Laughter as a Leadership Tool

In this episode, we explore the powerful role of humor in enhancing leadership effectiveness, emphasizing how laughter can connect people, relieve stress, and inspire creativity. We discuss actionable strategies for incorporating humor into leadership without losing professionalism or respect. 
• The importance of humor as a leadership tool 
• How laughter creates connection and reduces stress 
• Self-deprecating humor as a means of vulnerability 
• The role of emotional intelligence in utilizing humor 
• Using humor as an icebreaker in team environments 
• Strategies for tailoring humor to diverse audiences 
• Avoiding negative humor to maintain credibility 
• Encouraging leaders to embrace humor in their interactions 
• The potential of humor to improve workplace morale and productivity 
• Humor as a way to create shared experiences within teams

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Power of Humor in Leadership
• 7:37 The Impact of Humor in Leadership

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Intentional Leaders Podcast. Today we're going to talk about humor, how to keep things light and why to keep things light. Maybe you think you weren't born with a sense of humor, but Victor Borga says laughter is the shortest distance between two people. I think leadership and humor go hand in hand, but the balance of levity and professionalism is super important. So in this episode we're going to talk about some insights about how to use humor effectively to enhance your leadership impact. So for those of you who know me or know me well, you know I do like to laugh.

Speaker 1: 0:34

One person told me that as she listens to my podcast, she kind of waits for it. When am I going to have that chuckle? And I do. It's true, I don't necessarily think of myself as a humorous person. However, I do think that humor plays an important part in creating a great environment for people to learn. So I believe that humor goes hand in hand with leadership. In fact, I think that humor is a leadership superpower. Now, why is that? Because think about people that you know, you respect, they have credibility and they also are funny. I think that builds a really great relationship with people. It establishes rapport and it certainly encourages people to be creative and more innovative, because we can help reduce stress in any situation.

Speaker 1: 1:30

Humor can diffuse tension in challenging situations. Absolutely, it makes people more relatable and approachable. In fact, I remember this from many, many years ago the company hired an outside consultant to do a large company event and I believe there were like 500 leaders at this conference in this event and the facilitator I just totally fell in love with because not only was he very powerful in his messages and in his leadership examples, but I thought he was flipping hilarious. I really, really enjoyed the way he used humor to engage the audience. He acted silly, I would say, without being inappropriate, and he did several different conferences for us and I just loved him. I looked at that as a really powerful example of that working. It doesn't undermine credibility. In fact, I think it brought a lot of credibility to his message because people listened and were engaged in a whole different way.

Speaker 1: 2:37

What's also really cool about humor is there is science around it. Humor affects our brain in some cool ways. It boosts our dopamine, it reduces the cortisol, which is our stress hormone, and it leads to better moods and actually sharper thinking, which is super cool, right. What also I like about is it creates a shared experience where people feel like they belong. Humor is connected to emotional intelligence, because people with high emotional intelligence can use humor to empathize and connect. So what I want to share with you are, some times that humor can work really well. And again maybe you're thinking, hey, I am not the kind of person who is humorous, I'm not funny. But think about how you can interject humor into the following situations. Number one is just being positive and inclusive. This one is just about sharing experiences and connecting with a team. Research and emotional intelligence suggests that the more power you have, the more contagious your mood is. So do you want your mood to be light, inclusive and engaging, and then other people will embrace that same energy. That has a powerful effect on team dynamics and team effectiveness.

Speaker 1: 3:57

Sometimes, as a leader or a facilitator, self-deprecating humor can be really fun. It shows humility, it shows vulnerability, as long as we don't do it too much. I did have a boss many years ago and I actually talked to him about his use of self-deprecating humor because I said, hey, dude, you're actually planting seeds that you're not as good as you really are, because he was too self-deprecating and so that didn't work, but I think it does work when you allow it to be a connection and when you allow it to be about vulnerability, so that other people will also be vulnerable. Humor also diffuses tension. It can absolutely lighten the mood during conflicts or situations where people are a little bit stressed. Think about that even an icebreaker in a class or a meeting and I know a lot of people do things like this but I just had a recent class and we were talking about it was early in the morning for some people because it was across the country and we were talking about, okay, who slept well, who didn't sleep well, what body part hurts and why, and it was just silly, but it brought people together and a shared experience and it lightened the mood, which didn't really trivialize or offend anyone.

