Avoid Burnout Through Play

Applied Improv colleagues Gary Ware and Jeff Henry are interviewed for an article by Jyoti Jani Patel about how play reduces burnout.

Ware says, “It’s due to the low-stakes nature of play. Engaging in playful activities together creates a sense of psychological safety which results in enhanced collaboration, and a more open, communicative culture.”

Sometimes, the word “play” centered on work activities scares leadership. If that’s true in your organization, substitute the word “game” or “games”.

Here’s the full article, and it’s a good one:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jyotijanipatel/2023/11/27/playfulness-at-work-is-the-solution-to-burnout-we-want-and-need/?sh=132451404654

What Improv Gives You in a Real-Life Business Setting

I kicked ass at work today on an ass-kicking level not normally achieved by mere mortals. And I owe a lot of that to CSz Portland and CSz Worldwide, and every improv instructor or coach or facilitator I've had, and especially to Patrick Short for opening that door.

I was on a 3+ hour call with my manager and two experienced, senior developers, while I walked through automating a software upgrade with their guidance. I can't even begin to express how intense and stressful it is to have folks watching everything you type, every decision you make, as you go along. They were, of course, there to provide guidance and assistance, but every little step along the way was out there in front of everyone to see and watch as it unfolded, from the big decisions to constant typos to trying to logic my way out of problems as they occurred.

Improv training meant not having a meltdown in the middle of this. Remember to breathe, take your time, listen, and more importantly, don't be afraid of making mistakes. It is amazing how well this translates to the real world.

- John Mechalas

Work-Life Balance is a Cycle, Not an Achievement

• Pause and denormalize

• Pay attention to your emotions

• Reprioritize

• Consider your alternatives

• Implement changes

Everybody talks it - how do we actually get there (or do we)?

From the Harvard Business Review:

https://hbr.org/2021/01/work-life-balance-is-a-cycle-not-an-achievement

Leadership Training Works Better When You Create Community First

In this article in Forbes, Lynette Winter and Nir Megnazi talk about how they created a program, at a Fortune 50 company, where Leadership Training became less about teaching and more about community (first) and then coaching.

Here is an excerpt detailing the impact of the program:

With over 250 global leaders across 26 cohorts in a Fortune 50 company, the participants reported an average revenue or cost savings increase of $22.37 million per participant. Reduced attrition yielded a cost savings of $40 million over three years. Participants in the cohorts had a 2.7X promotion rate compared to their counterparts.

Notably, the participants' employees were surveyed and reported a much higher frequency of observed desired leadership behaviors. Consequently, overall employee engagement increased. These compelling business results showed that a leadership development program with community and coaching at the center positively impacts leader behaviors and the bottom line.

Here’s the fun and exciting part of this for us at CSz: we were a part of the front-end community-building in these cohorts. Improv for business is real and it can help deliver real results.

Here is a link to the whole article at Forbes.

NPR on What You Get From Improv

A very nice, concise article that covers the basics.

It turns out there are several mental health benefits of performing this art. According to a 2020 study published in the journal Thinking Skills and Creativity, researchers found that doing just 20 minutes of improv a day can increase creativity, decrease social anxiety and increase our ability to tolerate uncertainty.

Read the whole article here: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/19/1129907651/improv-can-build-confidence-heres-how-to-apply-it-to-your-everyday-life

Wool&Prince Founder Finds Value in Applied Improv from CSz

Photo by Mac Bishop

Mac Bishop, CEO and Founder of Portland’s Wool&Prince, writes about his company’s experience with our Basic Improv Skills Workshop:

I'd like to share our recent team building experience. We hired an improv coach (Patrick from CSz Portland) to guide us in a workshop. I had a vague idea of the listening and communication games we'd be playing, but didn't know how advanced we'd get in a two hour workshop. Thoughts of "am I or someone on the team going to say or do something embarrassing or regrettable" were running through my mind before we started. However, in our first activity, these fears quickly dissipated and even felt irrational. The game started easy but became hilariously impossible and resulted in everyone making mistakes. The core lesson: we're human, everyone makes mistakes, don't be so hard on yourself. We tend to believe that others notice and care about our mistakes far more than they actually do. If only we could treat ourselves as generously as we treat others when they make mistakes.

By the end of the workshop, my jaw hurt from smiling so much and it ended up being one of the most rewarding Wool&Prince experiences I've had in ten years. Perhaps it was the last two years of minimal group activities due to COVID or that we went into the event with mixed expectations, or what it actually was — just an incredible shared experience of growth, laughter, and team building.

View Mac’s original post (and learn more about the great clothing) from Wool&Prince here.

How Teamsnap Embraces Improv at Work

Andrew Berkowitz has played and coached with CSz Portland since 2001 or so, and he’s also the founder of Teamsnap, great software for keeping sports teams and other groups organized and connected.

In this article, Andrew talks about how his CSz improv experience has informed how Teamsnap operates.

Here’s the complete article: https://blog.teamsnap.com/editorials/pirate-or-penguin-how-improv-makes-teamsnap-more-nimble-and-effective

Podcasts featuring CSz Portland - Patrick Short & Ruth Jenkins

One of our folks suggested we collect our podcast appearances in one place. We said Yes.

• Patrick’s interview with Bill Haas on KXRW / XRAY.FM. March, 2022. Music, process, improv and theatre.

• The ComedySportz Podcast - recorded in March, 2020. Christine Capriolo and Kyle Hannekin from CSz Milwaukee are doing a great series on the origins and history of ComedySportz and its people. Patrick talks some origin story, some business history, some Applied Improv and about his worst improv onstage injury.

• Community Theater Heroes - recorded in January, 2019. There’s a lot of information and stories about CSz Portland and ComedySportz®, and a lot of information on how improv improves lives.

• John Cooper’s Bring A Brick - recorded in 2016. Focus on Applied Improv in Business. John Cooper is delightful. There are some other really good guests on John’s series, including Jim Ansaldo (improv for teens on the autism spectrum), Kat Koppett, Marijn Vissers, Drew Tarvin, Cathy Salit and others.

• Kevin Benson’s Bold Moves - recorded in November, 2014. Actually from a radio show on KJRB 790 in Spokane, WA. Starts with a few minutes of basic explanation of what Applied Improv is and does; Patrick’s segment starts around the 11:25 mark and runs through about 28:00.

• Jordan Carroll’s One Minute Weekly - January, 2018. A bite-sized video presentation with the basic concepts. (Please note: there are some CSz branding issues on this.)

• Adventures in Artslandia with Susannah Mars - Summer 2017. This is more about ComedySportz, but it’s fun and Patrick reveals that he is a “Dance Dad”.

Applied Improv is even in Forbes

Slowly, but surely, Applied Improvisation - the practice of using improv skills to improve business function and culture - is moving into the mainstream.

Now, there’s an article in Forbes. That is mainstream.

Pros:

• It’s in Forbes.

• It gets some of the concepts correct and acknowledges that there is more to it

• It’s a quick read

Cons:

• Of course the photo shows someone at the microphone, because even if the writer knows what improv is, the editor and/or designer did not.

• It’s a little heavily focused on Presenting. That’s OK, because improv helps a LOT with Presentation Skills - ask us - but there’s way more.

“Improv has become part of our daily nomenclature. It’s part of our culture. We now embrace the unknown and face any challenge with confidence, professionalism, tact and a whole lot of laughter.”

Wouldn’t that be sweet at your company?

Read for yourself.