You have a group of employees who are mastering their fields but every once in a while you have to provide some ‘correction’. When you try to reward the positive . . . → Read More: Leonard Mlodinow : The Drunkard’s Walk – How Randomness Rules Our Lives]]> A trader named Bob Stovall correctly predicted turns in the stock market for 18 out of 19 calendar years. Was he an investment genius?

You have a group of employees who are mastering their fields but every once in a while you have to provide some ‘correction’. When you try to reward the positive performances as all the research says you should, your team seems to do worse the next time out. When they blow it and you comment on their failures in a loud voice, they seem to do better next time out. Should you avoid positive reinforcement?

OJ Simpson was acquitted based largely on arguments revolving around statistical probabilities. How did that work out for the justice system?

On a game show, you are asked to guess behind which of 3 doors a Ferrari is parked. After your guess, but before telling you if you are right, the game show host opens one of the doors you did not pick. The Ferrari is not there… There are two doors remaining. Should you change your guess, or stick with your first choice?

You make your choices in buying good wines based at least in part on the various 100 point rating systems wine experts assign to different wines. You will pay more for a wine with a 90 rating than one with an 89 rating. Are you getting a better wine?

The Drunkard’s Walk, an amazing book by mathematical physicist Leonard Mlodinow (California Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in Munich), looks at these and many other fascinating questions. The answers (which you’ll have to read the book to learn) all boil down to the realities of randomness and probability.

The Drunkard’s Walk is at once a personal exploration of the impact of the random on our lives (his own birth and the fates of his parents are moving tales of random events and personal courage in Nazi concentration camps); a history of the mathematics of probability from the ancient Greeks and the Chinese to modern times; and humorous eye-opening examples of how badly we judge the impact of chance, chaos, and probability in sports, business, politics, and medicine.

The title of the book comes from an expression used by physicists to describe the near-random or ‘brownian’ motion of molecules in certain states.

Mlodinow asks some serious questions about forecasting the future probability of success based on past performance. Are the movie directors, fund managers, and drug company research scientists always worth what they are paid, or are they more often than not just plain lucky?

Mlodinow illustrates this question with the firestorm that erupted when a columnist named Marilyn vos Savant, the woman with the highest recorded IQ in the world, tackled the game show problem mentioned above. There is no field of mathematics or science where experts are more likely to be wrong than in the area of probability. Called the Monty Hall Problem, after the host of the game show Let’s Make a Deal, the problem was debated in a way scientific questions almost never are. I won’t give away the answer here but let’s just say that when vos Savant gave her answer to the question “should you switch doors”? she received over 10,000 letters, almost all of them disagreeing with her. Over 1,000 came from PhD’s including people like Paul Erdos, considered to be one of the greatest mathematical minds of the century. And almost every single one of them was wrong. vos Savant was in fact right. You’ll have to read the book to get the answer!

What Mlodinow repeatedly illustrates, is that even rats are more successful than humans when it comes to solving some problems of probability. Our minds, designed to see patterns of meaning as a powerful evolutionary tool, are simply too good at seeing those patterns even where there are none. And furthermore, we try to anticipate patterns that cannot be anticipated. Research consistently shows that the human mind has real trouble both perceiving and creating anything truly random. The ‘gambler’s fallacy’ for instance, leads us to strongly believe that the odds of something happening in a random process (roulette wheels, slot machines, coin tosses, any ‘run of luck’) just because it hasn’t happened for a while (it must be ‘heads’ next because there have been a lot of ‘tails’), leads to a lot of heartache in betting and investing situations!

All of this has real implications for those of us in business. So much of marketing, human resources, and finance is based on our efforts to perceive and predict patterns. Without a basic understanding of statistics and probability, those in law, finance, and marketing are at real risk of basing perceptions and decisions on faulty interpretations of what is really going on.

