Adding a Little Levity to Leadership
Guest User
Did you know that four-year old children laugh on average 300 times a day? And the average 40-year old laughs 300 times every two months? Certainly, being an adult, especially a school leader, is serious business. Yet, science tells us there are many benefits to injecting levity into our adult world, even more so during trying times.
Jennifer Aaker, Stanford University behavioral scientist and co-author of Humor, Seriously (Aaker & Bagdonas 2020), was recently interviewed for the “Hidden Brain” podcast. Although the entire podcast will make you chuckle and think, she shared a few key take-aways about the power of humor in professional settings:
Humor has an appropriate place at work. In fact, people are more likely to trust leaders with a sense of humor.
There are numerous physiological benefits to laughter, including the release of the hormone oxytocin, which creates emotional bonds with others.
Humor creates “sticky” memories: our brains tend to retain memories associated with laughter at a higher rate.
If you’re not a natural born punmeister or joke teller, you can learn to weave wit into your meetings, professional learning, and other interactions.
Humor comes from truth: At the end of each day write down five observations from the day, especially those moments of contrast or incongruities.
Apply rules of contrast or misdirection: Take the small thing you notice that is interesting then exaggerate or contrast it.
Turn your observation into a joke or short anecdote.
Try it out on your loved ones or friends to see if it lands.
Of course, we want to make sure our humor is never at the expense of someone else such as an employee or student. In fact, Aaker points out that self-deprecating humor is often the best received. Believe or not, even a groan-worthy “dad (or mom)” joke creates the same benefits!
Vedantam, S. (2021, April 21). Humor Us. Hidden Brain Media. https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/humor-us/.