We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dave Collins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dave below.

Hi Dave, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

The name of my business comes from Aesop’s Fables, specifically the story of the Oak and the Reeds. The short version of the story goes like this: There was a big tall oak tree standing by the side of a river. Next to the oak were some reeds – a bunch of tall grasses. And this oak tree had a bit of an attitude so it said to the reeds: “Look at me! I’m this big, impressive, old tree. I have deep roots, a huge trunk, massive branches and thousands of leaves. And You?! You’re just a bunch of flimsy reeds. Every time there’s a gust of wind you blow over and touch the ground. You’re weak! I can’t imagine how you’ve survived this long.”

But then overnight, things changed. A huge storm rolled in with lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightning. The storm was so strong it picked the oak tree up from the ground, tore up its roots, snapped its trunk in half and killed it instantly.

The reeds, on the other hand, survived. Every time there was a big gust of wind they blew over, but then in the morning when the storm subsided they popped right back up like nothing happened.

The moral of the story is clear – it doesn’t matter how big and strong you are, or how many years you’ve been in business or how many degrees you have. What matters most when experiencing change and uncertainty is flexibility. And that’s at the core of what I teach to all of my clients – how to be flexible in the face of change.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My story starts almost 20 years ago when I first fell in love with the art and craft of improvisational comedy. This art form is something I find to be endlessly fascinating, fun and practical in my everyday life. Along with my teammates, I won the National Collegiate Improv Tournament, have headlined shows across the country, and individually have coached hundreds of students and professionals in the art and practice of applied improvisation.

Professionally, I got my start as a facilitator right after college. I worked as a change management trainer and coach for a large construction and design company called AECOM. My team helped design new offices for clients, and then would run workshops to help them make the adjustment to the new technologies, spaces and physical work environments our colleagues had built out for them.

Combining my love of improv with my expertise in facilitation was the genesis of Oak and Reeds. I started the business in 2015 as a team building and off-site facilitation company. Doing group workshops where I taught improv skills as a way for corporate teams to be more collaborative, listen better and think on their feet. Since then, my content and business has branched out into many more topics, including interviewing skills, public speaking coaching, manager skills and much more.

Now, I’m growing my audience and speaking to larger and larger groups through my keynote talks on how to use improvisational techniques to be a better change leader.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Meet people where they are. That doesn’t just mean checking in regularly and asking how they’re doing. What it means is continually asking your team members what they want, how they want to be led, what kinds of communication they enjoy (and what kinds of messages they find useless or annoying). A lot of manager/team conflicts can be avoided by setting communication expectations ahead of time instead of assuming that certain methods work for everyone on a team. Understanding how team norms are created naturally, and then making those norms public and open for discussion (and updating!) are great ways to ensure you’re building a highly inclusive and collaborative team.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

The book “Everything’s an Offer” by Robert Poynton is my favorite book on the fundamentals of “Yes, and” thinking in the workplace. I find myself coming back to it again and again as a foundational text on how to “notice more and use everything” in my work both as an entrepreneur and as a workshop facilitator. It does a great job of highlighting the idea that all the information we need as leaders is already right in front of us, we just have to hear it, notice it and use it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.oakandreeds.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/oakandreeds
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakandReeds/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davekcollins/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Oakandreeds
• Other: Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@oakandreeds

Image Credits

Oak and Reeds LLC