What Managers Can Learn from Improv About Listening and Leading
by Holly Mandel
According to this recent Fast Company article, one of the most overlooked morale killers in companies is surprisingly simple: managers not truly listening. When feedback is brushed off, concerns go unacknowledged, or people just don't feel heard, trust quietly erodes. Over time, teams disengage—and even the best strategies fall flat without buy-in from the people meant to bring them to life.
We see this all the time in our trainings. Well-meaning managers who are great at leading conversations but not always at being in them. It's not about intention—it's about habit, and the habit of listening takes practice.
That’s where improv comes in. Every improv exercise is a masterclass in presence and listening without an agenda. Participants quickly learn that you can't fake engagement—either you're paying attention and building on what someone says, or the whole thing falls apart. This isn't role play. It's real-time awareness training, and it shifts the way people show up in meetings, conversations, and feedback moments.
Want to build trust and boost morale? Start with how your leaders listen. Improv doesn't just teach the skill—it creates the habit.
As James Rose, a strategic organizational psychologist, shared in Fast Company, the long-term effects of poor listening are serious:
“When leaders fail to foster an environment where employees feel their voices are truly heard, it significantly undermines morale.”
In one case, a high-performing tech team saw turnover skyrocket and productivity drop—not because of bad strategy, but because team members felt ignored. Rose’s solution was to implement regular “feedback loops” with clear follow-ups and visible change. Not only did engagement and morale rebound, but turnover declined significantly.
It’s not just about hearing someone. It’s about how consistently and actively managers engage. That’s where improv’s in-the-moment structure offers such powerful training—it removes the ability to multitask, plan your response, or half-listen. You have to be in it.
Beyond listening, another silent morale-killer is lack of recognition. According to Etty Burk, founder of Leading With Difference,
“Managers who don’t give credit—often unintentionally—can leave employees feeling invisible or undervalued.”
One manager she coached shifted their practice by regularly naming contributors in meetings and emails, and morale turned around dramatically. It’s a small adjustment with massive impact.
Improv amplifies this instinct. When teammates build scenes together, everyone’s contribution matters. The best outcomes come when people support, spotlight, and uplift one another. That sense of mutual recognition becomes muscle memory—and carries over into team culture long after the session ends.
Finally, let’s talk micromanagement. In the article, a case study revealed that employee satisfaction dropped by 20% and on-time delivery faltered whenever managers checked every tiny detail. Replacing daily check-ins with milestone-based reviews not only restored satisfaction, but improved performance. In improv, there’s no time to control or perfect—it’s about trusting your partner. Managers learn firsthand how stepping back actually builds more ownership, not less.
“When managers let go of control and trust their teams, something powerful happens—people rise. They take more initiative, solve problems faster, and feel genuinely invested in the outcome. That shift doesn’t happen with tighter grip—it happens with shared ownership.” says Joshua Miller, executive leadership coach.
If you’re a leader looking to boost morale, trust, and engagement, start with presence. Start with listening. Start with building habits—not just good intentions. Improv creates that environment in real time, and the results aren’t just felt in the room. They ripple outward.
Because when people feel heard, trusted, and valued—they show up fully. And when they show up fully, that’s when real transformation begins.