Leadership and laughter

Two articles caught my eye. One is written by Hugh Tomlinson entitled: “Harvard’s happiness classes teach leadership with a smile.” as featured in www.thetimes.co.uk. Let me share this with you, and I will add a little bit of my commentary alongside it.

For decades, America’s boardrooms have lived by the ruthless mantra that “greed is good.” However, future Gordon Gekkos are being taught that being happy is also good.

Harvard Business School has seen interest in its “Leadership and Happiness” class surge as students look to add soft skills to complement the more traditional hard-nosed talents. Taught by the prominent social scientist Arthur Brooks, the class has been fully booked since its launch in 2020.

The seven-week course promises to teach students to understand better the root of their happiness and their emotional strengths and weaknesses to “lead others in a way that increases happiness.”

Harvard says that the focus on happiness has taken on new importance since the pandemic, as workers leave jobs at record rates, reappraise their goals, and demand better pay and work-life balance. The course suggests that attending to four key areas – family, friends, meaningful work, and faith or life philosophy – and evaluating the value placed on each is essential to being a better boss and gaining a competitive advantage by building a happier workplace.

Humor is power and an indispensable tool for effective leadership. I am not the only one who believes in this.

Journalist Barbara Walters says: “A good laugh makes any interview, or any conversation, so much better.”

Writer Eva Hoffman says: “There is nothing like a gleam of humor to reassure you that a fellow human being is ticking inside a strange face.”

American minister Henry Ward Beecher says: “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”

General Dwight D. Eisenhower says: “A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.”

I have dealt with leaders, educators, and even professionals who shun humor, thinking that humor is beneath them and that their people would not take them seriously. I have always wondered why they are unhappy, and they spread this mood and countenance to their people.

Here is another piece of leadership material from www.humorthatworks.com that talks about why top leaders use humor in their leadership skills.

1. Leaders use humor to enjoy their work.

Humor builds deeper relationships, increases the leader’s likability, and improves their team’s job satisfaction. Humor also minimizes status differences and can defuse inevitable tensions, which also helps everyone enjoy their work more.

2. Leaders use humor to signal confidence and high emotional intelligence.

Think of it this way, if your team lead was too busy to smile once a day, would you think the company is doing well? Leaders use humor in their leadership skills to reassure their team that they have enough confidence, control, and time to manage stressful situations at work.

3. Leaders use humor as a humanizing tool – the Pratfall Effect.

Leaders use humor to humanize themselves in the eyes of others. The Pratfall Effect is a psychological phenomenon that claims we distance ourselves from people who appear to be perfect. We are significantly more attracted to competent people who appear to have a minor, relatable flaw. So, the everyday hardworking employee will feel more connected to the leader who uses some light humor in the workplace.

4. Leaders use humor to be more memorable.

A sense of humor has been studied as the most important factor in employees forming impressions of their supervisors.

5. Leaders use humor to get a view into a group’s norms and values.

Humor can be seen as a window into a group’s norms, values, freedom of expression, and what people deem acceptable today. A leader can use humor in their leadership skills to learn more about their employees and form a deeper relationship.

My favorite quote comes from the legendary Zig Ziglar, who says: “As long as you can laugh at you, it won’t bother you when others laugh at you.” And famous comedian Fred Allen says: “It is bad to suppress laughter. It goes back down and spreads to your hips.”

Scriptures says: “Laughter is sweet medicine, and a broken spirit crushes the bones.” And I agree.

(Francis Kong will run his Level Up Leadership 2.0 Master Class Online on April 20, 21 and 22. For inquiries and reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or and for more information, visit www.levelupleadership.ph)

Harvard’s happiness classes teach leadership with a smile .... https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/harvard-s-happiness-classes-teach-leadership-with-a-smile-wnz625hzw

Why Top Leaders use humor in their ... - Humor That Works. https://www.humorthatworks.com/benefits/why-leaders-use-humor-at-work/