The failure to understand the powerful role of randomness and probability in our lives leads to two serious consequences:

1. the very real risk of misinterpreting financial, medical, or social data with possibly serious consequences; and
2. the risk of making social decisions (if someone warrants our admiration for their success, for example) based on a flawed understanding of the forces at work in people’s lives.

So if putting too much faith in experts and systems and a perceived relationship between ability and success is often a mistake, what does Mlodinow suggest we do put our faith in?

Here is his answer: “What I’ve learned above all, is to keep marching forward, because the best news is that since chance does play a role, one important factor in success is under our control: the number of at-bats, the number of chances taken, the number of opportunities seized. For even a coin weighted toward failure will sometimes land on success. Or as the IBM pioneer Thomas Watson said: ‘If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.’”

Some highlights from your August newsletter:

Image by Clarita

Begin:

A group of participants sit in a circle. The facilitator starts the circle by saying a word (‘blue’). Without pausing the person on the left repeats the word, then free-associates another word in response (‘blue … sky’). The next person on the left repeats the pattern starting . . . → Read More: Play it Again… Eight to the Bar!]]>

Image by Clarita

Begin:

A group of participants sit in a circle. The facilitator starts the circle by saying a word (‘blue’). Without pausing the person on the left repeats the word, then free-associates another word in response (‘blue … sky’). The next person on the left repeats the pattern starting with the last word (‘sky … clouds’).

Start Again:

When the group has become comfortable with this process, the next layer is introduced. Everyone in the group, at the same time, sets up a 4-beat rhythm: 1) slap your hands on your thighs 2) clap your hands 3) snap your right hand fingers 4) snap your left hand fingers. Do this until everyone has the pattern down and the group is able to maintain a constant rhythm.

One More Time:

Both of the previous activities are challenging enough, but now the fun really begins. Do it again, only this time do both things together.

While the group is keeping the slap-clap-snap-snap rhythm, the free-association circle starts again. Now with each right hand snap you repeat your neighbour’s word, and with each left hand snap you say your new word, passing it on to the next person to your left. It sounds like this “slap…clap…blue…sky…slap…clap…sky…clouds’ with a ‘snap’ accompanying each word. (You can reverse the direction of the circle, it doesn’t matter).

The objective of this warm-up game is to develop the ability to speed our verbal responses in situations where ‘fast and uncensored’ creativity are of the essence.

While this game does not have the deep built-in life or business lessons of some of the others, I still value it as a warm-up exercise for 3 reasons:

1. It is physical. This game could be a very ‘wordy’. But because of the physical rhythm, and the pressure to come up with words ‘on the beat’, people throw their whole bodies into it. You might not think so from the description, but watch a group trying to really do this right and you’ll be amazed at how much body English people throw at this!
2. It super-charges spontaneity. Without the rhythm, the brain can fudge the ‘don’t think’ command. With our analytical facilities restrained in that rhythmic straight-jacket, we have to blurt out whatever comes first, or nothing! One of the reasons brainstorming sessions are not as effective as they could be is because we tend to dumb-down our contributions based on the censor in our heads, and on the social fear of saying the wrong thing. There is nothing like this game to kick the stuffing out of both of those limitations!
3. It builds empathy. One of my favourite messages in my workshops is the reminder that if we are feeling a little uncomfortable, that is not a bad thing. Take the memory of how difficult this is, and how you felt stretched and challenged, back to your next staff meeting, or family dinner table, or classroom. As adult professionals it has sometimes been too long since we did not feel in charge or in control. Mastery is a good thing, but forgetting the challenges of being a learner is not.

To learn more about how an improv workshop can take the blah-blah-blah out of your next retreat or management seminar, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com. Improv takes great team-building and management strategies, and makes them real and unforgettable.

Image by Clarita

Being a great listener is as much about collecting information as being a great communicator is about having a big vocabulary. The words, heard or spoken, are not the main point.

A great listener not only hears what is being said but treats . . . → Read More: Great Listening is a Contact Sport]]>

Image by Clarita

Being a great listener is as much about collecting information as being a great communicator is about having a big vocabulary. The words, heard or spoken, are not the main point.

