Humor Is an Underutilized Leadership Skill
With line of sight to multiple vaccines the outlook is much better but we still have a long way to go to be anywhere near business normalcy, perhaps as far out as 2Q21 to end of 2021. As leaders, one of our biggest challenges ahead will be to refocus and energize our teams for this further extended period, keeping them motivated and sustain their mental strength and all while looking to uncover new opportunities.
What if we could find a “secret weapon” to increase psychological safety, boost confidence, build resilience, unlock creativity and help us as leaders combine approachability with authority.
Well there may be such a secret weapon and it turns out to be HUMOR. Yes, humor, but this is something we have paid little attention to in the past or seen as a valuable leadership skill. Are you curious to know what your Humor Typography is (figure 1.) and how you can best put that to work?
Check out the intro video from Dan Pink and research from Stanford Professors, Jennifer Aake and Naomi Joanne Bagdonas and their soon to be released book Humor Seriously: Why Humor Is A Secret Weapon In Business And Life. Take the quiz to determine your Humor Typography and how to apply this. My humor style is 36% Magnet, and more dangerously used 26% Sweetheart and 24% Stand Up. Now I know why some of my humor works and some falls flat. This has given me a framework and level of understanding to improve this leadership skill.
We have all used humor at work (and in life) to diffuse situations, to get a sensitive point across, to release the pressure, to get us over the roadblocks and all aligned but we don’t use this enough in stressful times. As Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. With more unpredictability and the crisis continuing HUMOR is an underutilized leadership skill, and for most something new to try, that we can develop further and use more often.
In these taxing times, it’s a good reminder to lighten the pressure and enjoy more humor and laughter at work and play. I hope this recommendation helps you a little, to reach much faster, the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.
Peter is one of the founding managing partners of Top Gun Ventures with a focus on executive recruitment and development of GameChanging Leaders, Teams and Organizations and the IMPACT this has on making companies successful. Learn more about Peter.
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