Upper Schoolers Learn Improv for Leadership
March 2, 2026
A group of Upper Schoolers recently took part in a workshop at Improv Cincinnati. Though a logical guess would be that they were coming from the fine and performing arts department, they were actually from Dan Polifka’s Leadership in Action class.
A major topic for Polifka and his students is challenging the idea of what leadership is.
“Most of us have a very stereotypical idea of what leadership is and it involves a charismatic person talking in front of others,” he explained. “One of the ideas we landed on is that listening is a type of leadership: the best leaders need to listen to others to understand their needs and how they can support.”
It is similar to the core concept of “yes … and” in improv.
Improv Cincinnati runs a variety of workshops, and during their visit, the Upper Schoolers practiced their listening skills while working together to support each other.
