Why Listening to Tina Fey Will Make you a Better Leader

By Luke Whitworth

It has been more than a decade since writer, actor, producer and comedian Tina Fey compared the world of improv to sport.

‘I became immersed in the cult of improvisation,’ she wrote of her career ascent in Bossypants in 2011. ‘I was like one of those athletes trying to get into the Olympics. It was all about blind focus. I was so sure that I was doing exactly what I’d been put on this earth to do, and I would have done anything to make it onto that stage.’

Fey had a point, and the ability to improvise is also an essential leadership asset.

‘Improvisation thrives at the pivotal intersection where planning and strategy meet execution,’ wrote Bob Kulhan, another highly regarded improv comedian, in his 2017 book Getting to ‘Yes And’.

A recent Leadership Skills Series session used Kulhan’s premise to explore how improvisation can enhance your leadership. Here, we explore some of the elements that emerged during the discourse.

How does the ability to improvise elevate performance in both individuals and teams?

There are three elements:

1. Improvisation develops collaboration skills by raising an individual’s self-awareness of how they interact with others when there is a need for collaboration.
2. It can build people’s confidence and personal impact when they are speaking up and sharing ideas.
3. Listening: improvisation can build people’s openness to different perspectives and strengthen their active listening skills.

How do the principles of improvisation correspond with the skills required for effective leadership?

This is where it is useful to visit The Four C’s of improvisation:

1. Creativity: this is fundamental when seeking to foster a growth mindset. Improvisation instantly allows you to step into a space of creativity because you can’t really engage in improvisation without thinking in a more playful and open way.
2. Critical thinking: this encourages you to tune in and listen to what someone is saying without any kind of noise around what you’re hearing. You are able to listen to what someone is saying with an open mind, which allows you to think differently about what they’re saying.
3. Collaboration: it is essential in improv work to want to work productively with others. ‘We are equal and are going to collaborate around this technique; sharing and building on ideas.’
4. Communication: be curious when listening to what someone else has to say and do so without judgement.

The role of psychological safety

Google initiated its two-year Project Aristotle in 2012 with a view to better understanding what makes teams successful. The organisation studied 250 attributes in their 180 teams and learned that psychological safety is by far the most important factor in determining a team’s performance.

Psychological safety can be defined as ‘a shared belief that it is OK to speak up candidly with ideas, questions, concerns and even mistakes’. It is a driver of innovation, creativity, engagement and productivity.

Additionally, an improvisation mindset is fundamental to how we might create a psychologically safe environment.

It can allow you to have more open conversations. If there is a feeling of being able to speak up without being judged and critiqued, you are likely to witness a higher level of participation and engagement in your teams.

We know that teams function better when there is a mutual feeling of respect and security.

Psychological safety increases people’s willingness to be open and accountable. This can lead to getting more ideas on the table and increased contributions from across the team.

Common signs of psychological safety:

• ‘It is safe to ask questions.’
• ‘I can ask for help.’
• ‘We all contribute.’
• ‘I can be myself.’
• ‘We can make mistakes and talk about it.’
• ‘Everyone in our group takes responsibility for what we do.’

Tina Fey’s rules of improvisation

In Bossypants, Fey outlined some of the improv principles that have supported her work and career:

• The first rule of improvisation is to agree. Start from an open-minded place, always agree and say ‘yes’.
• The second rule is to say ‘yes, and…’. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own. If you are really listening to understand what the other person is saying, you start to see creativity take place and the building of ideas because you are engaging your brain to think in a more creative way.
• Make statements. Whatever the problem or challenge might be, your role in this particular communication is to be part of the solution.
• Remember: there are no mistakes, only opportunities.

Questions to help you become a ‘Yes, And’ leader

Kat Koppett, the author of Training to Imagine and herself an esteemed improv specialist, suggests a series of questions that can help people in sport to reflect on becoming a leader in improvisation:

Firstly, ‘what can I notice here?’ What am I tuning into in terms of what others are communicating? Pay close attention to what others are communicating verbally and non-verbally. What are your senses telling you about how the other person is showing up?

Secondly, ‘what can I accept here?’ This is really important, especially for leaders who are often looked up to as the ones who have the answers. Let go of your personal agenda and allow others to influence your thinking.

Thirdly, ‘how can I build on these ideas or perspectives?’ It’s important to consider that the goal is not to debate competing ideas but to co-create something.

LASER: a five-pillar approach to using improv in the leadership space

Neil Mullarkey is one of the world’s premier improv actors and, in 2023, he released his book In the Moment. In it, he details some practical skills to help leaders demonstrate the behaviours that help create the conditions for teams to be more creative.

There are five:

1. Listen – be curious, notice what is being said and what is not being said.
2. Accept – accepting is not the same as agreeing, be aware of your own agenda.
3. Send – listen-to-link, build momentum with the other persons idea or perspective.
4. Explore – remain curious and explore your ‘filters’ and assumptions.
5. Reincorporate… an earlier idea and build on it.