4 Leadership Lessons From Improv

My career has had a non-traditional path including several years working as a professional comedic improviser in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. In many ways what I learned studying with, and later performing for, The Second City shaped me more as a leader than anything else.

People assume that improv is about being funny, quick-witted or naturally talented. Those things help, but like most anything else in the world, improv is something that can be studied and learned. Anyone who has taken a beginner improv comedy class has learned our most basic rules. Here are four of them and how they relate to leadership:

One: Say Yes.

This means to "agree and accept." Another way to say it is to not deny. Beginning improv students always have an instinct to deny. They say "no" and shut down a scene because it is often the easiest choice to make. Denial is simply being unconsciously selfish and forcing your own plan onto someone else. Denying in improv comedy kills a scene. Denying in real life has more dire consequences. It kills dreams and relationships. As a leader, are you leading a "yes" culture where people are encouraged to accept what is in front of them or do you drift into a denial culture where people do a lot of pretending and projecting?

Two: Heighten and Explore.?

We often say this means to say "and." So the combination of the first two rules of improv are to say, "Yes, And." For improv to work, we have to be building a story together. We can't just say "yes" to our partner and not contribute something new. We add our best to the story being told. We build on what our partner gives us. By contributing your best, we all are better for it. In the real world, everyone longs to be part of a team where they are seen and heard. We all want to tell stories together. The best leaders understand this. They build "and" cultures where every voice matters and is celebrated.

Three: Share the Spotlight.?

Improv comedy is always performed as part of an ensemble cast. I love stand up comedy and have a ton of respect for comics who risk being on stage all alone with no safety net, but improv is something completely different. It's communal - a team activity. The worst thing anyone can do in improv comedy (apart from denying) is to try to be funny or noticed. We are trained to share the spotlight, meaning our job is to set up our teammates to be funny. It's like making that extra pass in basketball. You simply cannot improvise well with a person who has to be the center of attention. Ego and competition must die for true collaboration to exist.?In business, sharing the spotlight begins with the leader who sets the example that sharing victories is better than celebrating solo accomplishments.

Four: Play in the Moment.?

Sometimes in improv we say, "show don't tell." Improv scenes break apart or become boring when they are about the past or the future. A scene about two guys in a bar talking about the time they got arrested in college for stealing the Dean's cat is mildly interesting. Seeing that scene happen in real time is hilarious. One of the most common phrases I used to say to mid-level improv students when teaching is, "Don't tell me about it, take me there." Don't talk about what happened. Show me now.? Be in the moment. Great leaders learn from the past and prepare for the future. But they live and lead in the moment.

Here is the universal truth that many of us spend our entire lives disbelieving: everything is improvised. Every moment. Nothing is scripted. We’re making it all up together as we go. Sure, you can and should make plans for the future, but as Mike Tyson once famously said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth.” Leadership is what happens in the spilt second after that first punch...and it's always improvised.