Improv Mindset for Collaboration

Written By Liz Neilson

ServiceNow

 

The Goal

Help teams across the globe improve their collaboration, communication, and influence skills via Improv Mindset training

The Improv Mindset was used to help employees

  • Let go and focus on the audience and collaborators

  • Notice more about others’ needs and opportunities

  • Use everything that is available in effective ways

What They Said

“The training was great and opened up ideas to improve my day to day work.” 

Workshop particiapnt | SERVICENOW

What They Asked

ServiceNow leaders wanted to help their global teams be more effective and flexible collaborators and communicators in an ever-changing world.

Kurdin Bazaz, Senior Design Program Manager at ServiceNow, contacted us as she had worked with On Your Feet in the past and was familiar with our ability to deliver global training rollouts of Highly Interactive Virtual Experiences (HIVEs) on applications of the Improv Mindset.

What We Did

Over three months, we delivered a HIVE global training rollout of the Improv Mindset for more than 500 ServiceNow employees in groups of thirty. 

Session were planned at convenient local times for ServiceNow’s global workforce. The same groups of thirty people met twice, the first time for a two-hour session on Improv Mindset for Collaboration and the second for a two-hour session on Improv Mindset for Communication and Influence.

What Happened

We combined the art of improv, the science of behavior, and business sensibility to create a variety of applied activities that included:

  • Experiences that allowed people to get a feel of the Improv Mindset and practice the ideas

  • Applied videos including scenarios we filmed to show specific common challenges at ServiceNow

  • Mini science lessons to clarify and support the improv ideas, that highly science and data minded ServiceNow employees really resonated with

“The science really helped us understand why improv matters.” 

Workshop particiapnts | SERVICENOW
 
 
 

The Outcomes

The sessions had three main outcomes for ServiceNow Teams:

  • Mindset: they developed a general Improv Mindset for all work

  • Skills: they acquired new practices designed for their collaboration, influence, and communication needs

  • Team building: they united across the globe in joyous virtual experiences unlike they ever had before

Liz Neilson
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