Improvisation is commonly perceived as a fun hobby that has no practical implication for businesses.
Our guest Rory is here to tell us that this is not quite the case, as teaching improvisation techniques to professionals can positively impact their mental well-being.

The business world is evolving at a very rapid pace, and professionals need to learn how to continuously adapt to new situations. Improvisation helps individuals find their own identity and stop associating their worth with their jobs only. As a matter of fact, when improvising, people tend to develop trust in both themselves and others, and gain confidence in their own capabilities.
On a bigger scale, improvisation techniques allow companies to develop a collectivist culture of “We” as opposed to an individualistic culture of “Me”, which not only help retain employees but also attract a bigger talent pool.

All in all, improvisation can help organizations embrace uncomfortable changes, and provide people with the right tools to achieve the following:

• Embrace mistakes as a gift.
  When you are improvising on stage, you need to be 100% present in the moment, as you are going to mess up your performance otherwise. In this regard, leaders should encourage employees to “fail forward” and help them get rid of the idea of “getting it right the first time”.
  
  
• Stop over-complicating things and learn to take a short break. 
  If you find yourself obsessing over something, it is usually a good idea to pause and focus on something else.
  For instance, should you find yourself being stuck writing an email to an important prospect for too long, take a moment to stand up, breathe and re-center, so that you can come back with a fresh perspective and execute better.