Lecturer: Lukas Zenk
Fields: Improvisation; Creativity; Innovation
Content
In today’s complex and unpredictable world, the traditional homo economicus approach of careful planning and execution faces significant challenges. The demand for rapid decision making in complex situations requires a shift toward improvisation – an approach characterized by rapid problem identification, idea generation, and immediate implementation.
Drawing a parallel with classical theater, where actors meticulously follow predefined scripts, improvisational theater introduces a different paradigm. Actors take the stage without a predetermined story or characters, relying on their ability to improvise in the present moment. This skill, essential to artistic performance, finds a counterpart in the professional world, which faces time pressures and unpredictable challenges. Organizational Improvisation, an emerging field, explores and fosters this creative skill in organizations.
The workshop aims to immerse participants in improvisational mindsets and experience their applicability in a variety of scenarios, with a particular focus on co-creativity. By encouraging radical collaboration, dealing with uncertainty, and fostering co-creative learning environments, the workshop aims to inspire participants to rethink and reinvent their ways of behaving and thinking.
Literature
- Zenk, L.; Hynek, N.; Schreder, G. & Bottaro, G. (2022). Toward a system model of improvisation. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 100993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2021.100993
- Zenk, L.; Wetzel, R., & Peschl, M. (2023). Improvisation as a design for organizational emergence. In M.P. Cunha, V. Dusya, A. Abrantes & A. Miner (Eds.). The routledge companion to improvisation in organizations. Routledge.
- Zenk, L., Steiner, G., Pina e Cunha, M., Laubichler, M. D., Bertau, M., Kainz, M. J., Jäger, C., & Schernhammer, E. S. (2020). Fast Response to Superspreading: Uncertainty and Complexity in the Context of COVID-19. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 7884. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217884.
Lecturer
Lukas Zenk (Lukas.Zenk@donau-uni.ac.at) is Associated Professor of Innovation and Network Research and Deputy Head of Research at the Department for Knowledge and Communication Management at the Danube University Krems, Austria. In his applied research projects, he investigates how people collaboratively solve complex problems and how creative and innovative processes can be supported. He led research projects on Organizational Improvisation and Meta-Competences and developed the university modules on “Business Improvisation” and “Cognition and Creativity”. Lukas co-founded the improvisational theater company Quintessenz in Vienna and was a member of the executive board of the worldwide Applied Improvisation Network. He lectures at various universities, consults companies and gives keynote presentations. His innovative lectures, talks, and research projects in Networks, Innovation and Improvisation have earned him several awards. (see www.lightbox.at)
Affiliation: University of continuing education Krems
Homepage: https://www.donau-uni.ac.at/en/university/organization/employees/person/4294993368