All Episodes

July 10, 2023 45 mins

This week's episode features, Jordana Cole. In this gem of an episode…

  • Jordana shares her improv origin story (i.e. how and when she started improvising)
  • Find out what Jordana does for her ukuleles at Thanksgiving
  • Learn about athletes as improvisers
  • Learn about positive psychology - what it is, why it matters, and how improv relates
  • Discover why improv is so much more than team building
  • Hear how and why improv can improve psychological safety (⁠and why psychological safety matters for teams; link to⁠ information about the Google study referenced in the episode)
  • Learn the benefits of practicing improv over time
  • Listen to how improv is similar, and distinct, from meditation as a form of mindfulness
  • Learn the improv exercise that will elevate your active listening skills
  • Find out one simple thing you and every leader can do to be better every day
  • Hear what Jordana would improve in the world if she could wave the magic improv wand 

Yeah, we cover a lot in 45 minutes!

Jordana Cole is an igniter of leadership and team potential. As a global learning & development leader, leadership development facilitator, certified coach, and applied improviser, Jordana has designed and led programs, workshops, courses, team building sessions, and coaching engagements for thousands of individuals around the globe. Her organizational background includes non-profits, higher education, SAAS technology, financial services, and e-commerce.
Jordana is an alumna of the University of Pennslyvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program and has served as an assistant instructor for undergraduate and graduate courses related to positive organizations and human strengths & resilience. Jordana is also certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach and as a facilitator of Inside Out Coaching, the Kevin Eikenberry Group’s From Bud to Boss curriculum, and Fierce Conversations.
She lives in the Washington DC area with our husband and two rescue dogs, and she spends her free time playing one of her dozen ukuleles, loudly cheering on the Washington Capitals, and exploring the woods of Northern Virginia.

She also has a very impressive ukulele collection!

From Jordana,

"I credit my success as a leader and my ability to develop other leaders to the skills that I have learned and honed in improv over the past 20+ years. When I went back to get my graduate degree in my 30s, I was inspired to understand why improv had been such a catalyst for my own leadership career and why it's so effective as a team building. At the end of the day, I realized that improv is all about helping us create better relationships - and isn't that would leadership is all about at it's core. So I did a TON of research and wrote a 100 page thesis on that :)"

Yes, and you can read her research, I've Got Your Back: Utilizing Improv as a Tool to Enhance Workplace Relationships and find her on LinkedIn.


If you liked what you heard, Subscribe, write a review, tell a friend. If you didn’t like what you heard, well, try again next time. Each episode is different and we’re always improving (see what I did there?!) 


Visit www.chooseimprove.com for resources and ways

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Stuff You Should Know

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.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.