Episode #85: Leading Without a Script: How to Build Trust in Your Team and in Yourself

The moments that shape a leader tend to arrive unscripted. Founder of Koppett, Kat Koppett started her career as a classically trained actor, then "serendipitously" discovered improv. Kat found that improv gave her a way to focus, access what she was feeling in her body, and be more present. For nearly 30 years, Kat has brought improvisation into organizations as a leadership practice. In this episode of Missing Conversations, Altus Growth Partners executive coaches Steven Jones and Ellen Burton sit down with Kat to explore how leaders build trust in their teams and in themselves, practice listening and co-creating, and start each day with intention, even when the morning goes sideways. Listen to the full conversation and discover what becomes possible when you lead without a script.

Key Moments You'll Want to Hear

03:05: The two capacities that expand a leader's options at any given moment. 06:26: More power, more responsibility: How leaders create space for mutual accountability. 14:26: The moment teams decide whether speaking up is safe. 15:03: Building listening and co-creation muscles before the stakes are high. 18:11: How leaders earn trust by thinking out loud with their team. 27:16: Notice. Accept. Build. How to lead through uncertainty. 32:50: How leaders can build a healthier relationship with failure. 35:03: Morning practices to prepare for the leader you want to be. 40:53: Why we have to intentionally create spaces for human interaction.

By the end of this conversation, you'll hear answers to: What responsibility do leaders with more power have for accountability?

Kat shares mutual accountability grows when the leaders who hold the most power take on the most responsibility for making it safe to speak up. Power comes from many sources, including title, ownership, relationships, and expertise. A leader who shapes someone's pay, role, and future carries more of the work of creating a space where people can be open, honest, and willing to take risks. That work starts with talking about power dynamics out loud. Timestamp: 06:26

How can leaders build trust when they don't have all the answers?

Leaders build trust by being honest about how sure they actually are. Kat practices opening up the voices in her head with her team. She'll name a real tension, like the pull between growing revenue and protecting the work her people care most about, and then ask the team what they make of it. Kat found her team trusted her more once she trusted herself enough to lead this way, because it gives everyone a clear place to step in and shape the answer together. Timestamp: 18:11

How should leaders lead when change keeps accelerating?

Leading from knowledge or certainty serves leaders less and less as the pace of change keeps accelerating. What works is being present, taking in what's happening, and responding as it unfolds. Kat also sees human interaction becoming optional in ways it never was before. So leaders need to create space for real conversation on purpose, the same way people learned to make time for exercise once daily life stopped keeping them moving. Timestamp: 40:53

"Notice more of what's there, and then accept what exists and build with it." ~ Kat Koppett

About Kat Koppett

Kat Koppett is the Founder of Koppett, a consultancy specializing in the use of improv and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance, and the co-director of the Mopco Improv Theatre. She is the author of Training to Imagine: Improvisational Techniques for Leaders and Educators to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork and Learning, and the co-author of The Facilitation Advantage with Therese Miclot. Her diverse client list includes Apple, Prezi, PwC, NASA, Global Giving, and the U.N.

You can find Kat on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/koppett/

About Altus Growth Partners

At Altus, we partner with CEOs and leadership teams who are serious about growth and willing to engage in new kinds of conversations to produce better results.

We care deeply about helping leaders and teams collaborate more effectively, navigate complexity with confidence, and foster a culture where people thrive. It's in these environments that challenges are met with curiosity, people bring out the best in one another, and progress is anchored in shared purpose.

Because when leaders and teams are truly working together, they expand what's possible and the meaningful impact they can make in their lives, their organizations, and the world around them.

You can find Altus Growth Partners on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altus-growth-partners/

About the Book

Growing Groups Into Teams: How do you turn a group of individuals into a highly effective, productive team? Growing Groups Into Teams is an unusually useful book written by a team of generative consultants and coaches who have helped thousands of groups become effective teams.

Through real-life stories combined with pragmatic advice, this book strengthens your ability to see what's needed and take effective action:

• What two promises turn a group into a team.

• How to engage people to make those promises.

• How to invite responsibility and accountability.

• How to include and inspire people across differences.

• How to build and rebuild trust, and more!

Regardless of how productive your teams are today, the insights in this book will help you grow to the next level to drive your business or organization forward. Order your copy today!

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If you're looking to expand your leadership influence, shift your results, and develop a highly engaged, accountable team, we'd love to talk to you. Schedule a conversation with an Altus Team Member here: https://calendly.com/prollin-altusgrowth/zoom-video-30-min.

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Keywords:

#ExecutiveLeadership, #BuildingTrust, #LeadingThroughChange