Course description

In an average day your environment may change hundreds of times. Understanding the nuances of each of these environments has a tremendous impact on your ability to perform at your peak. Practicing improvisational techniques will allow you to quickly analyze changing environmental conditions and communicate quickly and effectively within them. Improvisational leaders enhance their ability to interpret and adapt to their ever-changing environment. This is done with an ever-present focus on their goals.

This course develops your ability for “yes and”: We’re all highly skilled and practiced at critiquing, judging and defining. We're trained at saying no. We have great muscles for that. Strengthen your affirmation muscles. The “yes and” approach gives us the ability to respond to potentially stressful situations in a more relaxed, productive and relationship-building way. These two words have a powerful effect in all relationships, motivation and creativity. “Yes and” can be used to positively refocus unproductive conversations, and to redirect brainstorming to be more effective. As a wonderful side-benefit, these skills help us be more amicable, popular and influential in personal relationships as well.

Who should attend

Individuals who will benefit from this course include leaders at all levels who want to increase innovation in everyday interactions; more positively enhance morale in subordinates; create a more energetic culture; and respond spontaneously in a motivational way.

What you will achieve

• Build a stronger presence.
• Develop and practice positive attitudes.
• Demonstrate healthy risk taking.
• Build on strengths.

What you will learn

• Increase ability to respond positively in fast moving situations.
• Develop impromptu creativity.
• Improve listening and communication skills.
• Understand the responsibilities and challenges of leadership.
• Understand how our words and tone of voice affect others.
• Craft your language to influence others more powerfully.
• Influence yourself for greater confidence, motivation, and solution focus.
• Gain skill in using calm focus to manage stressful situations.

Course Outline

Module 1: Improvisational Leaders

• Great Leaders in Action
• Five Improvisational Keys
• Environment
• Improvisational Planning
• Relationship with Followers
• Risk
• Common Goal (Win-Win Solutions)
• The Many Advantages Improv Leaders Have
• Demonstration of Improvisational Leadership

Module 2: Solution-Focus Approach

• How our Brains React to Leaders
• How to Enable Good Brain Responses
• The Power and Efficacy of a Solution Focus
• Learn How to Focus Your Mind on a Desired Solution
• Creating Mental Images and Feeling States That Influence Toward Success
• Positive Reframes

Module 3: Art of Agreement

• “Yes And” — Developing the Agreement Muscles
• “Yes, Lets” — Developing the Ability to Build on Others’ Ideas
• Positively Leading and Redirecting Conversations with These Approaches

Module 4: Innovation

• Using “Yes and” for Greater Creativity
• Redirecting Poor Quality Thinking Without Diminishing Enthusiasm
• Goal Clarity
• The Power of Diversity for Rich Brainstorming

Module 5: Creative Conflict

• Preventing Conflict
• Using Improv Methods to Keep People Focused on a Common Goal
• Using “Yes And” to Redirect (and Avoid) Unnecessary Conflict
• Purposefully Using Creative Conflict to Help Shift Perspectives and Find Common Ground

Module 6: Using Improvisational Leadership in Our Daily Lives

• Brainstorming Application Ideas
• Planning to Use “Yes And” at Work and at Home