Think of being in one of the following situations. How will you respond to it? Or if you’ve already been there, how did you respond?
- You’re leading the Q&A portion of an all-employee meeting, and someone asks a surprise question, one that seems to come out of left field.
- A speaker is running late to an important event, and someone asks you to stand in for them until they arrive.
- A colleague challenges a statement you just made in a meeting in front of your peers.
- A meeting presentation doesn’t flow as planned due to technical difficulties.
- You’re presenting your company’s quarterly financial statements, and an analyst asks a challenging question.
When standing at the front of the room, some leaders can adapt to situations that shift rapidly and negatively. For others, their discomfort is obvious, and their response leads to awkward moments. Freezing, fidgeting, or obviously faking it can undermine the confidence of and in a leader.
One of the aspects of great leadership is that it is a performance art. It’s the ability to position yourself in front of others and positively influence their behavior, decisions, and thoughts. This visible aspect of leadership is crucial to accomplishing goals and objectives. And as a performance, it often requires improvisation.
Improvisation in its simplest form is making it up as you go. And we do it every day in a variety of interactions with others. This isn’t as shallow or lighthearted as it sounds. Even improv actors practice their techniques.
Similarly, successful leadership improvisation is based on a foundation of preparation to effectively respond to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances. Here’s what preparation looks like.
- Personal expertise – Be knowledgeable about and comfortable with your subject matter. Be the expert in the room at a strategic level on your topic.
- Personal capabilities – Practice your responses to a variety of challenging situations. And like a candidate preparing for a debate, ask for feedback from your team.
- Active listening – Focus fully on what others are saying in the room. When a question is asked and you want to connect with others, repeat what is said to ensure understanding; remember what is said to determine the proper action; respond to what is said in a manner that directs the proper flow of the discussion.
- Empathy – Recognize there may be unanticipated emotions in the room. Rather than sticking to the script and ignoring them, pause and acknowledge how people are feeling. You might even share your own feelings and vulnerabilities. This can build a connection with others as you navigate the uncertainties of the future together.
- Environmental adjustment – Ideally, leaders can identify what they need in the environment to set the stage and optimize the message to be conveyed. The reality is that often leaders end up speaking in unfamiliar rooms with only minutes to adjust to the layout. Learn to be flexible and go with the flow.
So how should you improvise on the topics listed above?
- Acknowledge their concern. Connect it to specific broader topics in the organization. Recognize there will be different perspectives on it. Share your priorities and considerations on how it will be addressed. Promise to follow up with the person with more specific information if appropriate or put a follow up response on the company intranet.
- Talk about the three reasons the event’s topic is important to you. Recognize people in the audience who have played a significant role in the purpose of the event. In a smaller setting where participants are seated at tables, give them a group discussion topic, then invite them to share their thoughts with the larger group.
- Assuming your colleague’s assertion lacks sufficient information or insight, calmly provide added background on your statement. Acknowledge that there may be room for different approaches or opinions. Call out the basis for your facts.
- Sometimes a video doesn’t play at the appointed time; the teleprompter stops working; the slides aren’t projecting. Know your content. Have a hard copy of your presentation in front of you. Keep it moving and talk about the three to four most important things the audience needs to know about the topic. Don’t worry about whether the technical experts work out the bugs.
- Assuming you’ve already prepared for the most important questions, this may be a related but not-as-relevant one. Talk about why you believe the topic has much less significance or probability than the ones you’ve been addressing. Or talk about how might address it, in spite of the current perspective that the probability of it happening is slim. You can also talk about what factors would need to change, and how you’re monitoring them, for you to believe that the question at hand has greater relevance.
Great leaders practice improvisation as an art. It’s integral to their preparation. And their ability to adjust to changes and surprises in their environment is evidence of their learned flexibility. They know how to make it look easy because they’ve practiced. Embrace improvisation as an important skill set.
Copyright 2024 Priscilla Archangel
