Recently I am
self-studying the subject of "improvisation". I
found that the skills can be applied not only to Jazz music and theaters, but also
to real-life challenges in the workplace.
In general MIT students are well-known for the quantitative and analytical skills but we may benefit from more interpersonal and leadership skills. As much as MIT students might be excellent with our technical ability, if we don’t communicate and translate it in an eloquent way, then we cannot fully maximize our potential success.
When we graduate from MIT, there will be alot of expectation from our future employers. Let's say that we have decided to accept consulting jobs and we are faced with clients who are awaiting for answers for their problems. Here we need to think on our feet and come up with feasible solutions quickly so as to create the right perception for our clients.
There are 4 Main
principles of improvisation for practices in business organization:
1) Using "Yes, and"
instead of "Yes, but" - This is referring to acceptance of
a new idea or approach. When people say "yes, but" this may tend to
stop further exploration of new ideas.
2) Practice deep listening
skills. Reframing situations to explore creative possibilities. Shifting
perspective, focus, position.
3) Thinking on the fly.
4) A willingness to step out
of our comfort zone and to not be afraid of appearing foolish.
I believe that improv is a great skill to have as an effective leader because it teaches us to be more flexible, to listen deeply to others, to be creative, to react with calmness while under pressure and to “act” as an expert to carry through difficult situations.
At times we tend to let our emotions get into the way of thinking clearly. Sometimes the frustration and anger cloud us from making sound judgment. If we put ourselves back into the objective scenario and let emotions stay out of the way we would be able to make better decisions and hence become great leaders.
When we don’t
know how to act during crisis, we can step back and project ourselves to be
somebody who is in control. At the same time, improvisation allows us to avoid
being control freaks while staying focus on the main course. Finally,
improvisation trains us to take risks and step out of the comfort zone to be
successful leaders in organizations.
For those of you in 'MLOG 07'
there is a course offered in the Spring of 2007 from Sloan 15.969
Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business that I wished I
could have taken but it wasn't offered this year. However, I did meet with
Prof. Lakshmi Balachandra who is now teaching at Harvard and thought that she
was excellent.
I think you may be interested in a workshop we're offering in June, called Improvisation for Leaders. More information can be found here: http://www.performanceofalifetime.com/ifl050415.htm
Posted by: Melea Seward | 05/16/2006 at 08:39 PM