous at the same time. You take a breath, finish counting, turn around, and off you go, to find your friends. It’s a powerful moment to learn to run the play, trust others, and practice being comfortable being uncomfortable. 

You’re handling pressure, while choosing curiosity over judgment. You’re accepting shared vulnerability, because no one plays this game to perfection. Sometimes you pick the wrong direction, or someone is hiding in the world’s most obvious spot, and you still miss them. And somehow, that doesn’t make you smaller. It actually makes you more a part of the group. 

“Hide and Seek” is also a masterclass in agility. You prepare, you listen, you scan, and then hopefully you predict. Then reality shows up and changes everything. A shadow moves, or a laugh betrays someone’s location. Your “perfect plan” collapses because something happened you did not expect. And that’s improv!

You don’t win the game by controlling every variable. Everyone wins by responding to what’s actually happening, and by handling unexpected hopes, staying present, and making adjustments in real time. It’s not so much a game of perfection, as it is a game of response. And the best part is you get to practice it in an environment where the stakes are playful, not painful. 

But the game only works when we take care of each other, and as adults we sometimes forget this game isn’t a solo sport. It’s social glue. Sometimes someone decides not to hide too well because they want the game to keep moving. Sometimes someone gives a tiny hint, so the seeker doesn’t feel embarrassed. And almost all the time, someone celebrates when a friend finds that epic hiding spot. That’s teamwork!

In Game On sessions, our improv exercises always follow our three rules of the game that echo the same dynamics that fuel hide and seek:

1. LAUGH WITH, NOT AT
You’ll lose some jokes but gain a ton of trust and respect. Nothing kills play faster than fear of being the punchline.

2. CELEBRATE SMALL WINS
You realize the positive impact of seeing teammates as more than the role they have or position they play. A great attempt counts, a bold choice matters, and a small win becomes momentum.

3. HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACK
You understand the power of covering the person to your left and right. These exercises, and hide and seek, require selflessness and collaboration because real confidence grows faster when it’s shared.

As leaders, teachers, coaches, presenters, let’s do our best to remember how well we played when we were seven years old. “Hide and Seek” wasn’t magical because it was easy. It was magical because it was safe enough to be hard. 

You knew the rules, you trusted the people, and you took a playful risk. You laughed, adjusted, tried again, and belonged to something bigger than yourself, even if it was just a group of kids and a few good hiding spots.

So, I invite us all to bring that energy back and honor the power of play. It may remind us that confidence isn’t the absence of discomfort. It’s actually the ability to step into it with others, knowing we’re supported, challenged, and still allowed to have fun, like when we were kids and we knew how to be imperfectly out there, and... play well.

Tag, you’re it.