“Improv” Your Team: How Laughing Together Builds Teams That Last (Bonus: Shout out to a former client for continuing to use applied improvisation for good!)
If your team looks busy, agreeable, and pleasant—beware. You may not be seeing harmony. You might just be witnessing fear in business-casual.
Welcome to the misunderstood world of psychological safety—a term so often tossed into company values decks and forgotten right after “integrity” and “ping pong table.” But when it’s done right, it’s magic. It’s the reason high-performing teams actually perform. And it just so happens that one of the most powerful, underused tools for building it is... applied improvisation.
Yes. Improv. Like, theater kids. But stick with me.
Let’s Clear Something Up: What Psychological Safety Actually Is
As Harvard’s Amy Edmondson brilliantly put it, psychological safety means your people believe they won’t be punished, mocked, or silently iced out for saying something honest, weird, or wrong. It’s not about constant agreement or forced positivity. It’s about freedom to speak, think, question, and even fail without fear.
And guess what? That’s exactly the environment improv thrives in. The golden rule of improv—“Yes, and…”—doesn’t just build jokes. It builds trust. It says, “I hear you. I won’t shut you down. Let’s build on this together.”
Improv doesn’t reward perfection. It rewards presence, openness, and risk-taking—the same behaviors that unlock psychological safety.
Top Team-Killing Misconceptions (And How Improv Wrecks Them)
💣 “Silence is a sign of success.”
Reality: Silence is often a sign of terror. If no one’s asking questions or pushing back, they’re probably not safe.
🎯 Fix: Improv teaches teams to respond to anything—wild ideas, weird pitches, awkward silences—with “Yes, and…” rather than “Who approved this?”
💣 “Mistakes are bad for business.”
Reality: Fear of mistakes is worse. Innovation dies where punishment lives.
🎯 Fix: In improv, mistakes aren’t just tolerated—they’re celebrated. The biggest flub often becomes the best scene. Teams that practice improv learn to turn “oops” into opportunity.
💣 “If we just say we’re a ‘safe space,’ people will believe us.”
Reality: Culture isn’t declared—it’s experienced.
🎯 Fix: Improv isn’t theoretical. It gives teams live, low-stakes reps in supporting each other. Trust is built through action, not slogans.
Case in Point: Kaiser Permanente Gets Playful
Even in high-stakes fields like healthcare, improv is proving its power. Here’s the shout-out…major props to a past client of mine, Kaiser Permanente, for continuing to utilize applied improvisation! At Kaiser Permanente, medical teams used improv exercises like “One Word at a Time” and “Yes, Let’s” to train staff in fast-paced, collaborative communication.
The result? Staff reported near-misses more frequently—not because they made more mistakes, but because they felt safe enough to speak up (Kaiser Permanente Training Report, 2020). That’s real culture change, powered by play.
Backed by Science, Not Just Laughter
A 2021 study in the International Journal of Management Education found that applied improvisation significantly boosted team trust and cohesion (Koppett & Spolin, 2021). And let’s not forget Google’s famous Project Aristotle, which named psychological safety the #1 factor in successful teams.
Translation: Play isn’t a distraction. It’s practice for innovation, vulnerability, and growth.
Try These Improv Moves at Work (No Stage Required)
🎭 “Yes, and…” Brainstorming
Every idea gets built on—no shutdowns allowed. You’ll be amazed at what happens when ideas aren’t swatted mid-air.
🎭 Fail Brags
Invite everyone to share their “fail of the week” and what they learned. Applaud them. Literally. Normalize risk.
🎭 Story Circles
Create a team story one line at a time. The result? Laughter, better listening, and a subtle power shift toward shared voice.
🎭 Mirror Exercises
Pair up and mimic each other’s movements or tone. It’s silly, bonding, and wakes people up to how they’re showing up.
Final Thought: Teams Don’t Always Have to Be Serious
You don’t need more rules or policies. You need more connection. More eye contact (as appropriate given neuro-diversity considerations). More “I’ve got your back.” More laughter. I have even found this to be true with a great anti-trafficking group I work with - and it doesn’t get much more serious than that!
Applied improvisation brings psychological safety out of the HR handbook and into the body—through movement, voice, mistakes, and mutual support. It's not just about playing games—it's about rewiring how teams listen, respond, and trust.
Because sometimes, the best way to build a fearless workplace… is to stop taking yourself so seriously.
Sources:
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.
Koppett, K., & Spolin, V. (2021). Improvisation as a pathway to psychological safety. International Journal of Management Education, 19(3).
Google re:Work. Project Aristotle. https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/
Kaiser Permanente. (2020). Improv for Medical Team Communication. Internal training report.