Hello all! We are in 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 Trust yourself, there is no one right answer, just commit. This week’s lesson is….

Take a breath, give yourself space

In improve class, the instructor has taught me the value of taking a breath to give myself space to choose what to say back to my scene partner. It’s so easy to respond right back, to quickly fill the silence, to get what I want to say out there right away. However, by practicing taking a breath and giving myself space, I’ve discovered that what’s best for the scene isn’t always the first thing I thought of to say.

On many of the change initiatives I’ve worked on there was so much going on and things were moving so fast that I had quick, brief conversations email/chat exchanges with people, answered questions quickly, etc. My intent was to move the project forward quickly and efficiently. This approach, however, often led to unnecessary follow up conversations/questions and rework due to inefficient communication which resulted in deliverables taking longer than planned.

When I have “slowed down to speed up” (my version of take a breath and give myself space) it has made the initial steps a bit more time consuming but has saved a lot of time on the back end due to much clearer communication and much less need for rework. Giving myself a beat to think helps me choose the most helpful course of action, not just the quickest.

Giving myself a beat to think helps me choose the most helpful course of action, not just the quickest.

Closing thoughts

I want to hear from you! Have you been caught up in the go-go-go / reactionary mentality on a change project, not leaving any time for you to create space to proactively choose what you think is the most helpful next step? How has this affected you and the project? If you do “slow down to speed up”, what has that been like?

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