Improv Rule #4: Raise the Stakes
An improv routine that stays at the same dramatic level doesn’t work—the drama has to heighten with intensity for the audience to feel compelled to follow along. Good actors know that each time they speak, the stakes need to be raised and the story has to progress—sometimes to an absurd level—to really work.
In leadership, if we keep our ministry or organization at the same place, then we’re actually not leading at all. Good leaders look to the future and continually blow-up their vision.
The story your church or organization is telling should grow with intensity and purpose over time. If it hasn’t, there’s a good chance you haven’t tried to raise the stakes.
It’s risky to paint a new vision and chance losing what you have now for the opportunity to see God work in fresh ways, but that’s what leadership is all about—taking others to a place with God that they couldn’t get to on their own.
