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Applied Improv
Successful improv revolves around keen awareness, effective communication, clear thinking, teamwork, confidence and the ability to tap into one's creativity, Hohn said. These are traits, interestingly enough, that also can be attributed to good business leaders.
Hohn, executive and artistic director of Transactors Improv Co., began teaching "Applied Improv" as an elective course to Kenan-Flagler MBA students in October 2000. MBA Associate Dean James W. Dean Jr. said that at first he wasn't sure the idea would fly, because he was concerned that students might not see the link between improvisation and leadership. "It's been very successful," said Dean, a management professor who is an expert in leadership issues. "The course was oversubscribed, and we ended up adding a second class." Most people see improvisation as a cleverness competition, but improv isn't about being fast or being funny, said Hohn. "I tell people they need to leave their desires to be funny at the door. I want people to be as vividly themselves as they can be. I give them the tools and experiences to explore their creativity, to try some scary things and to see how they can succeed. "People think fast all the time. What people really need is not to think fast, but to think clearly, to think efficiently." Leaders around the world who responded to the events of Sept. 11, from CEOs to rescue workers to politicians, had to become masters of improv, adept at using the skills of adaptability and flexibility. In these dramatically uncertain times, learning to master these two traits has become more important than ever, Dean and Hohn agree. "Good leaders will have to have a high tolerance for uncertainty, and they will need to practice patience," Dean said. "People who need a high degree of certainty in order to operate are going to be very frustrated in these times." Hohn likes to call it instructing people on "successfully negotiating ambiguity" and learning how to deal with stress. "You have to feel comfortable in improvising and going without the plan," he said. "You have to be open to change and growth." In the class, one of the most eye-opening moments for students is when they participate in Hohn's "mirroring experience," where two people are paired up and have to closely observer each other's movements. This teaches students to be really aware - to listen, to see and to pay attention to the other person, Hohn said. "I tell them that a good leader is easy to follow. You have to turn around every once in awhile and make sure people are following you." |
ctor Greg Hohn had been teaching improvisation classes for eight years when he had a breakthrough brainstorm. Students had been telling him over and over again how the experience had changed their lives. He began to wonder, "Could I adapt these ideas to the business world?"