A great listener not only hears what is being said but treats the act of listening itself as a way of building a relationship.

Use these 10 exercises to become a great listener:

1. Practice a caring perspective. Cultivate the honest belief that no matter who you are speaking with, they have something to teach you. Great listening communicates to our partner that we care about them as an individual. This cannot be faked. Great listening is ultimately about focusing on the value that others have to offer. Without this foundation of curiosity, humility, and empathy, all of the other tips below become transparent parlour tricks.
2. Learn how to ask good questions. Asking interested questions lets the other person know you are genuinely interested in them. About to meet someone new? Do your homework. Get to know what matters to them, and where things are interesting for them. If they work in a field you are not familiar with, spend an hour learning. In conversation, take your cues from what they talk about. Ask for their opinion; ask what got them to where they are (figuratively or literally). If you are really struggling to understand, don’t be afraid to ask, to ‘walk you through it.’ Honest ignorance is always preferable to disinterest, boredom, or someone who is obviously faking an understanding they don’t have. Once again, this is about them, not about you.
3. Practice eye contact. Of all the ways we communicate as human beings, eye contact (or the lack of it) is probably the most powerful. Our eyes communicate even in ways we cannot control, such as pupil dilation. By focusing your eyes on your partner in conversation you create a shield around you both. This shield is experienced by your partner as the feeling that they are the only person in the room. A single sideways flicker of the eyes breaks that spell. To sustain this is both important and difficult. Practice it. Tell yourself that for the first 5, 10, 15 minutes of the conversation your eyes will not leave your partner (except to look at your note pad if you are taking notes). Try to note how long you can sustain this for.
4. Practice serial eye contact. ‘Focused’ eye contact in one-on-one conversations is difficult. Eye contact at group events like group dinners or networking events is also a challenge. Knowing when to break eye contact to focus on the next person (or on someone who is already starting to speak with you) is not easy. You have to pay attention to the nuances of what you see in your partners’ eyes, and be prepared to close formally (“It’s great seeing you, I am going to have a word with John/Jane.”). The secret is to close the conversation before you take your eyes off your partner. Your words, or your body may indicate you are moving on, but your eyes must move last. If your eyes move first, it signals you have ‘checked out’ before the conversation has ended. If your eyes move last, it signals that you literally can’t take your eyes off your partner.
5. Ready for your close-up? In so many things in life, being seen to be doing the right things is as important as doing the right things. The next time you are in a focused conversation, imagine you are starring in a silent movie. What would a viewer see? Would they actually see you listening? Without all the ‘aha’s and ‘hms’ would your body language still communicate your complete interest in the other person? What are your hands and arms doing? Your eyes? Are you shoulders turned fully towards your partner? Are you leaning in or out?
6. Practice being still. Stop doing anything except listening. Don’t glance at your watch. Don’t check your phone. Even better, turn it off. Keep your hands visible and still if possible. If you are having coffee together, be deliberate about when you take a sip. And when you do, try not to break eye contact (a humorous challenge for those of us with glasses when we drink hot coffee after coming in from the cold!). Be even more deliberate about this when you are having lunch or dinner. By all means be natural, but don’t shovel the food in with your eyes glued to the plate while your partner shares something important with you.
7. Practice being present on the phone. We think we are ‘invisible’ when we are talking on the phone. We don’t think the other person can tell if we are checking our email. They can. Studies have shown that listeners can tell if we are smiling, distracted by other tasks, or even slouching. Turn off your distractions and speak on the phone as if the other person were right there in the room.
8. Still your mind. Few things are more off-putting than speaking with someone who has obviously stopped listening because they have already started to formulate a clever response. We can listen, or we can prepare a response. We can’t do both well. If your intention is to debate, that is one thing. If your intention is to develop a reputation as a great listener, then turn off the ‘debating’ voice in your head. Even if you think you are right, this is not the time. For a great listener, it is always the other person’s time.
9. Practice not talking. Great listeners are good at knowing when to prompt for more information, when to move the conversation forward with a question or a comment. Knowing just when to do these things is a craft that takes practice. Do it too often, or when the other person has not finished their thought, and you are interrupting, even if you are agreeing. You are sending the message that your thoughts are more important than your partner’s. The old rule applies: if you are not sure when to put your two bits in, keep quiet.
10. Be positive. We prefer to be around positive people. People who are ‘up’, and people who agree with us are felt to be attractive. This doesn’t mean you have to be a Pollyanna, but choose your responses, especially contradictory ones, carefully. Often when we contradict someone else it is not to add value to the conversation at hand. Most of the time we just want to be right, and to be seen to be right. This is not a way to become a great listener. Be intentional in choosing your ‘hill to die on’: will the intelligent argument you are about to make be one that makes a serious difference a few years from now? Is it worth shifting the spotlight from your partner to yourself and losing the value they have been placing in you as a great listener? If the answer is no to both of these, keep it to yourself.

