By Kelly Lawrence, Founder & CEO, Lawrence Innovation

As a growth advisor and innovation coach, one of my favorite things is meeting other innovators. I also believe that anyone can innovate. I love sharing the stories of how people innovate and hope they foster inspiration. This month, I’m focusing a new “Anyone Can Innovate” article on the topic of innovation culture.

It’s no secret that teamwork is critical to delivering organic growth. My clients large and small all want to create a positive culture, want to retain the great people they have, and attract more great people. Amidst the great value realignment (ie the great resignation), companies are trying to create a culture of innovation. While the definition varies, I think we can all agree that we’re looking for people to come together and work well together in teams, in addition to thriving at work as individuals. We want to inspire teams to be innovative beyond their perceived limitations, and we want them to have fun doing it so that they continue to improve upon old systems, find new and inspired ways to benefit their customers and communities, and have a remarkable positive impact on the world.

Transforming Colleagues to High Performance Teams

I was inspired when I met Ms. Janna Sobel. She is a corporate coach and workshop facilitator who has also taught for many years at the beloved Chicago comedy institution, The Second City. Sobel has a unique practice, in that she brings the tools of Applied Improvisation and Applied Storytelling to organizations that are looking to help their people relate, communicate, and collaborate better through every stage of the innovation process. She also teaches in The Leadership Studio at The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, and with the Innovation Academy at the University of Notre Dame, where she has honed the application of joyful, interactive games that are typically used by performers and artists to create what she calls a “healthy and productive ensemble”.

Sobel says some elements of healthy ensemble are: genuine respect for and delight in collaborators, great listening, easy give-and-take, and supportive culture that allows new, exciting ideas to be born. “Laughter is an excellent teacher,” she says. “Applied Improvisation and Storytelling workshops let colleagues feel truly connected through joyful, interactive play. This work specifically heals the way people relate. When I work with a company, I bring a series of games that hone the relational skills needed at each stage of the innovation process. Or, I ask them to identify areas in which their teams are struggling relationally, or ways in which they hope people will grow. Then I bring a series of games tailored to those specific goals. Time definitely flies in a workshop, and critical relational discoveries are made while people are having fun.”

Sobel pulls in her theatre background to help corporate teams thrive. “Many are familiar with Improvisation from The Second City and Saturday Night Live. But it was created nearly 100 years ago by a social scientist to help the people of Chicago heal and rebuild after the Great Depression. Improv was designed to empower individuals and strengthen cooperation through playful strategic learning games. It was built to generate trust, respect, generosity, and united purpose among a fragmented citizenry—comedy was just a lucky biproduct. Today, Applied Improvisation is being used in business, education & innovation for the very same purposes. This work creates thriving, inclusive culture. It restores individual creativity and confidence, and helps groups cooperate beautifully,” beams Sobel. 

Organizational Impact

I love seeing Sobel’s eyes dance as she explains her work. She’s not the only one passionate about her impact. Very large and respected corporate clients have given her some impressive shout outs. Here are a just a few confirmations of the positive impact fun can have on creating a true team.

“I’ve never met anyone who can make you feel more comfortable—or happy about—getting out of your head and in touch with the creative kid in you that knows how to play. Janna can bring a group together like no one else. She can take a room full of strangers or estranged colleagues and in 10 minutes they are rolling on the floor laughing together. This atmosphere of fun is the essence of learning, and it’s why I sought out a full series of classes with her, not once but twice.” – Jackson Cusick, Money Map Press.

“I had a brand new team of people with widely ranging backgrounds who’d be collaborating intensely for 3 months. I brought Janna in the first week to help the group bond, practice being vulnerable, and build off each other’s ideas. In a fearless and nurturing way, Janna lead the team through a series of exercises that created an incredibly supportive environment. She had a profound effect on each person individually and on the group dynamic… setting the tone for how we’d work. She was the first of 25 guests we had over the course of 3 months, and when I asked the team who stood out and really made an impact, it was Janna’s workshop they said would stay with them the most." - Maria Scileppi, Founding Director of 72U at 72AndSunny.

"Learning Storytelling with Janna was a profound, life changing experience. I invited her to lead a series of Storytelling workshops at DDB, where the qualities of truthfulness in storytelling are needed. People loved the workshops. Change happens when we know each other's stories, and Janna is gifted in helping to bring our stories forward." - Michelle Auger, VP and Director of Human Resources at DDB Chicago

It seems I’m not the only one to put fun as a key priority to achieving both personal and professional growth. Thank you to Janna for serving as another living example that anyone can innovate.

Do you have an innovation story you want to share? Contact me, I'd love to hear from you. Perhaps we’ll share your story as a part of the “Anyone Can Innovate” series and inspire others to action.