Play isn't a distraction from work, it's what makes work human.
With her characteristic wit and practical rigour, Dara shows us why play is the most underrated tool in business. For more than a decade, Dara has been changing the global conversation on play at work by exploring the human capabilities your business can’t afford to lose.
She is Director of Organisational Play at the National
Institute for Play, the research institute founded by
acclaimed play researcher Dr Stuart Brown. She led
the design and delivery of a global play-at-work study in partnership with a major international toy foundation, working alongside organisations including IKEA and Sesame Street Workshop across multiple regions. Her industry research partnership with RMIT University is among the first to use an experimental intervention design by running play-based workshops inside real organisations and measuring the impact on engagement, belonging and learning adaptability.
Co-author of Full Stack Human: The Mindset
Upgrade You Need to Stay Human in a World Ruled by Technology (Wiley, 2026), Dara writes and speaks about the human capabilities organisations are quietly losing and what it actually takes to get them back.
Smart, soulful and thoughtfully rebellious, she brings
humour, science and lived experience to every stage she walks onto.
Talking Points
The Human Premium
Why curiosity, imagination and experience are the only things AI can't replaceThe Human Premium
Knowledge is now democratised. What commands a premium, and always will, is human curiosity, imagination and experience. Learn how to identify what is distinctively human in your organisation and amplify it deliberately.
Key takeaways
1. What makes human intelligence irreplaceable in an AI-shaped world
2. How to build conditions where imagination and curiosity flourish consistently
3. Why the organisations pulling ahead aren't working harder — they're thinking more humanly
Don't Fear Change, Play With It
How to turn uncertainty into curiosity, confidence and capacityDon't Fear Change, Play With It
Disruption is no longer an event. It's the operating condition. Learn why play is the most important capability you can build for navigating a world that won't stop changing.
Key takeaways
1. Why our biology wasn't built for this pace of change
2. How to develop improvisational boldness when the outcome is unknown
3. Concrete tools for turning uncertainty into forward momentum
Playful Intelligence (PQ)
Why play is the antidote to mediocrityPlayful Intelligence (PQ)
Adults don't lose the capacity for play, we suppress it. Learn how conformity leads to mediocrity, why mediocrity leads to irrelevance, and how to rebuild the boldness to show up fully for your work and your life.
Key takeaways
1. The forces that trade boldness for belonging
2. Why play is a severely undertrained muscle not a lost one
3. How to rebuild playful intelligence as a daily practice
Full Stack Human
The five capabilities that matter more than any productivity hackFull Stack Human
Drawn directly from the Wiley-published book of the same name, this keynote gives audiences a framework for understanding, diagnosing and rebuilding the leadership capabilities that no algorithm can replicate, not as a self-improvement project, but as a fundamental operating system upgrade for the way they work and lead.
Key takeaways
1. The five human capabilities: Serious Play, Strategic Hope, Intelligent Optimism, Radical Curiosity and Embodied Adaptability and why they matter more than any tool or technique
2. A personal diagnostic to identify which capabilities need the most attention right now.
3. Concrete practices to start rebuilding them, not someday, but this week
Video
Dara Simkin | Saxton Speakers | Global Play at Work Expert
Dara Simkin | Serious about Play | Saxton Speakers
Dara has a relentless optimism that is infectious, the resilience of someone with purpose and belief, and the perseverance of those that never give up. She walks her talk and has a clear pur ... keep reading Medibank
Dara has been incredibly influential to my approach to corporate life - in particular idea generation, change management and leading my teams. Her energy is infectious, her purpose is clear and she is next level passionate about helping people challenge the status quo and learn a new way of thinking. This is critical for any organisation in a world of growing complexity and constant change. In order to build an organisation that can shift, stretch and respond rapidly, you need a workforce that can deliver it. Dara's keynotes are the instrument to achieve this change in thinking.
I saw Dara present at a McKinsey conference. Her session made a real impression on me and I had plenty of laughs along the way. Dara provides plenty of practical tools and tips that executives can take back to their teams. One of my favourites is "yes, and". We have been using this technique in our teams since the conference and it has helped shift our dialogue in significant ways.
The feedback was outstanding. We have seen a number of the tools and takeaways continue to show up across our business to unlock new ways of collaborating and building on each other’s ideas. Our leadership team is now aware of the power of “Yes, And….”, and we have seen multiple teams introduce play into their organisational rituals.
Dara helped us identify the real anxieties that people needed help with, prioritised our objectives for the event and then came up with an innovative structure for delivering it. We realised the best thing was to roll with the ideas and put our trust in her. We’re very glad we did! The feedback from attendees was fantastic. The event was run several times and I was stunned by the impact that the play-based activities had on our teams.
Thank you for all the hard work, collaboration, and fun leading up to and organising the conference. Your dedication and playfulness were evident in every aspect of the event. Thank you for infusing the two days with your amazing energy and playfulness. Your dynamic presence and innovative ideas truly added a special touch to the conference, creating a memorable experience for all our leaders.
Dara was a breath of fresh air and a natural fit for us here at CRG. We came with an ambitious outcome and not only did she accept the challenge but she upped it, and then delivered. Dara was easy to work with, aligned to the outcomes we needed to see as a business, and adaptable to our business context. The session we co-designed was received incredibly by our senior leaders, many of whom said it was 'our best event yet'.
Dara’s session created a relaxed, energising environment where our leaders felt comfortable being honest about the behaviours that shaped our year. The activities were smart, engaging and surprisingly powerful.
The energy in that room could’ve powered a small city.
Working with Dara has been a game-changer for our organisation. She inspired us to think differently and find innovative ways to engage our people leaders on their transformation journey.
The session was fun, interactive and engaging and many of the leaders have used the tools they learned with their teams.
