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The Joke Is On Me: How To Use Humor As A Leader
"It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously."
Oscar Wilde
A person may remember a portion of you what you say but they will always remember when you make them laugh. Why not join me in setting a goal for this new year in finding and sharing more humor? Now the type of humor I am talking about does not include putting others down like you would hear most late night comedians doing. No, I am talking about the safer workplace humor called self-effacing humor. Self-effacing humor has you as the subject and would include all the silly, frightening problems you encounter just living your life. Your life is unique and so are your stories. Why not show others that you are human by sharing the funny, difficult situations you have overcome in the past few years. As a rule of thumb, the higher up you are in an organization with a fancier title, the more you need self-effacing humor so your employees can relate to you!
So what does self-effacing humor look like? Well it starts with you becoming aware of and writing down all the problems you encounter that are funny. Sometimes it may take time and distance to see the humor but eventually you will.
Last summer I was playing golf when I lost my golf ball temporarily only to later find it under a tree. As I approached the shot, I realized there was not enough room between me and the tree to take a full backswing. So, I chopped it out from under the tree only to have it land a few feet from the tree. Frustrated by my poor shot, I took a huge backswing and used all my strength to connect with that ball again only to find it fly straight up in the air and land right in front of me again. It was at this moment that I decided to look closer at the bright white ball and discovered it was a wiffle ball and not my original ball. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term wiffle ball, it is a plastic golf ball that looks real but is only filled with air (think ping pong ball here). Now many of you may not find this funny but in my 35 years of playing golf, I have never seen a wiffle golf ball that looks identical to a real ball on a golf course, and of course I have never hit one several times while playing a hole.
My point here is to collect these stories and write them down. Practice setting them up and telling the punch line in as few words as possible. The best place for me to tell this story is when someone else encountered a problem at work that wasn't obvious until they examined it closer. These funny situations happen in the grocery store, while driving in your car, attending church, running, etc. Wherever you encounter a problem that you had to overcome, there is the potential for humor.
Question for You:
Do you take yourself too seriously? Would you like to make others laugh while poking fun at yourself? Do you have a hard time connecting with peers or direct reports at work?
Answer for You:
Many people feel that they will lose credibility if they make fun of themselves at work. I believe just the opposite. It shows great confidence in oneself when you are able to make fun of situations in your life and how you handled them. If you are a leader that is having trouble connecting with your peers or direct reports, adding self-effacing humor will help you engage and connect quickly by showing others you are human as well.
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