Want Managers to Coach Better? Give Them Improv.
According to a popular article in Harvard Business Review, strong coaching skills are now one of the top qualities employees look for in a manager. And that makes sense—people want to grow, feel supported, and be challenged in meaningful ways. They want leaders who don’t just delegate and review—they want leaders who coach.
The article, “4 Styles of Coaching and When to Use Them,” lays out four types of coaching—Directive, Laissez-Faire, Democratic, and Transformational—and emphasizes that great leaders know how to move between them. That kind of flexibility isn’t easy. It takes presence, empathy, curiosity, and a real ability to adapt in the moment.
And what stood out to me most? Those exact qualities are what we train in every session we run in our improv-based business leadership sessions.
Improv naturally develops emotional intelligence, psychological safety, creativity, and collaboration—not in theory, but in practice. Participants don’t just learn about these skills; they experience them, which is what makes them stick. They walk away with a stronger ability to coach in real time, with real people, under real pressure. Which, let’s face it, is the only time coaching actually matters.
A study from the Center for Creative Leadership found that while 86% of organizations say coaching is an essential leadership skill, only about 34% of employees feel they’re being coached effectively. That gap doesn’t exist because leaders don’t care—it’s usually because they haven’t had a safe, practical space to build those muscles. They were promoted for their competence, not their coaching skills. And when the team dynamic gets tense or messy (as it always does), it’s hard to improvise if you’ve never literally practiced improvising.
Business is starting to see that improv isn’t about merely being funny or quick. It’s about being present and responsive. Listening not just to reply, but to actually understand. Building something in the moment—based on what’s actually needed, not what you pre-decided should happen. That kind of agile mindset makes all the difference when you’re coaching someone who’s stuck, spiraling, resistant, or simply not at their best.
The best part? You don’t have to wait years to develop these skills. Improv accelerates growth because:
It bypasses perfectionism. There’s no time to overthink or script the “right” answer. Instead, participants discover that the most powerful coaching moments often come from being grounded, curious, and willing to take a creative risk.
It’s experiential, not conceptual. If you see in real-time that you're more of a planner than a good listener—and then get the tools to flip that—you’ve just transformed as a listener. Not in theory, but in practice.
It’s fun. This isn’t a rigid, check-the-box training. It’s energizing, positive, and buoyant. That kind of environment drops defenses, sparks curiosity, and gets people excited to stretch beyond their comfort zones.
That also happens to be what makes coaching enjoyable again. When leaders stop trying to be right and start trying to be with their people, everything shifts. Conversations open up. Feedback lands. Resistance fades. Trust builds. And your team becomes a place where growth actually happens—not just in theory, but every day.
Coaching isn't a superpower. It's a skill. And like any skill, it can be learned—and embodied. That’s the work we do with managers and leadership teams across industries, and the results are consistently transformative.
If you’re curious whether corporate improv training would be a fit for your team, reach out to Sarah Hicks at IMERGENCE. We’d love to show you what improv can do for the way you coach, lead, and grow your people!!!
