Yes, And...

There is so much to be learned from different disciplines, removed from our own dogma and norms. Case in point, last year we had the experience of a training day at the Abbey Theatre. A day as exhilarating as it was uncomfortable.

Obviously the Abbey holds special place in our national affection as a bedrock of the great Irish tradition of writing, acting and storytelling. We can truly claim to be world class in this field. It felt like a real honour and privilege to be there. During the day there, we explored the rudiments of acting, storytelling, being completely present, improvisation..... amongst a host of other things. In the improvisation exercises, two individuals would work in concert moving through a space, unconstrained, no rules. At any stage another person could join-in by tapping a person on the shoulder and taking their place, and continuing with the improvisation.

The key learning and my takeaway from the day was in this exercise. It brought home the true meaning of collaboration. As you enter a situation you should bring a "Yes, And' mindset whereby you accept the 'invitation' and build on it, developing it together from that point forward. This is distinct from entering and immediately taking the idea or concept in another direction, and creating unnecessary hostility and dissonance. How often do we say 'yes, but' for example.

To a lesser or greater extent we're all experiencing changes to our 'ways of working', shifting to more dynamic practices, thinking and doing at the same time, maintaining clear customer context, experimenting and learning continually. In this world what matters most is our behaviours, our capacity to be open and receptive to others, and to have a learner mindset which can adapt to situations. Or to put that into theatrical parlance, 'Yes, And...'.