Kelly Leonard

Kelly Leonard is the Executive Director of Insights and Applied Improvisation at Second City Works, overseeing The Second Science Project with the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. His book, “Yes, And,” was published to critical acclaim by HarperCollins. Kelly has spoken at Aspen Ideas Festival, Microsoft and TEDxBroadway and hosts the podcast “Getting to Yes, And” for WGN and Second City. For over twenty years, he oversaw Second City’s live theatrical divisions working with such talent as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Keegan Michael Key and others.

Culture is an Improvisational Art

While many businesses talk about the importance of culture, few actually provide any sort of scaffolding upon which culture can be built and maintained. Kelly Leonard uses his experience leading the world famous Second City Theatre and draws from his best-selling book “Yes, And,” to provide a compelling and interactive keynote on how improvisation practices can help embed the kind of behaviors that promote the culture you want: a culture that is fearless, caring and adaptable. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Specific exercises and practices to enact within your organization
• Demystification of “culture,” “creativity” and “innovation” 
• An exploration of how a greater knowledge of the principles of comedy can improve your work culture

Collaborative Creativity and the Evolution of an Idea | How Improv Can Help You at Work

People are not pre-ordained to be good at working within groups. Second City’s roots lay in the improvisation games developed by a social worker in the 20’s and 30’s – games that promote collaboration, empathy, focus and listening. Kelly Leonard combines his years leading Second City’s stages with his own collaborations in the behavioral science community, to provide insights and actions that individuals and groups can take to work better with one another at work.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Specific exercises and practices to enact within your organization
• Insights on how to get the best out of your teams
• Promoting a workplace that is fearless and change-ready

The Power of Improvisation and Comedy

Kelly Leonard says that “improvisation is yoga for your social skills.” In this talk, he draws on his years hiring and producing hundreds of shows with such stars as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Keegan Michael Key. While improvisation opens the door to greater creativity, comedy is a device that can wield great power – for good or bad. This interactive keynote provides some amazing backstage stories and relevant insights that transfer from the stage to the boardroom. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Specific exercises and practices to enact within your organization
• Rich storytelling of first hand experiences working with Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Keegan Michael Key, Seth Meyers and others.

Learning is an Improvised Art

The truth is, we are not very good at learning. But the good news is, we can get better at it. Kelly Leonard draws on his many years leading The Second City theatre in Chicago as well as his collaborations with the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago to provide a rich conversation around improvisation, behavioral science and creating an unfixed mindset that sets the stage for lifelong learning and endless creativity. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Specific exercises and practices to enact within your organization
• Insights into the learning modules of the world famous Second City Theatre
• Applied improvisational techniques that can be used in team-building and to foster innovation

Improvisation: Decoding Creative Practices

Creativity appears to be elusive or the province of a select talented few. This is a myth – a myth that is perpetuated by those who make a lot of money by telling other people they are more special than them. Kelly Leonard helmed the world famous Second City for two decades – working with such talent as Tina Fey,  Stephen Colbert and Keegan Michael Key. His work with the behavioral science community and thought leaders from a variety of disciplines gives him a unique insight into a kind of creativity that is available to all of us at any time.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Specific exercises and practices to enact within your organization 
• Insights based on behavioral science, neuroscience and positive psychology
• Specific examples based on the speakers work with such talent as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers and more.

Kelly Leonard has been a key contributor to the CMO Summit for several years. He has an endless curiosity that drives his expansive view of the world and he openly shares his experience and perspective with others. His fascinating journey has cultivated an arsenal of rich storytelling that serves as a guidepost for all of us navigating dynamic change. What makes Kelly so exceptional however goes beyond his knowledge of the power of improvisation. It is his vulnerability and heart. Kelly is willing to venture into the places that make us uncomfortable and find the light within those places. He embraces the humanity in us all with an endless exploration of what binds us together. He is a generous guide In business and life since our connection to each other is at the heart of true success. — VP, Customer Marketing, Western US at The Coca-Cola Company

For a comedian/business person, Kelly is pretty funny. Strike that: despite being a comedian/business person, Kelly is funny. He's also smart about what's funny. His insights into humor and the application in communication, innovation, team building and business are cutting edge. I've really enjoyed collaborating with him to uncover the powerful ways in which humor allow us to not only express what's truly human about us, but also how humor can unlock what is in between us humans - and how that plays out in business. — Stanford Graduate School of Business

30 seconds in a room with Kelly will make you wiser, and it is all because he extracts such passionate knowledge from those around him. A selfless curiosity is his fuel. He opens doors to people and ideas and change through collaboration that motivate me every day. His ‘Getting To Yes, And ...’ podcast is graduate school for human potential. — Former VP, Content for WGN Radio, Chicago