Making leaders is a lot easier than most believe — and it’s FUN. It is not so much about teaching others how to become leaders. I could write hundreds of posts about leadership that you will shake your head in agreement with. Although, even after reading all the leadership lessons, I know that you still wont be a leader. Why not?
Improv Leadership was the theme I created at last nights Toastmasters meeting, as I was the designated Table Topics Master. I, just as you are doing now, have been studying all the leadership lessons and qualities I can get my eyes on. We all know the most successful people in the world were great leaders.
Leaders create legacies.
Note: You will need to understand the art of Improv before reading further. Click here to get the definition or visit my post on Improv Writing. You can skip your exploration of the art of Improv if you feel you are capable of getting your creative juices flowing.
All leaders were creative, without the skill they could not have created a legacy.
As a member of Improv Anonymous in Illinois, I learned to play a game called “Story Story Die”. The leader of the group would ask the audience to come up with a situation and an object and then create a quirky title out of it. Then the game begins as “Once Upon A Time..” and the leader would begin to point at each member of the Improv group. The Improv member who the the leader points to would have to start telling the story, focusing on the audience suggestions. In the middle of telling the story, the leader would then point to another member and they would have to take up where the last member left in the story. When one member takes too long to respond, has no clue where they are in the story, says something ridiculous, or flat-out chokes — everyone laughs and yells out “DIE”. The leader then asks the audience how they want them to die: poisonous snake bite, death by dandelions, thinking too hard about why the sky is blue, etc. The member acts out their death and the game continues until only one person remains. Then they have to successfully end the story. There you have it, the theatrical game of “Story Story Die”.
The Humorous Way To Open Up And Find Your Personal Leadership Qualities
Normally this activity is outrageously funny because the topics are ridiculously crazy and the members of the team are experts at humor. However, for the Table Topics, I wanted to turn a fun activity into a fun semi-professional learning experience. Thus, I joined Improv with Leadership. I opened the floor with the game and made sure everyone would try their best to revolve the story around leadership. Here is a short synopsis of it, written by our Toastmaster of the evening.
“Garth performed his first table topics, “Impromptu leadership.” As a group we told a fun Piece-by-piece story (with the pieces being very short from each member) about a group of hikers (Kevin) on the Appalachian trail (Matt) who find themselves confronted by a hunter (Xiao Lei), stumble upon an heretofore unknown desert (Shirley), become confused and start hallucinating (Chris and others). Joan plucks out the map and realizes they are just a half mile from shelter and storms off (Margaret), but they don’t have enough water to get there (Jill), and they all perish (Garth), because they don’t have good leadership.”
During the story told by all the Toastmasters members, I did not have anyone “Die” so I had to make all the characters in the end die. It’s Improv; make it up as you go.
Leadership Cannot Be Taught, Leadership Comes From…
As I said, you can teach someone all the qualities of a leader but that will not make them a successful leader. Leaders become leaders because they recognize their best qualities and exploit them. It is not about teaching leadership, it’s about bringing out the leader within. So after the story, I began asking questions to have members of the meeting acknowledge their own independent leadership qualities. I asked questions like the following:
1. Who is a leader to you and why?
2. What would you do if the club, job, or organization that you are part of, made you the leader for a day?
3. Tell me a story of a time when you had to take the lead.
4. Define leadership.
5. Who wants to be a leader? What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
6. What three qualities do you think a leader must have?
7. What advice would you give to someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
Now I think you should answer the questions yourself. Realize that becoming a leader is not something you can become by reading books, listening to cd’s and attending seminars. Becoming a leader comes from within. When you realize your greatest potential, your best qualities, what YOU define as leadership, only then can you become the greatest leader of all — The Leader of Your Self
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I have had the pleasure of teaching improv to a few Toastmaster groups. It is always a lot of fun, and I have really enjoyed working with the people who are part of this organization.