Show interest in others, focus on them mentally and physically, still your body and your mind, be positive. Do all of these things and people will think you are one of the most interesting and attractive people they have met. You achieve this status not by promoting yourself, but by making them feel like they are the most interesting person in the room. You do have to believe that, but that is not enough. You also have to communicate that by listening with every fibre of your being.

Listening on this level is not easy. It requires practice and focus, and a level of engagement that should leave you feeling like you have worked hard. Great listening really is a contact sport. But if you do it right, it will make a significant positive difference in your personal and professional relationships.

I work with management teams to develop extraordinary communication skills. To book a workshop or seminar, write to me at clemens@clemensrettich.com

A group of players start a scene, creating characters, creating a story by listening and building on each others’ suggestions… Another group of players stand at the sidelines, watching and listening. Suddenly the ‘director’ (really any person… even a volunteer audience member) calls ‘Freeze!’ and all the characters freeze in . . . → Read More: You’re On! Ready?]]>

Image by Clarita

A group of players start a scene, creating characters, creating a story by listening and building on each others’ suggestions… Another group of players stand at the sidelines, watching and listening. Suddenly the ‘director’ (really any person… even a volunteer audience member) calls ‘Freeze!’ and all the characters freeze in place.

The director then taps a player on the shoulder. That person steps out, and the director points to a player on the sidelines and they assume the exact position of the player tagged out. The scene resumes with the fresh player.

This game is a brilliant model for real teams in real life. Sometimes your team just gets something going and someone quits. They get sick, they get promoted, they quit… whatever. Then a new person steps in. At that moment two things get tested.

• The team gets tested for its resilience and its ability to retain its focus and general direction, while absorbing the new person with their ideas and perspectives.
• The new person gets tested for their ability to hit that perfect mix of advancing the team’s original vision while at the same time contributing their own unique ideas and perspectives.

How good is your team at doing this? How good are you at stepping in at a moment’s notice? We are in a world where ‘just in time’ teams are being formed and dissolved in shorter and shorter cycles, one project at a time. Our ability to form, reform, adapt, and dance is increasingly at a premium value.

Improv management workshops teach these skills by engaging mind, heart and body. This game can teach 4 powerful lessons about what it means to really ‘step up’.

