The 5 Tenets of a Yes, And Culture
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What is “Yes, And,” where does it come from?
Yes, And comes from improv. It is the core concept that drives how the magic of improv works, and how improvisers are able to create successful stories together on stage without any scripts or planning what to do ahead of time. It is also something in my background as an improviser, teaching and performing improv for years that I am intimately familiar with.
The idea of creating a Yes, And culture in business is what originally brought me into the work of helping teams and leaders become more intentional and effective together. It involves adapting the primary skills and mindsets that you need to develop in order to become a brilliant improviser into 5 simple tenets. And when these 5 tenets get applied to teams, leaders, and businesses, it makes them pretty unstoppable.
The 5 Tenets of a Yes, And Culture.
1. Say yes.
The first one is to say yes. Which doesn’t literally mean saying yes to every single thing in the world, it's a mindset and intention of looking for any way possible to say yes when you can. It means being open and accepting of other people's ideas and remaining receptive to new ways of doing things. Saying yes involves actively looking for ways to make to make things work, instead of focusing on finding reasons why they won’t.
2. Listen and be present.
Listening and being present is about being attentive, focused, and tuned-in while communicating with others. It’s having the intention of making other people feel listened to, and not just listening for what is said, but for what is meant. It’s about inviting and validating other people’s perspectives and making others feel considered. It means letting other people finish without interrupting them, and truly hearing them instead of just waiting for your turn to speak.
3. Make other people look good.
I think this one’s the most important of the bunch.
Having the intention of making others looks good makes you a great improviser, and it also makes you a great human, co-worker, or leader. It means being invested in the success of other people and celebrating their achievements. It’s about lifting other people up, stepping in to help when needed, and using language to support rather than criticize. It means not bad mouthing or gossiping about others. It involves extending grace, having short memories about other people’s mistakes, and doing what you can to support the success of the people around you.
Another element of this is around embracing and honoring diversity. You have to recognize that the people you work with and interact with are different than you; different personalities, working styles, communication styles, etc. It’s important to acknowledge that diversity, and a cross section of skills, experience, talents, and styles makes teams and organizations stronger and more successful. You can’t allow those things to create division, or see being different as better or worse, but necessary and vital to success.
The last element that I think that also belongs in this category is resolving conflict:
When you have static or conflict with someone else, go directly to that person immediately, and attempt to solve it with them. Avoiding any lingering resentments or static with other people is a way to make them look good to you in your own head. Have empathy, find resolution, and nurture healthy relationships with other people.
4. Embrace change and failure.
Change and failure are constant elements to just about every process. This is very much about growth mindset and understanding that anything you set out to do at all, no matter what it is, it’s natural to experience a lot of change or failures along the way.
“Change is just a neighborhood we have to drive through to get anywhere we want to go, and we fully embrace that as part of the process.”
Similar to failure, change is just a neighborhood we have to drive through to get anywhere we want to go, and we fully embrace that as part of the process. Accept that setbacks, challenges, and failures are unavoidable, valuable learning opportunities that will ultimately make you more prepared and successful in the future.
5. Be positive.
The idea of being positive doesn’t mean being fake, cheesy, inauthentic or pretending that everything is great all the time. It’s not about abandoning reality.
“Being positive is about taking ownership and accountability for the impact you have on other people based on your attitude, energy, and influence.”
Being positive is about taking ownership and accountability for the impact you have on other people based on your attitude, energy, and influence. It’s about being intentional about the words that you use, your body language, and the energy you bring into a meeting or conversation. It’s about what you generate, and how you respond to other people and situations.
Sometimes choosing to be positive is as simple as making the choice not to infuse situations with negativity, or criticize somebody's idea. It’s really just about being conscious and intentional about the way you affect the people around you, and ultimately yourself.
That’s it, the 5 tenets of a Yes, And culture. So if you want to become a brilliant improviser you'd be off to a good start. And if you’d like to be a better coworker, leader, friend, partner, and just a more intentional, awesome human being all around, you’d be off to a great start there too.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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