From high status to low status: Vulnerability is the power.
There are many ways to describe the economic impact of part of the world’s economies being completely shut down.
Here’s what it really is: It’s a change in STATUS.
In improv comedy, “Status” is a technique that helps establish relationships between characters. Changing that status is not only a source of wonderful comedy, it’s a great source of human insight.
Example: Our Church+State office is in Toronto’s Liberty Village, a trendy area filled with brick & beam offices for agencies, design shops, and media companies. Before the pandemic, office space was very hard to get. Guess who had status in the landlord tenant relationship? Right. The landlords.
At times, we felt like our property managers were hoping we would move out so they could jack the fees for the first group waiting in line. When we complained that there were no parking spaces available even though we pay for two spots, we were informed that we don’t pay for parking. We pay for the potential to park. WTF?
Well, guess who has status now?
With large companies saying they will be downsizing their office needs, people being more comfortable working from home, and teams proving that virtual effectiveness is more than just a possibility, suddenly, space isn’t at a premium any more. That changes the dynamic of the relationship.
And it’s not just in Commercial Real Estate.
Industries, companies, jobs, and people have all changed status. Leadership seems to be the ability to seamlessly and willingly go from High Status situations to Low Status situations even though one's title would normally suggest otherwise.
I had a chance to sit down with my friend, Lisa Merchant, who is a brilliant improviser and incredible teacher of improv to discuss “Status” in improv. There’s a lot business can learn.
As an example, the easiest way for a character to willingly go from high to low status (and back again) is to be in the moment, lead with the heart, and make themselves vulnerable. In Lisa's words, "Vulnerability is actually the power."
For all the great insights, check out my interview with Lisa here:
Passionate About IT, Effective Organizational Change, Growth & Teamwork | Humanistic & Consultative Value Seller, Driving Bottom and Top-Line Impact
4 年Lisa Merchant is great.
Mortgages | Finance | Capital Markets | Private Credit
4 年I can’t watch the video for some reason but love this realization. There’s a huge vacuum of integrity and modesty that rarely survive the transition of status. Thanks for posting, Ron.