In complex environments, certainty is a luxury – and most likely an illusion.
Our clients, learners and teams are navigating shifting priorities, incomplete information and rapidly changing contexts. Rather than resisting this reality, we can design learning experiences that embrace uncertainty. We equip ourselves as contemporary leaders by developing our improvisation skills to build the confidence and capability needed to move through it.
A lively online session with my colleague Raymond van Driel demonstrated just how powerful playful structures can be in achieving exactly that.
Why Uncertainty Is Your Friend
During the call, I proposed uncertainty as a friend. Not a threat to be eliminated but a resource for learning. Appreciating uncertainty invites participants to pay attention, adapt and respond with creativity rather than fear.
Improvisational activities create low-stakes environments in which people can experiment, notice their reactions and discover how they handle the unexpected. That simple lesson – “I coped, and I can cope again” – builds confidence.
Designing Improvisational Experiences With Purpose
A recurring theme in any discussion about applications of improvisation is the importance of any activity’s purpose. Whether online or in person, be ready to articulate:
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What skills the game engenders
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What stance it encourages
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How it relates to the real complexity participants face
For example, “Category Cruncher” (from 58½ Ways to Improvise in Training) stretches mental agility. A simple group activity is a rehearsal for making commitments while staying flexible.
Practical Activities for Learning in Complexity
Our group collected an impressive range of exercises that work beautifully in digital or hybrid environments. These include:
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PowerPoint Karaoke
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One Word Story
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Swedish Stories
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Breakout Room Tag
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Category Cruncher
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Superbrain (math challenges, personal questions, movement prompts)
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Rapid-fire idea generation, word association and chat-based prompts
What unites these activities is not their surface novelty, but their structure: they require listening, noticing, adapting and collaborating. As tools for exploring behaviours, relationships and decisions under pressure, they invite risk-taking and discovery. These are leadership skills which we magically expect the current generation of organisational leaders to somehow produce, mostly without adequate preparation or support.
To connect with us please email me at paul@impro.org.uk. Alternatively, to explore more practical improvisation activities you can find my book 58½ Ways to Improvise in Training here.
