I’ve been a huge fan of Saturday Night Live since I was a teenager. I also love learning about parts of movies that were improvised, like most with Robin Williams, or the Anchorman comedies, or, as I more recently learned, classics like Casablanca and Jaws in which the actors were encouraged to create dialogue in the moment.
Improvisation is underappreciated for its value when applied to the modern workplace. During my 30+ years working in community colleges, I’ve interviewed more than 500 job candidates, including a few who were formally trained in the principles and techniques of improvisation. Some candidates were more direct than others in surfacing their improv training to my questions, but I often reflect on the principles I learned through these conversations to remind myself of good habits necessary to thrive in the VUCA environment we experience on a regular basis. A few candidates gave great responses when I asked about their experience on a team and how that made them a good team member. Each described their training in these five principles and perfectly outlined the attributes of a great team member!
If you’re not familiar with improvisation, it revolves around several core principles that guide all who are trained in the field:
- “Yes, and ... :” Accepting what’s presented and building upon it (Embrace Community)
- Active Listening: Staying attentive to your scene partner (Model the Way)
- Commitment: Fully engaging in the moment without hesitation (Model the Way)
- Embracing Mistakes: Seeing errors as opportunities (Inspire Confidence)
- Support and Collaboration: Working together to create a cohesive scene or narrative (Encouraging Excellence)
I think about the extent to which these five principles apply to how people show up for work each day. I’d say they describe most of us on our best days — working with what we have and finding a way to “yes,” actively listening to our co-workers, staying fully engaged and committed, seeing mistakes as opportunities, and focusing on support and collaboration with others to find a way forward in any situation. Our challenge is to remember these principles when we’re having an “off” day, when life may temporarily divert us from being our best selves.
As I reflect further on these five principles of improv, I can see MVCC’s Core Values inherently reflected in interesting ways. I see our Core Value of Model the Way in both “Active Listening” and “Commitment.” Embracing mistakes is all about our Core Value and the ability to Inspire Confidence, and being “Supportive and collaborative” is at the heart of our Core Value of Encouraging Excellence.
Finally, I think my favorite improv principle is “Yes, and …” To me, accepting what is presented and building upon it is a wonderful way of capturing our Core Value of Embrace Community, whether it be accepting our students for who they are and where they are in their journey and building upon that, or embracing our colleagues in the same way — finding ways to say “Yes, and …” — what an interesting and useful principle to carry with us each day we show up for the work in front of us in these disruptive and complex times.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me directly at presblog@mvcc.edu
