Slack Product Lead on Product Meets Improv

Improv Hacks For PMs: Culture of Innovation

As a product manager, soft skill development is essential for operating at a high level. Most importantly, it helps you be happier not only at work – but also when you get home. For me, improv comedy is the non-product activity that enriches my day-to-day.

Along the way, I’ve been able to apply many of the skills that I employ on stage to my work as a product manager. From my own experiences, I’ll share how you can use some of these skills to handle common challenges that we face as product managers.

1. Culture of Innovation. We’re always having to come up with something new.
2. Swamp of Uncertainty. Product managers deal with ambiguity every day.
3. Ugly Team Dynamics. When people don’t get along, we’re the ones who need to resolve conflict.

Beginning with Culture of Innovation, you know that we’re always asked to come up with new stuff.

From new features to new products, our role as product managers is to come up with the next big thing. To get there, you’re going to ideate and bounce ideas off members of your team. In the world of improv, the ideation stage is similar to setting the stage for a new scene. Said differently, you’re trying to create something out of nothing.

The biggest mistake that people make during this process is shutting down ideas before you’ve had a chance to test them out. Furthermore, this holds true not only on stage – but also when you’re ideating with colleagues. For example, let’s say I open a routine with “I’m out at the park” as the first line. If my response back is “no you’re not – we’re at the bottom of the ocean” – you’re probably going to think that a scene is dead.

However, the opposite is true with product managers. Bringing this back to ideation sessions, people are going to throw out crazy ideas. Instead of dismissing them on the spot, try using the “yes, and…” approach. For example, if someone on your team says something out of leftfield – respond with “yes, and let’s see where we can take this.”

Ultimately, this approach ties back to the “accept and build” framework. In other words, you’re always looking for opportunities to bring new thoughts into the conversation and see where they might take you. In the end, you never want to turn down an opportunity for your next “ah-hah” moment.

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