Speaker 1: 5:14

Also, when you're trying to engage or connect or build energy using pop culture, references can be really, really fun and work really well. I think about Ted Lasso for any of you who are Ted Lasso fans and how much he used humor and interjected that into his leadership, and there are definitely all kinds of references to movie characters or Saturday Night Live sketches or Marvel characters. Whatever it is for you that you are familiar with, that you think will connect with your audience, I think can be super helpful as well and pretty funny. I think it's important to avoid the negative humor. I think one of the most challenging things to do is balancing humor that includes people versus sarcasm or anything that puts someone or something down, and that's why reading your audience and tailoring your humor to the audience is going to be super important. Here are a couple strategies. If you want to start using humor effectively and you don't know how to do it and still be you Number one, you have to be authentic, using humor that aligns with your personality or your leadership style.

Speaker 1: 6:29

The older I got, the more I embraced my humor and felt comfortable with it. I took a lot of keys from people around me who used humor well. I paid attention to what they did and how it worked for them and then made it my own. But also knowing the context that you're in. Using humor strategically is important, and that's where I have to know not to go overboard and so being appropriate without being inappropriate. Sometimes I literally have to bite my tongue because I think now is not the time. Cindy, don't make a joke. Shut up, don't say anything, and then, yeah, so those voices still run in my head for sure. Casual situations, think about conversations, think about humor as a way to build an inclusive environment and to build a shared connection and to do that practice really good listening. What is the tone and the environment that you're in? What do you think people will find funny?

Speaker 1: 7:37

I tend to work with a lot of groups who are very multi-generational and sometimes I will make a pop reference that really half the group doesn't know. But that's also a moment of humor, because then I know they don't know what I'm talking about and the other people do, and then we have a shared experience around that too. It kind of looks at those generational differences and that makes a fun moment. Another way that I use humor in my classes is to share feedback that I received over my career, but particularly that I received as a new leader, and how many times I made people cry because of my artlessness in communication and how much my family mocked me. I put it all out there because it allows other people to connect to me, because it allows other people to connect to me and, yeah, I have expertise, but I'm not perfect and I have struggled over the years to do things well and learn from those mistakes. So I think that humor connects us, it shares those moments, even though those painful memories, looking back at them and laughing a little, I think, helps all of us to know that, hey, we've all been there and let's move forward together and let's do better together.

Speaker 1: 8:52

For me, leadership and humor go hand in hand. And think about real life examples of humor in leaders that you know and how good it makes people feel. The key things to avoid. The potential pitfalls are two. One is misused humor, inappropriate jokes that damage credibility, or just overusing humor that is unprofessional or unfocused. Stick to anything positive and inclusive and also be mindful of the situation you're in and tailoring your humor to that.

Speaker 1: 9:29

Can you include humor in the next week? Can you think about situations that you'll be in and just be mindful of how you're showing up and what might present an opportunity for you to lighten the mood and lighten the engagement, using humor effectively. Start light, start inclusive, use it to build your relationships, not break them, and balance humor with professionalism, always to maintain focus and respect. There's a great leadership mantra that I've heard that I thought was amazing because it's probably how I think about humor, but the quote is humor isn't about being funny, it's about being human. So let's go do that. Dwight D Eisenhower said a sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people and of getting things done. I hope this episode inspires you to try humor-based interactions this week. Start it at a meeting, start it on a call, do something out of character. Build your repertoire for humor to bring people together, to create a shared experience and to help people connect.