Leadership Lessons from Jazz, Improv, and Japan
What do jazz, improvisation theatre, and Japanese philosophy teach us about leadership?
Wabi-Sabi: La La Land
Leadership, much like jazz, is a mess. Improvisation (“improv”) lies at the heart of the ability to navigate complexity and uncertainty—whether it is a jazz band riffing through an impromptu solo, an actor jumping into a scene without a script, or a leader guiding a team through a product launch. You cannot plan every note, every line, or every step. You must let go of perfection, and say yes to the mess.
Welcome to the source of most of our problems down here on Earth. Everything is planned down to the letter, then something goes wrong and the first thing we do is trade in our plan for a good ol’ emotional freak-out. Ryan Holiday
The aesthetic of wabi-sabi (侘び寂び) teaches us to accept the mess. After all, all that exists is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. If we accept that fact, we won’t be disappointed.
Arugamama: “Yes, and…”
In theatre, improv has only one rule: “Yes, and…” Each idea builds on top of all the previous ones. Each actor extends what is already on stage, created by others in the group.
That attitude is perfectly summed up by the Japanese word arugamama (在あるが儘), the virtue of accepting things as they are. Replying “No” or “Yes, but…” does not accept things as they truly are; it tries to change what is in front of everyone. “Yes, and…” not only accepts the current situation but uses it as a foundation for whatever comes next.
The improv—sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t; but when it does, it’s like open-field running. Robin Williams
Leaders ought to encourage their teams to think collectively with “Yes, and…” It is the essence of the two divergent stages of the double diamond in design thinking:
- Expand the problem space to understand the problem you wish to solve.
- Converge on a clear definition of the problem.
- Expand your solution space with a varied selection of options to solve the problem.
- Pick the best solution.
Why is saying “Yes, and…” so important in teams? Leaders must be willing to build on ideas, not shoot them down. When brainstorming, most teams never make it past the second idea before they stop voicing their concerns. It stifles innovation. So, let team members write down rather than vocalize their opinions and recommendations. That way, they do not suppress their views or concerns prematurely; it may even reduce social inattention and its negative consequences, such as idea theft. Furthermore, it aids introverts in participating more.
Ichi Go, Ichi E: Right Now
Improvisation theatre and jazz are about listening to “Yes, and…” cues. Performers must pay attention to what is happening on stage right here, right now. Leaders, too.
People do not listen properly when they know they are next. They think about what to say, and they miss what is said by the other members in the group. No one on stage can therefore think about what they are going to do next, or they will miss their cue. They have to be present in the moment and listen. Attentively.
Jazz is about being in the moment. Herbie Hancock
Ichi go, ichi e (一期一会) is about making each moment unique and treasuring it as such. It means: one time, one encounter. No live performance is ever the same. You have to give every performance your full attention.
Leaders must also give their full attention to their teams. It’s tempting to multitask during a meeting, but that is both disrespectful and dangerous when the team expects a decision: what if a leader says yes to a bad idea or, worse, no to a good one? Such behaviour breaks trust and that is essential for teams to function cohesively.
Ukiyo: All I Wanna Do
When you are present in the moment, you may enter a state of flow. The only thing that matters is whatever is right in front of you: the performance. Ukiyo (浮世: floating world) is such a state. For a truly memorable performance, actors and musicians must surrender to the flow.
I rarely think of the whole of a solo, and only very briefly. I always return to the small part of the solo that I was in the process of playing. John Coltrane
To enter such a state of mind, musicians, actors, and leaders need fudōshin (不動心), a steadfast mind to focus. Too many are distracted by messages, invites, customer complaints, the latest fads, and so on. Improvisation is disciplined imagination, not an undisciplined “fake it ‘til you make it.”
Shuhari: Practice Makes Perfect
A great performance, whether jazz or theatre, looks effortless. It is neither the result of sheer genius nor entirely random. In improvisation, each member must foresee the group’s next moves, for which preparation is essential: skill development, experience, and failure. Performers must listen to what the entire band is playing and build on top of it with “Yes, and…” Such ability is the culmination of honing one’s craft through endless rehearsals and taking calculated risks based on a repertoire of lines, phrases, patterns, scales, inversions, and chords that can be composed seamlessly. Jazz musicians transcribe and practise solos from the masters to learn from the people they admire. Jams may not be rehearsed, but the process of improvisation, its rules and structures, is.
