Kelly Leonard spent most of the 90s and 2000s as an executive producer at the world famous Second City improv theater in Chicago. He is personally responsible for hiring Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, and Steve Carell.
He also wrote the book Yes, And…, a book on creativity and collaboration in the workplace, based on lessons from improv comedy and Second City.
In this conversation, Kelly talks us through Second City’s Pivot into virtual improv performances during the 2020 pandemic. We learn about the difference between improv and spontaneity, how to gain agency over our emotions, a brilliant exercise you can do to achieve clarity and mental calmness in difficult times, why he describes COVID as a period of “sway,” and of course, he teaches us the “yes, and…” principle.
This was a blast, and a perfect way to close out an absolutely wild year of Pivot stories.
Connect with Kelly:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klsecondcity/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-leonard-he-him-his-b8495047/
- Podcast: https://www.secondcityworks.com/podcast
Watch instead of listen: https://beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/kelly-leonard/
🎙 Visit our sponsor https://Riverside.fm for the highest quality remote recordings.
🔥 Join the Pivot Power newsletter & community: https://beyondnetworkingpodcast.com/year-of-the-pivot
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com