1. Planning doesn’t help, but paying attention does. If you are at a meeting and your mind is racing along scheming up what ‘they should do next’, you aren’t paying attention. While you are busy coming up with the ‘perfect plan’ the game is already going in different directions. While deep experience (and really knowing your teammates) can give us an intuitive sense of where things are going, there is no substitute for being present. It is my belief that failure to listen has resulted in more business failures than failure to plan, old saws about ‘planning to fail’ notwithstanding. Great actions require great information. Pay attention.
2. You don’t always get to make the call. In this game a director gets to decide who to tag out and who to put in the game. In life and in business we never know when the call will come. And when it comes, you had better have been paying attention (see #1)! If we could always pick our moments of entry, when that perfect client walks through the door, or when the market zigs or zags, life might be easier. But we can’t. So a state of readiness that includes a ‘yes, and…’ mentality, and having really paid attention to things as they unfold, is critical.
3. Your team matters. When you step into the scene, it’s not just your experience, readiness, and openness that matter. Your team will also need to rapidly adjust to you, your style, and your suggestions. While it’s ideal to be with others that you have created with before, that isn’t always possible. The next best thing you can hope for is that your team-mates are as present and open-minded as you are. And remember, once in the game, you are now a team member too…
4. You set the tone. When you first step in, your team mates will have seconds, in the game and in the real world, to form their first impression of you. If you want that first impression to be one that contributes to your team’s confidence then you quickly need to establish that you are a team player. In those first few seconds, that means striking that difficult balance between accepting and respecting the direction and environment already created by the team, and showing up ready to contribute and take creative risks. That balance is difficult to achieve and it is games like this that teach it best.

There is another version of this game where the team members on the sidelines tag out a player in the scene and take their place. This is also fun, but I don’t find it challenges us as much in that ‘real life way’ that the ‘directed’ version does. In real life we can’t choose when we are tagged to lead that project, or head that department, or assume that new position. We just need to be ready to play.

To learn more about how an improv workshop can make real the elements required for a great team, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com

Number 3 in The Improvising Manager series.

Improvisational theater has grown around a few basic concepts. In article 3 in this series on “The Improvising Manager” we are looking at one key concept that it is not possible to proceed without: “Yes, and…”

Improvisational theater and games unfold along a . . . → Read More: Yes, and…]]>

Image by Clarita

Number 3 in The Improvising Manager series.

Improvisational theater has grown around a few basic concepts. In article 3 in this series on “The Improvising Manager” we are looking at one key concept that it is not possible to proceed without: “Yes, and…”

Improvisational theater and games unfold along a simple pattern: a player (or audience member, or judge) makes an offer. This could be suggesting a character, a place, an object, a mood, just about anything. Then another player accepts the offer by ‘playing along’ and continues the scene forward.

The key to doing this successfully is referred to as the “Yes, and…” rule. When someone makes a suggestion, no matter how improbable or unexpected, it is the responsibility of the other players to accept the suggestion, add to it or vary it, and keep building the story. The other players do not literally have to say “Yes, and…” but they must accept the offer. To fail to do so is called blocking in improv, and results in the collapse of the scene.

Example:

Player 1 “It’s so dark out here!”

Player 2 “What do you mean it’s dark? I can see perfectly well! Follow me!” [blocking]

- or -

Player 1 “It’s so dark out here!”

Player 2 “I know! I am so scared… hold my hand!” [accepting]

I don’t need to insult anyone’s intelligence by explaining why the second is the better response if you want to move the scene forward as a team.

Whether it is in a staff meeting, a conversation with your spouse, or in a do-or-die emergency brainstorming session, you can see why this is such a powerful tool in real life as well. Building a shared direction and momentum are the result of this approach. It is more efficient and produces better results than a confrontational, win-lose process.

Even when someone else (of course it’s never you!) makes a completely unhelpful suggestion, a skilled facilitator will always use the “Yes, and…” response to keep the process moving forward. Even if it is only being used to gently guide a group out of left field while still respecting the ‘crazy’ contributor as a team member, yes and is always more effective.

To learn more about how an improv workshop can make real the elements required for a great team, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com

Number 2 in The Improvising Manager series.

Two people stand on stage. One has a script and plays their part with confidence. The other doesn’t have a script and has to fake it as best they can.

Sound familiar? Well not only is this a great improv game, it is . . . → Read More: Actors’ Nightmare (Or… Fake it ’til you Make it!)]]>

Image by Clarita

Number 2 in The Improvising Manager series.

Two people stand on stage. One has a script and plays their part with confidence. The other doesn’t have a script and has to fake it as best they can.