That said, people who rely too much on established patterns limit the calculated risks needed for creativity. They have to develop their own approach to improvisation, their own style. A concept from martial arts embodies this idea: shuhari.
- Shu (守): follow the rules
- Ha (破): break the rules
- Ri (離): create your own rules
First, master the traditions of your craft. Then, experiment by merging familiar elements with new ideas from other genres. And finally, develop your own style.
Leaders can build up such a composable repertoire through internships, apprenticeships, mentor/protege relationships, partnerships, role-playing, and reflection. Leadership is about listening more than talking.
Leaders must be adaptable to come up with new ideas and solutions on the fly where no such solutions exist yet. The true test of leadership is not in mundane and repetitive tasks (i.e. management) but in unfamiliar situations, where a leader can only rely on their ability to apply their knowledge and experience in unpredictable situations. Playing it safe may enable leaders to survive, but it is leaders who can improvise who thrive. After all, you must do unusual things to get unusual results. Doing what everyone else is doing leads to chronic mediocrity.
Nanakorobi Yaoki: Learning to Fall
That is easier said than done. Fear is an essential ingredient of improvisation, but the idea of failure prevents many people from even trying. Anxiety is when you experience failure in advance. To counteract that feeling, act as if it will work and pay attention to what happens next. Most of the time, mistakes are fine. In fact, they may spur another idea that surprises everyone.
If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake. Miles Davis
Failure is not making a mistake, but not trying again after making a mistake. The phrase nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き) is apt and translates to “fall down seven times, but stand up eight.” Mistakes are not only inevitable, they are desired. Success is often because of, not despite, early failures. Yet humans are loss averse: they prefer to avoid a loss than take a risk and gain something valuable.
People learn the most when they fail about 15% of the time. Without failure, you never leave your comfort zone. But you must be open to learning. Such a growth mindset is referred to as shoshin (初心).
Leaders, jazz musicians, and improv actors must be willing to try, stumble, adjust, and try again—in real-time, under pressure, with no sheet music or script to follow, and in front of an audience. In the case of business leaders, that audience includes the company, its customers, its competitors, its shareholders, and the stock market. If you are unable to perform under such conditions, you will not survive. And if you can not only survive but thrive, there are no limits.
You have to want to struggle. Keith Jarrett
Only the curious who learn from failures succeed. Of course, failure can be demotivating. Feedback is therefore necessary to be able to succeed after repeated failure. In a jam, it is clear when everyone is in the groove, and in an improv show, the audience’s engagement is palpable to the actors.
Leaders must also be in tune with their teams. They must create an environment where team members are open to provide feedback without repercussions. This often goes under the banner of psychological safety. It is easy to say, “This is safe space for everyone to speak up,” when afterwards retaliation awaits. That is not a psychologically safe environment. Leaders cannot simply declare a safe space for their team members: actions, not merely words, count here. Particularly, the actions of leaders.
The main obstacle on the path towards psychological safety is a hierarchy, though. Taking turns leading, as is done in improv, breaks down this barrier. It also allows everyone to improve what is already in motion rather than support the star of the group in doing so. Such shared leadership is rare in business, however.
Counter-intuitively, perhaps, the healthiest teams report more errors. This is not entirely crazy, because the error rate goes up when you try out more things. And trying out more ideas means you might arrive at something truly unique and memorable much faster than if you stick with what you already know. Such high-performing teams are empathetic, inclusive, and diverse. They are aware of all members’ contributions, they share the spotlight, and they do not merely consist of one type of instrument.
Yuimāru: The Show Must Go On
Leadership is the ability to achieve a common goal through mutual support, whether it is a performance or a product. Supportive leaders empower their teams by letting go of control: a lot of decisions can be made by the team if the leader provides sufficient guidelines and transparency. But leaders love to control. Control is, however, a symptom of a lack of trust. And that is on the leader to address.
