You’re Not That Funny, and That’s OK

“The conclusion [psychologist Donald McKinnon] came to was that there were only two differences between the creative and the uncreative architects. The first was that the creative architects knew how to play.” 

— John Cleese, in Creativity

“To write humor well, you need to be a Clown.” 

— Scott Dikkers, in How to Write Funny

“Creating is all about playing and innovating within familiar forms.”

— Twyla Tharp, in The Creative Habit  

First, a book recommendation: Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas’ new book, Humor, Seriously. I just finished it, and it’s a great read. 

A good example of humor in leadership is former President Obama. He has the “Sniper“ style of humor according to Aaker and Bagdonas’s framework, which helps him deliver timely lines like this:

https://youtu.be/wVNC6dAeeyA?t=9

President Obama is clearly funny. At the same time, he’s—charitably—a mediocre joke teller, often laughing at his own jokes, and before the punchline itself. He also delivered perhaps the worst joke in presidential history: 

Luckily, leaders don’t need to be stand-up comedians to be perceived as humorous or to drive humor in their organizations. From Humor, Seriously:

“Remember, the bar for humor in the business world is extremely low. The goal isn’t to elicit raucous, rolling-on-the-floor laughter; it’s simply to create a moment of connection.” 

Instead of humor, the authors suggest that leaders should go for levity as a mindset. It’s not the laughs that produce results; it’s the leader’s creation of a culture in which people feel safe and comfortable that improves team effectiveness: 

“And beyond the signals we send to our employees, a culture that balances serious work with levity and play can actually improve team performance. [...]The presence of humor in team interactions predicted more functional communication and higher team performance both in the moment and over time. Playful cultures allow teams to thrive, even (and especially) when the stakes are high and the times are hard.”

And the good news for those who could never envision themselves doing a comedy show for their teams: You don’t have to be able to create humor; you just need a  sense of humor.    

From the book: “So how exactly do you signal you have a sense of humor? Sometimes, it’s as simple as laughing at others’ jokes, or jumping on opportunities to lighten the mood. Even a friendly smile can work wonders. As former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo puts it, ‘You don’t have to be the quickest wit in the room. The easiest way to have more humor at work is not to try to be funny—instead, just look for moments to laugh.’”