Way back in March (remember March?), we posted “15 Improv games to develop leadership skills and ensemble thinking in your group (part one)” in response to collaborators near and far who asked for some of our favorite improv games to have handy when getting ready for a meeting.  Here it is, the thrilling conclusion of “15 […]

There’s nothing like a last minute push to plan a meeting. You’re dying for that perfect game you played that one time (when? where?) to shake up your staff meeting, but you can’t quite remember how it goes. Unabashedly philosophical rant We – like all facilitators who use improv – are often asked for game […]

What do Barack Obama and Albert Einstein have in common? Besides stinging intellects and “they-said-it-couldn’t-be-done-so-just-watch-me” spirits, both fill(ed) their closets with similar items to eliminate decisions about what to wear. As Obama says, it’s less disinterest in fashion, and more preoccupation with running a superpower: “I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating […]

You know Ian Prinsloo is a master of creating ensemble in business because he says it with a French accent. Ensemble, he says, making you wonder why you ever pronounced it any other way.  Prinsloo, an accomplished theatre director with a 30-year career (and Deeper Funner collaborator), works these days with social services and nonprofit clients from […]

Last night, I had dinner with a group that included mindfulness warriors Wendy Palmer and Pamela Weiss. Wendy coaches leaders at places like NASA, Old Navy and Twitter in embodied leadership, while Pam takes mindfulness into corporate environments like Genentech and Pixar. As we ordered our salads, I couldn’t help but be aware that 50+ […]

When I see something three times in three days I figure it will be useful to say something about it. What’s dropped by so often? No. It started Friday. I was talking with a dear friend and colleague I lunch with regularly for peer coaching.  (BTW, if you lead anything – including your own life […]

Here’s a familiar puzzle, but with a surprising answer – an answer that points toward an essential ingredient essential, often overlooked, for launching a change effort. You probably know the instructions. Not long ago, we flashed them on the screen at a conference of leaders charged with leading a game-changing shift in how their company […]

This is such an important question. What gets my attention is everything I hear simmering inside it: Hope, and commitment: This future I’ve outlined, I really, really want it to happen. Interdependence: Getting to success is bigger than just me – it’s going to take you, too.  Concern, even fear: If you don’t do your […]

After what seems like a seriously long time – more than a decade – helping leaders lead change, I feel like I’m just breaking the surface of the water. And in my 3-month-old job as doctoral student (which already seems seriously long to those around me; last night, I overheard my partner say, “yeah, Julie’s […]

Revenue was low. There had been layoffs, several rounds.  The industry everywhere was struggling. And morale? Really, really, really low. The executive team was working toward a vision they believed in, but engagement was slipping badly. They sat in a meeting, trying to figure out how to use next week’s all-staff retreat to boost morale […]