(November 12, 2024 Newsletter)
Taking an improv class will make you a better leader and partner.
Don’t believe me? Sign up for one with your co-founder or colleagues, or hire a facilitator to lead some improv activities with your team during an offsite or retreat. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn.
After finishing a 7-week course with my husband, I left with deep insights about life and work. What was at the top of the list?
Everything you do in a scene is in service of your partner. #1 priority? Make them look good.
That’s why “yes, and” is the core discipline of improv. We build on what someone else just said because our job is to showcase how brilliant THEY are.
It drives the scene forward, leads to more creativity, and makes everyone want to come back for more.
Why it matters
So much of why people are bogged down at work is because they’re in Proving Mode. When folks are primarily looking out for themselves, it drives the energy down and away from creativity and risk-taking. This is dangerous as an executive, a middle manager, or in an external-facing role, all of which require strong interpersonal skills.
Instead, if my job is to make YOU look good and your job is to make ME look good, I can feel less pressured to make MYSELF look good. No more proving. Instead, we can focus on our work, together. We know we have each other’s backs.
It takes practice to get and stay aligned with your closest work partners, but it’s absolutely worth it for the long-term health of your team and company.
Applying this principle at work
What does it look like to serve your partners at work?
Lead with compassion: “But Maya,” you might ask, “what if my partner isn’t brilliant?” In the spirit of improv, yes, your partner might not be brilliant – and neither are you. You’re both imperfect and doing your best, so extend the understanding you’d want extended to you as you’re striving to do great things. Golden rule, yeah?
Listen: Tune into your partner’s state of being. Improv is all about thinking fast and conjuring reality into existence on a moment’s notice. We can do that most effortlessly when we are present for the other. Watch their body language, listen (or read) closely for their tone, and raise the bar from where they are.
Complement: Fill in for each other. When you sense doubt, offer a reassuring direction. When they’re on their A game, follow their lead.
Play it out: If an idea is offered with which you disagree initially, build on it to see if it will start to make sense. You may even end up agreeing. If not, at least you’ll have tried and can agree to change direction together.
Amplify: Echo each other’s’ ideas publicly and celebrate each other’s successes.
Humor: You’re doing serious work, but breaks are important. I’ve defended leading with humor before and I’ll gladly do it again.
Practice: Decide to adopt this mindset together and commit to practicing it. Since it’s not instinctual, even for those who work well together, you’ll have to not only be attentive but also forgiving for the times you each fall short.
Final thought: If you have reason to believe it won’t be mutual, that you will be serving them and they’ll also be serving themselves, consider yourself on double duty. You can do both – have your own back while also lifting them up.
The Coaching Corner
Choose a timeline for success
Let’s say you’re asking a team member to lay out their vision of success: framing it for them with a timeline makes it easier to envision. For example:
Let’s say we’re meeting again next month and the program was a smashing hit – how would you describe it to me?
Suppose we’re meeting next week and you tell me the meeting went well. What would you say you did to make it a success?
Imagine it’s a year from now and you’re crushing it. What would you be reporting to me in your review?
Recommendations
You think I’m not going to recommend some “Whose Line is it Anyway” at the end of this newsletter? We could all use some laughs these days.
On a more serious note, for those wondering how to lead your teams post-elections, check out this week’s episode of HBR’s Ideacast: “Unifying Leadership in a Divided Time”
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