Sound familiar? Well not only is this a great improv game, it is a real actors’ nightmare. I have had it,  and know others who have had it too. Whether it is as an actor, dancer, or musician, the nightmare is the same: you show up, a performance starts, and you suddenly realize you are the only one in the performance who doesn’t know their part. You play along gamely, making stuff up, hoping nobody in the audience or on stage notices.

Variations of this exist in other realms too: showing up for a math class feeling like you are the only one who doesn’t get it. Showing up for a staff or board meeting feeling like you are the only one out of the loop. These are all real nightmares.

In the ‘Actors’ Nightmare’ improv game one person has a script that contains the lines of a dialogue. Often the lines are from a scene in a real play, or even sources like comic books. It is the role of the person without the script to ‘justify’ the lines from his or her partner. They respond as if they knew the script, making up dialogue and actions that fit with, or ‘justify’, the script.

(To skip the improv details and go straight to the ‘business case”, click here.)

To do this well requires the player without the script to -

• Listen actively. This means actually hearing what is said without ‘anticipating’ too much. This is very hard as the temptation is to anticipate where the scene is going, and start pre-forming responses. But the moment you do that, you stop really listening. You start to force the scene in directions it may not be going in, and you start missing cues your partner is giving you.
• Accept the offers. As the lines and hints at action start to come from the script, go into ‘yes and’ mode. If your partner reads “Your hair is beautiful Marsha”, and you are male and bald, don’t block by asking “Whomever are you talking about?” Find a character, find a voice, and respond “Yes! Thank you! And what do you think of my nails?” Your commitment is what will make the scene start to cook.
• Anticipate with presence. Once the scene starts to roll, take greater and greater risks trying to move the story forward, but always remain present enough to your partner’s cues of body language and tone to change direction on a dime. Finding that sweet spot between imagining ‘out loud’ what’s coming, and remaining present enough to change direction when the script suggests it, is difficult, but has huge pay-offs when it works.

And requires that the player with the script to -

• Listen actively. Being the player with the script means more than just reading. It is your responsibility to pay close attention to where your partner seems to be going. If you listen well, you will make the next part more effective:
• Enrich the delivery. Use as much non-verbal colour as possible to help the other player see where this might be going. In theatre terms this means making your ‘offers’ as broad and rich as possible. Remember that less than 20% of communication in a conversation is verbal. Body language and tone of voice communicate a lot to your partner.
• Support your partner. There are a dozen ways a line can be read that either support or block your partner’s efforts. It is in the subtle dance between your partner’s risk-taking, and your interpretation of the script (‘the reality’) to support your partner, that the magic of this game lies.

1. It can address the ‘control & power’ in the room. It can be fun to watch a ‘junior’ with the script, as their ‘boss’ tries to make the best of it. As I say in my workshops: most of us in positions of authority and/or of a certain age may have forgotten what it feels like to be under the microscope, as we were in school, etc. Those of us in a position of authority should be reminded from time to time what it feels like not to have that control. In that way this game can develop empathy and a livelier social intelligence.
2. It reminds us that teamwork is not an abstraction. Teamwork is a muscle that must be exercised. It is hard work to make this game really fly. It requires a high level of listening, communicating, and being present to every word and gesture your partner makes. Communication on this level is rocket science.
3. It drives home the point that your role on the team does not end with your “formal” assignment. Just because you have the script does not mean you can sit back and ‘just read out orders’. Just because you don’t have the script doesn’t mean you can passively wait for direction.
4. Much of what is important just happens. The concept of accepting offers is driven home in this game. In improv, business, and life, you can only plan so much.  Tomorrow is largely shaped by probability and forces outside of our control. Our job is to make the most of each moment as it occurs by being present; accepting that we have to deal with what is, not what ‘should be’; and making a commitment to act. And we do all of that best as a team.

To learn more about how an improv workshop can make real the elements required for a great team, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com

Image by Clarita

Anger is a natural emotion that has its place, but rarely in the workplace. When we respond to injustice, disrespectful behaviour, or threats, anger can be a useful tool. However,  uncontrolled anger or aggression only lead to more conflict and have no place at work or at home.

