Improv Leadership

I’ve respected Jacob Collier’s artistry since his first In My Room tour—just him, alone on stage surrounded by a sea of instruments looping and layering musical magic in real-time.

Even then, it was clear: this wasn’t just a musician, but a generative and genius force—a one-man orchestra, listening to and playing through something larger than himself.

So when I watched him recently improvise an entire orchestral piece at the Kennedy Center—no sheet music, no rehearsal, no plan—I wasn’t just surprised. I was moved.

Because what Collier offers is more than music. It’s leadership.

To lead today is to enter unscripted rooms. To face uncertainty with presence. To trust the instincts honed through years of deliberate and quiet practice—and invite others into the unfolding.

Improvisation, in this sense, isn’t randomness. It’s readiness. The readiness to respond, to co-create in real time. To listen deeply, through the whole body, and gesture boldly—leading not with control, but with attunement.

Great leaders don’t command from above; they create from within. They bring forth a chorus of brilliance that no one voice could achieve alone.

Improvisation requires presence, noticing, and aliveness. It draws out contribution. It allows for the unexpected beauty that only emerges when trust meets talent in the present moment.

While we bring our years of practice and expertise into everything we do, much of life can’t be rehearsed. You show up. You listen. You play your part.

Improvisation is the courage to trust that who you are—right now—is enough to begin. It’s the art of becoming, not by certainty, but by saying yes before you’re fully ready.

Because the world won’t wait for your perfect confidence. It only asks for your courageous presence.

Readiness isn’t a state. It’s a decision.

Leadership, like music, is an act of becoming. Of course, we must rehearse. Other times, we must step into the arena and listen, lift our hands—and begin.