High Performance Leaders Improvise

It sounds like name dropping here, so forgive me, but I once studied improv with Paul Sills. Paul is the son of Viola Spolin, who wrote the best book ever on improv - "Improvisation for the Theatre." My time spent taking Paul's class in a little space next to Second City in Chicago changed my life for the better in hundreds of ways.

I became a much better actor. I took more risks. I stopped over-reacting. The work became a team effort instead of a test of egos. It was like magic.

As it turns out, improvisation is not just good for actors - it's great for everyone. We all must improvise sometimes. Problems may have process-based solutions much of the time, but sometimes the solution is just not easy to find. People may follow our leadership gladly much of the time but sometimes they need something different, something that's hard to define. As high performance leaders, we must improvise.

It's not just making things up. It's not going for the punchline or trying to be clever. Paul would sometimes say "stop playwriting" meaning -- stop trying to force the creativity. It must instead flow, and that comes from being real. High performance leaders are real. They show integrity. Just as a talented improv actor does NOT pretend to be someone else* a high performance leader does not "fake it until they make it." You are who you are, in harmony with your team, in alignment with your mission.

That's not just powerful, it's fun.

The basic rules of improv do apply to leadership:

- say yes / and, instead of either / or
- support your team instead of invalidating them
- there are no mistakes, only opportunities

Depending on what you read, there are dozens of other possible improv rules. Those three will take you far - in acting, and in leadership.

High performance leaders improvise. Here are a few ways you might want to improvise as a leader:

- discovering how to best motivate your team members
- creating new solutions to problems
- connecting on a human level to create deeper conversations
- making presentations that spark interest and influence people

How can you add improvisation to your leadership style this week?

doug smith

* True, to some degree acting is pretending to be someone else. To complete BECOME someone else is dangerous for the art and dangerous for the artist. We still hold onto who we are, just as a leader holds onto who she is. It's beyond pretending, though. It is feeling, showing, and sharing real reactions to situations, not faking them.

P.S. For a deeper dive:
Alan Alda wrote a useful and highly entertaining book on using improv skills to communicate more effectively. "If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face?" (My Adventures in the Art and Sciend of Relating and Communicating) shows how to take the basics of improv and dramatically improve your ability to communicate and (most importantly) connect with other people. High performance leaders will benefit from reading and applying this book.

Comments

The Benefits of Supervisory Training

When was the last time you had any leadership training? How often do the supervisors in your organization get training? If you are like most organizations, it's never enough. Some teams go without any supervisory training at all and expect supervisors and managers to learn as they go, on the job. Unfortunately, while it is memorable to learn from your mistakes, it comes at a high cost. People get tired. People leave. Important accounts go away. Customers complain. And teams struggle without the skills and knowledge it takes to build cohesive teams that are capable of solving problems, improving performance and achieving goals. Admittedly, I can be expected to support training since I'm in the business. Still, take a closer look at your own leadership career and decide for yourself. Are leaders better off with more training and development or with less? Supervisory training can generate benefits that pay off long after the training is over. Here are just a few of the things sup...

Own Your Time

Do other people sometimes waste your time? I facilitate workshops on workflow and time management occasionally and there are usually people in the workshop who blame their circumstances on other people. "It's all their fault" may feel like it takes the responsibility off your shoulders, but does it help? No. Any time we choose to be a victim we get to stay there. Time. No one knows for sure how much we have, except that we all have only 24 hours at a time per day. No stretching. No expanding. Time doesn't care what we do with it. Time keeps moving. So why blame other people? Sure, other people make unreasonable requests. Other people use inefficient processes. Other people make mistakes and talk endlessly when we know we should be working. But think about it. Other people can only do that TO you if you let them. Take charge. Move along. Keep your focus. Other people can only wast your time if you let them. Why let them? -- Doug Smith

Courage and Commitment

How are you at keeping your commitments? I don't need to convince you of the benefits of keeping promises, even (especially) promises to yourself. One of those commitments could be to time and how you use it. Setting aside time for what is important. Knowing that in order to focus, you'll need focus time, and that means both scheduling it and protecting it. True commitment to time takes courage. How do you feel about that? -- doug smith

Bust That Barrier

What stands in the way of achieving your biggest goal? There's always something. It might seem bigger than it is, but it's there. It might be hiding in the field like a clever little rabbit ready to jump out and bite with the force of a wolf, but it's there. And, the very thought that it's there can sometimes keep us from going through that field. Sometimes our fears of the barrier are bigger than the barrier. Get past the barrier. Go around it. Go over it. Go right thru it if you can. Get past the hold, the clasp, the fence, the fear. Get past the barrier. Sometimes a barrier is simply testing how much you want to achieve your goal. You do want to achieve that goal, don't you? Get past the barrier. -- Douglas Brent Smith Are you developing leaders in your organization? Bring our two-day workshop for supervisors, managers and project managers, Supervising for Success to your location. Contact me here: doug@frontrangeleadership.com

Tell Someone Your Problem

Who else knows about your most pressing problem? I'm not advocating that you tell everyone everything that bothers you. But, you know there's a problem causing you some discomfort, right? You know that there's an issue you could use some help with on your team, in your business, in your life. Telling someone else your problem helps you understand what your problem really is. They don't even have to help you. You might even start the conversation with "I'm not looking for help on this, but it will help me to talk it out." Someone you trust. Someone you would do the same for. Someone soon. What's on your mind? -- Douglas Brent Smith Help the people at your organization dramatically improve their problem solving skills by bringing our one-day workshop Solving Problems to your location. Ask me how here: doug@frontrangeleadership.com.

Coach like it's important...

Unless leaders coach for performance the performance will slide. Your people need you. Your coaching matters. Keep coaching your brains out! -- doug smith

Feelings Count

Facts matter. We should pay attention to data. And, we should remember that data isn't the whole game. Data is a poor indicator of feelings. Feelings matter. People will believe that they matter when leaders show them that their feelings matter. That's not always easy and it can even be counter-intuitive if you're an analytical sort like me, but it is necessary. Facts matter. Feelings matter. And, more often than we might care to admit, people decide based on how they feel. How do you feel about that? -- doug smith

On Failure

Failing one test is study for the next. As adults, the learning never stops. We get to repeat the lesson until we LEARN the lesson. I've learned to take my lumps and keep learning. Keep getting better. Study harder, work harder, and fill the gaps. We all fail sometimes. Let the learning continue! -- doug smith

Instant Coach

Would you like to be an instant coach? Ask someone about their goals. You'll be doing them a favor. Bonus points: listen without judging. Paraphrase. Ask more questions. Stay helpful, encouraging, and challenging. Above all, stay curious. Now you're coaching. -- doug smith

How about that goal?

Do you like being followed up on your goals? I really think goals are important. Helping people achieve their goals is what I do. And yet -- and yet, when I get followed up on, it can irritate me. I didn't expect it. It feels rough. And yet it helps me get that goal achieved. This week I've been working with a nurse because my mom just got out of the hospital. Part of the deal was getting her medications in order, organizing them and helping her get them into one of those pill boxes for the week arrangements. Between doctor and physical therapy appointments, trips to the grocery store, and shuttling people around I just didn't quite get around to buying that pill container. Until the nurse followed up with me. Then, guess what. I bristled just a little, and then I went out and bought it. Mom's pills are all nicely organized now, thank you very much. And thank you nurse Linda, for the follow-up. How do you react to follow-up? Are you getting all the follow...

High Performance Leadership

Search This Blog