My office staff is amazing. They welcome each and every visitor and phone call with a smile and they also spoil me on my birthday. They jokingly said that I should buy fun books with the Barnes and Noble gift certificate they gave me this year and not those nerdy school books I usually buy. I just love those nerdy school books. I think it's because I'm a nerd. I also love memoirs but funny ones only. (Read Me Talk Pretty One Day and expect to laugh the entire time but, caution!, also expect to laugh when you feel like you shouldn't every seven or eight pages or so.) So I picked up Bossypants by Tina Fey. What she has taught me so far is that improvisational sketch comedy is just like education leadership. I'd also say that she's taught me that I can't even read a book that has nothing to do about school leadership without thinking about school leadership but I already knew that about myself. It's a gift and a curse.
Apparently there are four rules of improv (found on page 84 and 85 of Bossypants.) You have to read through my interpretation because the initial rule, if applied consistently in my work as a school leader, would make you think, "Wow, she must be a really bad. Why am I reading this?" Don't panic.
Tina's words are in italics and quotation marks below.
Tina Fey's Rule #1:
"The first rule of improvisation is AGREE. Always agree and SAY YES. So if we're improvising and I say, "Freeze, I have a gun," and you say "That's not a gun. It's your finger. You're pointing your finger at me," our improvised scene has ground to a halt. But if I say, "Freeze, I have a gun!" and you say, "The gun I gave you for Christmas! You bastard!" then we have started a scene because we have AGREED that my finger is in fact a Christmas gun.
Now, obviously in real life you're not always going to agree with everything everyone says. But the Rule of Agreement reminds you to "respect what your partner has created" and to at least start from an open-minded place. Start with a YES and see where it takes you."
Who knew Tina Fey and Peter Block had so much in common?
Tina Fey's Rule #2:
"The second rule of improvisation is not only to say yes, but YES, AND. You are supposed to agree and then add something of your own. If I start a scene with, "I can't believe it's so hot in here," and you just say, "Yeah..." we're kind of at a standstill. But if I say, "I can't believe it's so hot in here," and you say, "What did you expect? We're in hell." Or if I say, "I can't believe it's so hot in here," and you say, "Yes, this can't be good for the wax figures." Or if I say, "I can't believe it's so hot in here," and you say, "I told you we shouldn't have crawled in this dog's mouth," now we're getting somewhere.
To me, YES, AND means don't be afraid to contribute. It's your responsibility to contribute. Always make sure you're adding something to the discussion. Your initiations are worthwhile.
Okay, seriously. Who knew Peter Block and Tina Fey had so much in common?
Tina Fey's Rule #3:
The next rule is MAKE STATEMENTS. This is a positive way of saying "Don't ask questions all the time." If we're in a scene and I say, "Who are you? Where are we? What are we doing here? What's in that box?" I'm putting all the pressure on you to come up with all of the answers.
In other words: Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don't just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.
Rule #3 reminds me of Switch (authors, Chip and Dan Heath). Start with a clear vision for where you're going and really strong first step that outlines a specific behavioral change, and don't worry about all of the details. The details will bog you down. If you're embarking on the kind of change that's needed, you don't have the answers (let alone the right questions) anyway, silly.
Tina Fey's Rule #4:
THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, only opportunities. If I start a scene as what I think is very clearly a cop riding a bicycle, but you think I am a hamster in a hamster wheel, guess what? Now I'm a hamster in a hamster wheel. I'm not going to stop everything to explain that it was really supposed to be a bike. Who knows? Maybe I'll end up being a police hamster who's been put on "hamster wheel" duty because I'm "too much of a loose cannon" in the field. In improv there are no mistakes, only beautiful happy accidents. And many of the world's greatest discoveries have been by accident. I mean, look at the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, or Botox.
Remember, I said, "Don't panic"! I know good school leadership doesn't happen by accident. But this rule goes hand in hand with Rule #3. Thinking there's a "right" answer before we even know which questions to ask will inhibit you from visionary thinking. Through the guidance of a brilliant mentor, I've come to realize that what I used to perceive as a deficit in my thought process was actually a strength. When I felt as though I didn't know the questions to even ask, I used to feel that I must not be understanding how multifaceted the change problem was. Now, I know that I just don't need those details to go forward. It's not a lack of thoroughness. We can't figure it all out on the front end anyway.
When we embark on complex change and the leadership required to see the change through, we can't get panicked with the details. Just like an improvisational comedian on the stage, we have to roll with it, think on our feet, don't limit possibility, and keep the four rules in mind. If you haven't read The Answer to How is Yes, I recommend it. I'm thinking one of Block's workshops and Second City must have a lot in common.
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