Category Archives: Leadership
July 8, 2015 The Surprising Way Improv Comedy Can Help Your Workplace
When I first attended a class put on by the Brave New Workshop improv troupe, I was skeptical. How could improvised theater help me, a businessperson? Wasn’t it just for the ultra-creative types and class clowns? It turns out, my skepticism was hugely misplaced.
As I went through several different activities, I began to understand the value of such training for myself and everyone I was with—no matter the personality type. The skills we were learning through improv comedy helped us adapt to new situations, be creative, collaborate with others, and have the confidence to express ourselves, even if we weren’t entirely certain of the next move. These are all essential attributes of a good leader or confident team member.
One exercise especially stuck out in my mind:
We were asked to split up into groups of two. One person pretended to have a box filled with something useless or negative (worms, old gym socks, garbage, etc.) and they were supposed to give that box to the other person and say what they had. For example: “Here, Margaret. I have a box full of old banana peels for you.”
The recipient would have to take the box of useless items and respond in some kind of positive manner, such as: “Thank you, Susan. I will take these banana peels and use them as compost in my garden.”
This exercise works on a few useful skills:
- Turning a negative into a positive
- Quickly adapting to an uncomfortable situation
- Connecting in a positive manner with another person
After the workshop was finished, I felt energized, confident, and ready to take on anything that was thrown my way. I highly recommend using improv workshops as a way to boost your business (and life!) skills and help your team connect on a deeper level.
Contact me if you’d like to hear more about my improv experience!
Tags: brave new workshop for business, improv and business skills, improv and improved interactions, improv and teamwork, improv workshop
June 17, 2015 Women: Be True To Yourselves
There were many little lessons I took away from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk, but one of the greatest ones was about women in the workplace. Her talk revolved around female equality and reclaiming the oftentimes negatively-used word “feminism.”
Being from Nigeria, Chimamanda gave some extreme examples of how women are treated as the lesser gender (not being allowed into nightclubs on their own, expected to be submissive to men, etc.), but she also noted that the problem of female equality is still alive and kicking in the U.S. Take the modern workplace, for example. As Chimamanda notes, “The higher up [the ladder] you go, the fewer women you see.” Last year, only 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs were women.
What follows is an exert from Chimamanda’s TED Talk on selecting an outfit to wear for her first day of teaching at a United States University:
“The first time I taught a writing class in graduate school, I was worried. Not about the teaching material, because I was well prepared and I was teaching what I enjoyed. Instead, I was worried about what to wear. I wanted to be taken seriously.”
“I knew that because I was female, I would automatically have to prove my worth. And I was worried that if I looked too feminine, I would not be taken seriously. I really wanted to wear my shiny lip gloss and my girly skirt, but I decided not to. I wore a very serious, very manly, and very ugly suit.”
“The sad truth of the matter is that when it comes to appearance, we start off with men as the standard, as the norm. Many of us think that the less feminine a woman appears, the more likely she is to be taken seriously. A man going to a business meeting doesn’t wonder about being taken seriously based on what he is wearing–but a woman does.”
“I wish I had not worn that ugly suit that day. Had I then the confidence I have now to be myself, my students would have benefited even more from my teaching. Because I would have been more comfortable and more fully and truly myself.”
The lesson rings clear: Be confident, be yourself! Your attitude and outward projection matters much more than the serious cut of your suit. Dress comfortably and walk into your next meeting with your shoulders up and your head high.
For the complete TED Talk, click the video link below:
Tags: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, feminism at work, self confidence at work, TED Talk women, women at work, women leaders
- 1 comment
- Posted under Changing Your Life, Leadership, Thrive at Work
April 8, 2015 Authenticity in the Workplace
In this short video, I talk about what it truly means to be an authentic leader. I address why it’s important to lead with meaning, purpose, and values and how self-awareness comes into play. Don’t forget: your authentic self if great! You don’t have to compromise your values to be a strong, capable leader.
If you’d like a more in-depth study of authentic leadership, my book, The Ten-Minute Leadership Challenge, has an entire chapter devoted to this topic.
Thanks for watching!
Tags: Authenticity in the workplace, authenticity video, Margaret Smith, the ten-minute leadership challenge, your authentic self
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Better Business, Communication, Leadership, Thrive at Work
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