Zicklin Executive MBA Students Improve Leadership Skills with Improv

One of the courses required for graduation from the Zicklin School of Business’ Executive MBA (EMBA) program is ZEP 9630, Leadership Development and Adaptive Performance. In it, EMBA students “will gain knowledge of traditional and contemporary leadership theories and their roles in a global environment,” according to the course description.

Sounds pretty standard—which is why a Zicklin News reporter who visited the class recently was surprised to find a bunch of students standing in a circle and shouting nonsense words —“Zip!” “Zap!” “Zoop!”—and pointing at each other. 

Zip-Zap-Zoop is an exercise taken from improvisational theater (a.k.a. “improv”) that’s designed to boost group dynamics by fostering active listening, eye contact, and quick decision-making, explains Don Waisanen, PhD, a professor in Baruch’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and the originator of ZEP 9630. 

From left: Waisanen, McClure

Professor Waisanen developed the course specifically for Zicklin’s EMBA program at the request of a previous EMBA academic director, after he told her that many top business schools offered improv in their leadership courses. The word “improv” used to be in the course name, he adds, “but we took it out because the goal isn’t to do improv; it’s to develop your leadership potential and become an adaptive performer in everyday life.” 

“This class isn’t about being funny,” agrees Don’s co-instructor, Caitlin McClure, an adjunct lecturer in the Zicklin School’s Narendra Paul Loomba Department of Management and, like Waisanen, a longtime professional improv artist and performer. “It’s about how to show up as a leader—someone who’s grounded, listening, willing to jump on new ideas and go boldly into the unknown.”

At least half of the all-day class is spent on exercises that get students on their feet, into their bodies, interacting and using language in new ways (or, in the case of the “no talking” exercise, not using it at all). Waisanen usually starts with a game that has students counting the numbers one, two, and three back and forth to each other as fast as possible: “Inevitably they trip up and make mistakes, and afterwards they’ll admit that they focused on blaming the other person for not saying the right number at the right time.” Each game is followed by a conversation to “unpack” the experience and help the students develop self-awareness around their default approaches to leadership—in this case, blaming others when things got rough. 

The exercise intentionally points out the gap between knowledge and performance: “By now the students have had advanced classes in budgeting, statistics, and finance, yet suddenly they can’t count to three!” Waisanen laughs. “Effective performance is about reading the room, adapting to other people, pivoting on the fly, and being comfortable in your own skin.” 

ZEP 9630 is the “most inspiring” class he teaches, Waisanen adds: “In the beginning, the students say things like, ‘I can’t say that.’ ‘I can’t do that.’ ‘My voice is too soft.’ Then the layers start to come off as their self-judgment peels away. This class requires them to use their whole bodies—they can’t be on their phones. It’s beautiful to see them stretch beyond their boundaries.”

According to EMBA graduates, ZEP 9630 is wildly successful. 

Melvin

“I highly recommend that anyone in business school sign up for a course like this,” notes Melvin David (EMBA, ’24), a self-described “computer science guy” who enrolled in Zicklin’s EMBA program after his role in the IT department of Kimco Realty expanded from writing code to managing people. “I spoke at a 700-person meeting yesterday, and my improv experience helped me navigate random issues and questions that came up.” 

Katarina

Melvin’s former classmate, Katarina (Matic) Garner (EMBA, ’24), says ZEP 9630 made her a better listener. “It helped me build a new bench of patience and understanding,” says the global senior director of communications consultancy Montieth & Company. “Now I learn so much more through active, prolonged listening before I share my opinion or reach a conclusion.”

Victor

“All of my Executive classes were great, but ZEP 9630 was the most valuable, both professionally and personally,” says alumnus Victor (Muir) Tellez (EMBA, ’23), director of operations and facilities at Braven, a national nonprofit that provides skills and leadership training for disadvantaged students. “It helped me reframe how I saw opportunities and challenges, and it helped our cohort connect in ways we hadn’t during the previous two years.”

That group cohesion has other benefits as well, notes McClure: “That sense of an ensemble gives students the experience of a workplace that truly embraces collaboration,” she observes. “That often inspires them to create that spirit in their own workplaces. And these cohorts become so united that they continue to support one another years later.” 

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