Hello all! I recently started a series called What does improv have to do with change management? In this series, I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned so far from improv class that have direct application to my work as a change management practitioner. Last week’s post was Conflict can happen, own it and move forward. This week’s lesson is….

Yes and, meet people where they’re at

Last week I wrote about how, when conflict starts to go on too long in an improv scene, one person can own it/agree with the other person. This allows the people in the scene to get back to being a team, looking out for each other’s best interest, and building a quality scene together.

I went on to say that in a change initiative, owning the conflict and moving forward might sound like “you’re right”. Yes, and is another effective way to meet someone where they’re at, diffuse the conflict, and move forward together.

My improv instructor has pointed out that Yes, and is also effective when conflict isn’t present. This technique keeps the scene moving forward and helps the people in the scene build it piece by piece. It’s about acknowledging/accepting whatever was just said or just happened (yes), then contributing something on top of that to continue building the scene (and).

It’s about acknowledging / accepting whatever was just said or just happened (yes), then contributing something on top of that to continue building the scene (and).

This “Yes and” technique makes me think of the process of working with businesses to identify groups affected by a change and determine how they are impacted. Often times, we may quickly identify some stakeholder groups and impacts, but not dive too far below the surface.

As change practitioners, if we are able to remain curious and have “Yes and” conversations with our business partners until we can’t come up with any additional “ands” we will end up with a comprehensive picture of who is impacted and how they are impacted. This may look like:

• Yes, and if the changes directly affect Team A, will those changes indirectly affect any other teams?
• Yes, and are there other downstream systems that are dependent on System A so that changes to System A will affect them, too?
• Yes, and will these changes have any unintended consequences to other changes that have recently taken place?

Closing thoughts

I want to hear from you! Have you employed a “yes and” approach during a change initiative? How did this impact the project?

Please post your thoughts and comments below. Let’s help each other become the best change management practitioners and enthusiasts we can be!

Thank you for reading. Until next time, take care and keep up the good work!

Mike