Becoming a manager for the first time is one of the most pivotal—and challenging—career transitions. New managers are often promoted for their subject-matter expertise, high performance, or reliability. Managing people is a whole different skill set.

Most new manager programs focus on essential functions: goal-setting, performance feedback, delegation, time management. While these skills are critical for managing processes and tasks, they don’t prepare individuals for the human dynamics of managing people: listening deeply, navigating uncertainty, adapting communication, and building trust.

That’s where improv training comes in. Not comedy.

Applied improvisation: a research-backed, interactive modality to help new managers grow the behavioral and emotional intelligence they need to lead people effectively.

Improv fills a crucial gap in new manager development. Here’s why it matters—and how it works.

1. Improv Builds the Confidence to Lead Without All the Answers

New managers often feel pressure to know everything—to prove they’re worthy of the role. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating the conditions for others to thrive.

Improv helps new managers become comfortable in ambiguity. In every improv scene, there’s no script. Leaders must be present, listen, and respond authentically in the moment. This builds comfort with the unknown, reducing the pressure to be perfect and increasing the ability to guide, not dictate.

This shift from “knower” to “curious responder” is fundamental to effective people management.

2. Improv Strengthens Listening and Presence

In improv, the most powerful thing you can do is truly listen—not to respond, and instead to understand and build on what’s said. This active listening is the foundation of coaching, feedback, and team connection.

Many new managers, especially those coming from technical or execution-heavy roles, need to rewire how they listen. Improv exercises create real-time feedback loops where participants experience what it feels like to be heard—and to miss the moment. These lessons stick.

As one participant shared after an ImprovEdge workshop:
“I thought I was a good communicator, and improv showed me I was listening for answers—not for understanding. That changed how I run meetings and give feedback.”

3. It Encourages Empathy and Relationship Building

Improv is about co-creation. You can’t succeed in a scene unless you’re supporting your partner and tuning into their needs. This helps new managers shift from thinking “What do I need to get done?” to “What does my team need from me?”

That mindset of service and empathy is often what separates managers who manage tasks from those who lead people.

Research from the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations supports this: psychological safety and trust—built through empathy and presence—are essential for team success. Improv builds these behaviors experientially, not just theoretically.

4. It Builds Flexibility in Communication Style

Leading people means adapting your communication—not everyone hears things the same way. Improv gives managers practice in reading tone, adjusting messaging on the fly, and responding to different personalities.

Exercises like role-play, status interactions, and rapid-response scenes help managers try new approaches and build range. It’s not acting, instead it’s about agility.

This is especially useful in tough conversations—like performance feedback, conflict, or change management—where managers need to stay calm, clear, and connected.

5. It Complements Functional Training by Building the “How” of Leadership

Many new manager programs do a great job teaching the “what”: how to set SMART goals, run 1:1s, document performance. The “how”—how you show up, how you lead through challenge, how you connect—is just as critical.

Improv training integrates with and enhances functional training by developing the behavioral muscle managers need to apply those skills in real life. It bridges the gap between knowledge and application.

For example:

• A manager may learn how to delegate—and improv helps them practice saying it clearly, gauging reaction, and adjusting in real time.
• They may learn the steps of giving feedback—and improv helps them build trust, listen to defensiveness, and respond without losing presence.

Leadership Is Behavioral, and Improv Builds Behavior

At the heart of great leadership is behavior. And behavior is shaped by experience.

Improv offers new managers the chance to practice, reflect, and grow in a safe, engaging environment. It accelerates confidence, empathy, and adaptability—so they’re not just managing work – they are leading people.

As organizations invest in future leaders, pairing functional training with improv equips new managers to thrive. They step into their roles with more than skills and they have the mindset and presence to lead authentically.