A group of people stand in a circle. One person holding two tennis balls (or something similar) stands in the center. The center person tosses one of the balls out to a person in the circle and that person tosses the ball to another person in the . . . → Read More: Forget the Shoulda’s!]]> Number 1 in The Improvising Manager series.

A group of people stand in a circle. One person holding two tennis balls (or something similar) stands in the center. The center person tosses one of the balls out to a person in the circle and that person tosses the ball to another person in the circle a few positions to their left. That person tosses the ball back to the center person, who then tosses the ball out again to someone just to the left of last player and the whole pattern starts again, moving around the circle in a triangular pattern. When the confidence of the group grows, the center person tosses one ball to one person in the circle, waits a beat and then tosses the other ball to someone just to the left of the first person. Now the balls move around the circle and back to the center in a series of overlapping triangles.

With one ball...

The main object of the game is to see how many times the group can keep those balls going around before one is dropped.

When the group hits a real ‘groove’ the sound of the balls being caught and tossed in a relaxed but steady rhythm is remarkable.

Inevitably someone drops a ball, someone isn’t watching, or someone throws to the ‘wrong’ person. Sometimes someone gets hit in the side of the head! This is a much more difficult game than it sounds. Dropping the ball is not the big problem however. The big problem comes next: when someone, in explaining why they just dropped the ball (literally!) they start a sentence something like “I thought that…” or “You were supposed to…” or “You should have…” etc.

That’s when I stop the game and have that wonderful teachable moment.

This game is a great expression of teamwork. First, while there is a leader, once the balls are in the air, the whole thing takes on a life and rhythm of its own. Second, while there are some rules and some general predictability, that’s it. Even when everyone is doing their best, things happen, and balls get dropped. Life happens.

The heart of this teachable moment is this: deal with what is rather than what should be.

As those balls go around the circle, each person has to be aware and focused. The ball is thrown a ‘few’ positions to the left around the circle. Not 2 positions, not 3, a ‘few’. That means you can’t depend on Joe throwing to Sue standing beside you every time just because he did it the last few times. Its not that predictable. And sometimes, especially when there are two balls going around, people make mistakes. Sometimes they throw the ball back to the person in the center right away, rather than to the left. Sometimes the ball goes to the left twice. When those things happen, it is remarkable how often the first thing out of the mouth of the person who dropped the ball (or got hit by it!) says something like “You should have…” or “That was supposed to…”

They have forgotten the main objective. Yes there are rules, but this game is not about the rules. The main objective is to see how many times the group can keep those balls going around the circle. To do that successfully, every team member will do their best to stick to the basic rules, but more importantly, they have to keep the balls going despite errors and lapses.

Sound familiar?

This game really does do a wonderful job of making concrete two important team behaviours:

1. Being present and dealing with what is. Any well-run business or project has some form of plan, or at the very least, priorities and objectives. But once you get going all kinds of un-expected events occur, both good and bad. The success of the business depends as much on our ability to deal with what actually happens, as on the quality of the original plan. In fact in my experience, the ability to make quick tactical changes in response to the unexpected is more important than good planning skills.

2. Keeping the focus on the main objective, not on the ‘failures’ of teammates. Everyone makes mistakes, and it is the leader’s job to monitor, coach, correct, etc. When the rest of us get distracted in ‘correcting’ our team-mate’s failures, we risk losing sight of the big picture. Furthermore it introduces blame into the picture. When we blame, not only do we lose sight of the balls that need to be kept in the air, we now have conflict. And unless the leader brings the focus back to the larger objective immediately, we all know where that goes.

By the way, if you are wondering how successful most teams are at this game the first time out, few ever complete even one full circle. Another lesson: great teamwork is harder than it looks. It takes practice.

To learn more about how improv can improve teamwork, contact Clemens at clemens@clemensrettich.com