Humor is a surprisingly effective leadership tool. Used effectively it can reduce tensions and diffuse conflicts, motivate against overwhelming odds and even inspire. More reading here, here, here, here, and here.
The truth of the human condition
When we consider the human condition as a whole it is rather pitiful. To be dramatic or majestic, authors deliberately remove the elements of pettiness and humor. Any truthful description tends to be humourous. Compare two classical tales about WWI: “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Remarque and “The Good Soldier: Schweik” by Hashek. Both books are equally truthful and trustworthy, only one book is tragic, and the other is comic. The tragic book captures the peaks and bottoms of the experience, while the other captures the mundane boring brutality of the war.
Honestly, I find comic representation more optimistic and inspiring. People will survive no matter what, and comedy negates the gloomy shadow of death with a wicked smile.
Use carefully
It is clear that leaders should use comedy carefully. Otherwise, the effect is unpredictable. Bad jokes bore some, and offend others. They can demotivate and show alienation between people. Good jokes focus on common ground and hope. Yet humor is very subjective. So using it is always a gamble.
Diffuse conflicts with humor
Humor is a very effective tool to outline the grotesque. Most conflicts are grotesque. Mediation can be an effective tool for outlining different priorities and bridging the gap. Humor can be seen as a form of mediation: it pinpoints the ridiculous part of any argument, opening up a path for constructive problem-solving.
People tend to be too proud to admit minor failures and limitations. They might not admit that something is not really important, or that they are doing something out of spite or any other impure reason. Humor represents the truth. If it is not personal or aggressive, it may bypass the defenses and show a reasonable path to resolution.
A moment of stillness
Suppose humor is well-placed immediately after it follows a short moment of stillness. We might be smiling or laughing, and for a very short while some of our voluntary thinking switches off. During this moment of stillness, the mind is in a zen-like state of absolute bliss. It is possible that during this moment of stillness, subconscious patterns take over and a breakthrough may happen.
It is very useful for a leader or a mentor to induce this moment of stillness in people whose focus is locked in repetitive patterns or ideas. While it is impossible to predict the result of a creative breakthrough, such breakthrough processes occasionally happen.
Even if nothing really important happens, the moment of stillness reduces stress and is invigorating. Follow-up jokes may prolong this moment of stillness, enabling further progress.
There are many reasons to be cheerful
I am personally both a very gloomy individual and a very cheerful one. I can imagine in great detail how things could get much worse, and then I rejoice that the situation did not deteriorate. In this sense, my favorite sentence is “You do not even imagine how lucky we are”.
There are many gloomy ways to outline this. One can consider the futility of the human condition, the historical comparison from darker times, and the geographical comparison with people whose living conditions are much worse in our own time. We are very lucky indeed. There is always someone who appears to be even luckier, but let us not get greedy – we do not know the personal cost.
A very different way to pass a similar message is humor. One of the funniest scenes in cinema is the graffiti scene in “Life of Brian” by Monthy Python. A Roman soldier explains rebellious foreigner the grammatically right way to write “Romans go home” and then forces him to write it 100 times on a wall. This is the heart of what people learn in the Universities. We deal with very serious issues. Instead of actually dealing them, the authorities insist on outlining them in a very specific form and then publishing as much as we can. Pointless, yet cheerful. We could be crucified instead. We are unbelievably lucky.
“God loves a cheerful giver”
In the Geneva Bible (1560), from Saint Paul’s ‘Second Letter to the Corinthians’, we learn that to participate in the Christian community you must practice love cheerfully. A cheerful state is contagious, boosting teamwork.
It is not surprising that all comedy authors resonate with the importance of a cheerful state, but it is a bit surprising that moralists agree. Cheerful state is also very productive. It is easier to work when we feel good. This is very important when dealing with complex tasks. Even more important, when asking others for favors.
We are biased towards cheerful people. Cheerful people are more likely to take risks and often are more successful when risk-taking. As a result, they are luckier.
Changing corporate structure through humor
This is a bit farfetched. I have personally seen it done. A leader with a humoristic approach can modify the entire corporate structure. For example, when a person I know landed in an organization where everybody blamed everybody else he told us “Blame my mother. Everybody in my family does it”. After several meetings of blaming his mother, shaming was removed from the corporate culture.
Emotions are contagious. This form of contagion may be used to deal with bad news, bad business culture, interpersonal issues, and so on. Gloom can be toxic. Humor and cheerfulness can also be contagious. Empowering people who are funny and think differently is typically good for any organization.