Jazz is collective leadership in action: roles shift fluidly, creating a dynamic balance between structure and spontaneity. Each member of the band supports everyone else.
Such a spirit of mutual support and cooperation, or yuimāru (ゆいまーる), is what sets successful groups apart. Members put the needs of the collective before their own. Even the word for self in Japanese reflects this aspect: jibun (自分), which originally meant one’s share. Japanese people tend not to have static roles across all contexts (“I am a leader”), but these roles depend on the social context and are therefore fluid. Just what is needed to share control and distribute leadership.
In an improv group, saying, “It’s not my job!” is never an acceptable excuse. In the middle of a performance, musicians or actors cannot walk off because they do not feel like it, even when the performance is mediocre. The show must go on. Through such adversity, performers build character because ame futte ji katamaru (雨降って地固まる), as the Japanese say: after the rain, the earth hardens.
Similarly, leaders are expected to pick up the pieces that fall between the cracks, whether it is in their official job description or not. If there is a job to be done and no one else is willing or able to do it—congratulations!—it is yours now. In a group, if one person fails, the whole group fails.
Leaders have to rely on others to achieve anything. In fact, the actual implementation is always done by the team, not the leader. So, step back from the limelight once in a while and let the team enjoy their moment of glory. Being a team or band is about balance, or wa (和), not about control.
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. Max Lucado
Seijaku: The Sound of Silence
Leaders, jazz musicians, and improv actors all need space to reflect on the lessons to be learned from their failures. Hansei (反省) is the self-reflection needed for such growth. It is easy for leaders to fill their calendars with meetings, but that means they are not able to do their best work. People do their best work when they slow down and concentrate. The tranquillity needed for such focus is known as seijaku (静寂). Without it, self-reflection is impossible.
Music is the space between the notes. Claude Debussy
You cannot hear all the notes and flourishes when there is a wall of sound. You cannot enjoy a theatre performance when the actors are shouting all the time. And you cannot hear what your employees are thinking when you fill every empty space with meetings or talk every moment of the day. The space between notes, the awkward silence between people, and gaps in the calendar are the negative space, or ma (間), needed to appreciate everything else.
A kata (型), or extensive rehearsal, is crucial to become more proficient at any craft: every musician needs to practise their scales, every actor needs to stand in front of a mirror and rehearse their facial expressions, and leaders need to sit quietly once in a while to think before they act. Such practice or thinking is best done in silence and solitude. Strategy created in a noisy environment lacks vision, as it has no long-term viability that comes from careful analysis and quiet reflection. It is, at best, a bland compromise and, at worst, a tactical patchwork of loosely connected and mostly discredited ideas.
Kodawari: Simply the Best
Kodawari (拘る) is the relentless pursuit of perfection through an obsessive attention to detail: each bit needs to be just right for the whole to be right. Jazz leaders only hire the best musicians to allow the band to shine. Every player has a clear function and there is only one goal: to provide the best possible group performance. Not a solo.
Leaders must hire and keep only the best. Each hire must be excellent, not merely the first good-enough person to come along. Too often leaders lower their standards to hire people faster. That hurts teams and is a failure of leadership.
Otsukaresama: Thank You
At the end of each performance, performers bow in front of the audience. All musicians and actors receive the audience’s admiration and applause as a group.
Otsukaresama (お疲れ様) recognizes people’s hard work. All too often, leaders take the credit and only pass along a superficial thanks to the team. They must show their appreciation for the people they work with, not merely for achievements but especially for their efforts. If leaders only praise outcomes, which may or may not be due to luck or circumstance, team members may not be willing to put in the effort next time. And that means the organization does not learn from its failures.
Sometimes the results fall short. If they are consistently insufficient, it is the responsibility of the leaders who assembled the team. If, however, the team gave it their all, came up short, but they are eager to learn from today’s failures, they might perform better tomorrow. That willingness to improve, despite setbacks, is worthy of encouragement. It is the soul of improvisation.
Life is a lot like jazz—it’s best when you improvise. George Gershwin