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Working With Humor

by Audrey Pihulyk

Maximizing Performance and Productivity Through Humor

The role of business leaders in this ever-changing world is more demanding now than at any time in history. Trying to balance the cares and responsibilities of family with the pressures and changes in the workplace can be a recipe for stress. What is needed to reduce stress in the workplace is to build management structures and processes that promote camaraderie and team spirit, where people are valued and made to feel valued in the workplace.

Tom Peters, along with other organizational experts, prescribes a horizontal-type management structure in the workplace, rather than a vertical one. This horizontal-type management invites input from workers, using cross-functional teams instead of the hierarchical authoritarian mode of leadership brought about by vertical management. This new management structure calls for managers to become more adaptable to change and to develop better problem-solving skills. This concept of horizontal management may not be easily accepted by some today because we have for so long stereotyped the boss as an authoritarian leader who makes arbitrary decisions, with employees being mere followers.

Today, in the ever changing workplace environment, we need what Fortune Magazine calls, “the new post-heroic leadership.” The “heroic” leadership, or authoritarian leader of the past, made most of the company’s decisions and policies, while workers were left feeling disengaged and unmotivated. However, with the paradigm shift that this concept of the new post heroic leader brings, workers are now encouraged to be more involved in all areas, from decision-making to the formulating of company policies. These new responsibilities have made the workers feel more valued as members of a team, rather than powerless subordinates.

What then will enable leaders to be more effective? In the context of “the new post-heroic leadership,” the progressive and prosperous Southwestern Airlines discovered that an effective leader is someone who possesses, among other things, a healthy sense of humor. This can be seen in their policy when it comes to the hiring of flight attendants. They believe that an essential part of a flight attendant’s job is to keep the customers happy. In keeping with this, Southwestern hires only those applicants with a strong sense of humor. The humorous person, whether a leader or an employee, they believe, benefits personally from having a playful attitude. This then can be seen from Southwestern’s example where their 9000 employees are playful, loyal and hard working, contributing to its healthy bottom line.

As mentioned earlier, the “heroic” or authoritarian leaders are known for their intolerance and inflexibility to change, while humorous leaders, being more flexible, are not intimidated by the fear of change. Furthermore, humour introduced into stress-filled boardrooms will help lighten meetings and steer decision-making in a positive direction. Humor in business is healthy and important to the conduct of business.

There are two opposing views of thinking, convergent and divergent. Convergent thinking focuses mainly on one narrow issue, while divergent thinking focuses on many possible issues. Looking back to our school days, we may remember that our natural playfulness was often suppressed. Schools then were experts in convergent thinking with students being told that there was no time for playfulness, and that they were there to work hard and avoid making mistakes. Creative thinking was not the order of the day.

Thankfully, today, educators are now realizing that divergent thinking is a more productive way of learning. It opens our minds to endless possibilities for creativity and flexibility in all decision making and problem solving. We can say then that humor, having a close connection to divergent thinking, also opens our minds to new and endless possibilities.

Educator Dr. Anvir Ziv experimented with a group of students and found that those who had viewed a humorous movie scored high on a test involving divergent thinking. However, a second group who had formatted their own humorous cartoon strips, having been much more engaged with humour, scored even higher.

Divergent thinking can also help the leader reframe a situation or restrict the parts of a situation into new patterns. Reframing situations is also useful for the effective leader as it can provide some control over the thinking of others, while helping them look at situations in a new way. This creates unanimity in a group without causing disagreement. American Airlines was losing money in their late night flights, calling them “red-eye specials.” They reframed these flights as “midnight specials,” and created a party-like atmosphere onboard each flight. Soon business went up 70%.

Having confidence in one’s abilities is a plus for leaders. It is interesting to note that those who possess a confident attitude are generally more flexible, humble and graced with a well-developed sense of humor. Confidence and humour can be seen as going hand-in-hand with these attributes, while rigid and proud behaviour can be associated with those who lack a well-developed sense of humor. Former U.S. Presidential Candidate Adlai Stevenson once said, “Humor helps distinguish the really bright and thoughtful and also the humble…from the self-conscious and self-righteous presumptuous type.”

Self-effacing humor, the ability to laugh at yourself, is a valuable gift that the humorous leader brings to the workplace. This type of humour is essential and is closely tied to humility. In June 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke to a group of students who were beginning their summer jobs in Washington. He stated, “Sometimes I wish I just had a summer job here.” By using this self-effacing humour, Kennedy gained instant rapport with the students and related to them in this fashion even while being the President of the United States. This special brand of humour helps a leader appear smart and knowledgeable, while at the same time humble and approachable. Leaders who do not take themselves seriously, but take a constructive attitude towards their own mistakes and those of others, create a relaxed, productive atmosphere no matter what the setting.

Leaders who exercise their sense of humor also have the ability to make people feel like members of a team. They lead as coaches rather than as generals, taking on a mentorship role with employees, thus maximizing cooperation, creativity and productivity.

All members of an organization regardless of their job description can be more effective when incorporating humour into their daily interactions in the workplace. In these days of fast-paced changes, it is essential that leaders encourage employee engagement by developing horizontal management teams and do it all with a touch of humor. Used effectively, it can help reinforce feelings of “we are all in this together.”

Nurse Audrey is the “Stress Strategist,” who brings to your audience cutting-edge strategies and thought-provoking ideas, always with a touch of humour. Her motivating keynote and interactive breakouts are described as inspiring and energizing.

Her book: I Really Gotta Quit! Break Free from Eating Disorders & Other Addictions, together with her audio programs are available through her website. To order product, or to book Audrey to speak at your next meeting, email her at: audrey@possibilitiesnetwork.com, or contact her through her web site: www.possibilitiesnetwork.com , or call 1-866-484-2197

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