Condit: Leadership Tips from the Improv Experts
Friday, May 15, 2015
Lisa Condit
One of the most interesting, fun and universally relevant sessions was led by executives from The Second City. If you’re not familiar with this organization, The Second City opened its small cabaret theatre in December of 1959. Nobody knew that it would become the most influential and prolific comedy theatre in the world. Some of their alumni include: Alan Alda, Ed Asner, Dan and Peter Aykroyd, Jim and John Belushi, John Candy, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert, Chris and John Farley, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and the list continues! Their perspective on leadership, teams, and transformative collaborations apply to much more than just successful improvisational comedy.
Most of us are familiar with the concept of being a member of a team, but the point was made that we should consider ourselves part of an ensemble instead. After all, not all members of the ensemble is involved in every conversation or activity, yet every member of an ensemble contributes to the whole. Another important point is to change our perception that a team is only as strong as our weakest member to the idea that it is only as strong as the team (or ensemble’s) ability to compensate for the weakest link at any given time…and everyone is going to be the weakest at some point! This slight change of thinking shifts the responsibility from individuals to the overall group, as well as reinforcing the importance of everyone having each other’s back, and making sure that our partners in our activities look their best. I bet improv artists learn this pretty quickly, and it seems like a lesson that would benefit everyone, regardless of their field or profession.
One final tip for us all to foster transformative collaborations is to change our communication strategy when we’re working with our fellow ensemble members. Most of us don’t listen as well as we should when our families, friends, and business associates share ideas and information. I know it’s tempting to think of the next thing to say instead of listening to others until they’re done talking. Try taking the word “no” out of your vocabulary for a day and replace it with yes (repeating the last thing someone said) and then add something to the conversation, plan, or idea. As we’re all looking for fresh ideas and solutions in our daily lives, this seems like a great way to incorporate the creativity that comes from the performing arts into areas that could use a fresh perspective.
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