Ever watched MacGyver fix an impossible problem with nothing but a paperclip and sheer calm? That’s improvisation at its best: creative, focused, and unshakably human.
Leadership isn’t so different. Plans fail, tools aren’t always perfect, and time passes. What separates great leaders from the rest is how they respond in those moments: whether they tighten their grip… or give up, listen, and move on.
Leadership advice often comes packaged in complex frameworks and long lists of principles. But sometimes, the most powerful guidance can fit into three short words:
“Give up, listen, and move on.”
At first glance, that might sound like giving up on leadership itself. But when you unpack it and look at it through the lens of improvisational theatre and maybe even a little MacGyver thinking, it becomes a simple, grounded way to lead with humility, awareness, and momentum.
I’m not an actor or an improv theatre professional, but I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time with people who are. And let me tell you: there are a surprising number of improv principles and MacGyver moments that every leader can learn from.
Give Up — Release Control to Create Space
“Give up” isn’t about surrendering your goals. It’s about releasing the need to control everything: the plan, the process, the outcome, or even the perception of being right.
In leadership, this means loosening your grip on certainty and letting others take creative ownership. In improv, performers effortlessly relinquish their preconceived notions and embrace whatever unfolds on stage. The golden rule is “Yes, and…”; you accept what your partner offers (“Yes”) and build on it (“and…”).
That principle has a direct leadership translation: instead of shutting down ideas or defending your own, you acknowledge, build, and co-create. And honestly, being an arrogant bastard never helped anyone in collaboration; it only kills trust and creativity.
Research backs this up. Studies on improvisational leadership (Gagnon, Vough & Nickerson, 2012; Tabaee, 2013) show that leaders trained in improv become more flexible, more comfortable with uncertainty, and better at relational decision-making. MIT Sloan even uses improv techniques in leadership courses to help executives adapt quickly and respond constructively to the unexpected.
Giving up control isn’t a weakness. It’s a deliberate act of trust and creative empowerment.
Listen — Be Fully Present
Once you’ve made space, the next step is to listen. This is not the performative kind of listening, where you nod while planning your next response, but genuine, active, generative listening.
In improv, the entire scene depends on this. If you miss a cue, the scene collapses. The best performers aren’t thinking about what they’ll say next; they’re fully attuned to what their partners are saying now.
The same goes for leadership. When you truly listen, you notice more. Be it tone, tension, hesitations, or sparks of insight. You read the emotional cues of your team or peers. You adapt.
The Harvard Business Review has written about how improv techniques enhance communication and foster trust within teams. Francesca Gino notes that when leaders dominate conversations, collaboration tends to stall. When they listen deeply, engagement rises and innovation follows.
Listening is a leadership muscle, and like improv, it strengthens with practice.
Move On — Keep the Energy Forward
After letting go and listening fully, great leaders don’t get stuck. They make decisions, close the loop, and move forward.
Improvised performers refer to this as “advancing the scene”. You don’t dwell on what went wrong or replay old moments. You pivot, build, and keep the energy alive. Mistakes aren’t disasters; they’re material.
Leadership is no different. Teams lose momentum when leaders hold grudges, delay decisions, or keep reopening settled issues. “Moving on” doesn’t mean ignoring problems; it means learning, deciding, and refocusing the group’s energy on what’s next.
Research on improv-based leadership development shows that this mindset, embracing failure, taking calculated risks, and moving forward, helps leaders stay resilient and build confidence under pressure.
Bringing It All Together
“Give up, listen, and move on” isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s a powerful principle. It’s a rhythm that blends humility, awareness, and action — the same rhythm that keeps an improv scene alive and authentic.
- Always be ready to drop your agenda, not trying to force the scene, control the story, or be the funniest person on stage.
- The quality of a scene depends entirely on listening.
- You can’t cling to what didn’t work or replay a mistake. You acknowledge it, pivot, and keep going.
In today’s unpredictable world, leaders need less choreography and more improvisation, less perfection, and more presence.
So next time you’re in a tough meeting or facing a decision that’s not going your way, try this: give up the need to control, listen like your success depends on it, and then move on with confidence.
