Challenge Your Potential: Competent Leadership, Part 2

Last month we started our series on leadership competencies and discovered there is more to being a leader than just having a title. I introduced the first of eight attributes that administrative professionals can understand, embrace and practice in order to demonstrate informal influence, the essence of true leadership.

This month's challenge focuses on developing an appropriate sense of humor. There are certainly countless ways to be funny. Southwest Airlines has become known for their quick witted flight attendants, "There may be fifty ways to leave your lover, but only four ways to leave this aircraft!"

And, we all know people who just try too hard to be funny in the workplace, either due to insecurities or oversized egos! Some people resort to bad humor at the expense of others, which is never a diplomatic tactic. Humor is more than just telling jokes or playing practical jokes. Recently at the IAAP Education Forum in Minneapolis, one of the attendees in my afternoon session on Emotional Resiliency shared an experience. It left me speechless. To make a long, less-than-funny story short, a co-worker had taken her office keys as a practical joke. After lunch, she couldn't get back into her office. The co-worker had since passed the keys around the office even including her supervisor in on the "prank." She sought help in retrieving the keys with no luck. It was over two hours until she was able to get them back. She became frustrated and the prank affected her ability to contribute and get her work done. That's when humor crosses the line.

When workers are offended or threatened by jokes, it's time for the company to step in and curtail the situation to prevent office morale from sinking. As administrative professionals, it's paramount to your success to understand how inappropriate use of humor, and your responses to others' use of humor, can affect your credibility.

Humor is risky and silliness has its limits. Sometimes, it's easy to confuse professionalism with seriousness. We can and should take our jobs seriously; however, we can still take ourselves lightly. Laughter is relaxing and improves our mood. There is actually scientific proof that cheerfulness is linked to emotional resilience - the ability to keep a level head in difficult circumstances - and to close relationships. Cheerful people have a lighthearted interaction style that facilitates bonding and builds social support.

Chris Robert, a professor of management at the University of Missouri, Columbia has studied workplace humor and found that "the use of humor is associated with intelligence and creativity, two things highly valued in the workplace...Humor is associated with productivity and the ability to communicate well with the boss, co-workers and customers. It also enhances the degree to which we feel bonded, cohesive and part of the group in the workplace." So, the bottom line: I guess it pays to be humorous!

Effective leaders know that humor can help relieve day-to-day pressures and instill a feeling of camaraderie. When we are open and use humor respectfully and appropriately, we become more approachable. That builds relationships. And building relationships is the key to leadership influence. So, what's behind the delicate balance of workplace humor: offensive versus funny? This month's challenge will give you some questions to ask yourself and guidelines to practice.

The Challenge

Answer the following questions:

1. What is humorous to you? What brings a smile to your face?

2. What are four ways using humor has worked for you on the job?

3. What do you do to put other people at ease?

Elizabeth Scott, M.S. shares five guidelines to remember when it comes to humor in the workplace:

1. Think of the Message: Ask yourself what the point of your humorous story is. Often we fall into the trap of using humor to say something that we wouldn't say to someone without the joke attached.

2. Know the Audience: Be careful if you are teasing someone about a physical feature (a scar for example). Do you know them well enough to know if they are comfortable being matter-of-fact about it, or would mentioning it be hurtful?

3. Leave Serious Topics Alone: Never joke about topics that are controversial or painful to someone else. Just don't do it. Period.

4. Be Careful of Politics: Avoid making political jokes that would offend someone of a different ideology. Something that sounds hilarious when a late night TV host says it might sound crass coming from someone else between the hours of eight and five!

5. When in Doubt, Leave it Out: If you're not sure how a joke will be received, it's best to keep it in the vault. Some people say that society is too "politically correct" or that people offended by certain jokes are "too sensitive," but it's about respecting the people around you. Nobody wants to be made the butt of jokes.

Want to be an influential leader? Remember that appropriate use of humor is a valuable skill included in your complete professional image. You can be dressed to the nines (or tens, for that matter!), have impeccable work habits and be an organizational guru, but it won't help you be seen as a true leader if your sense of humor deflates others or discredits you. Appropriate humor can simply mean sharing a smile and being cheerful.

One trick I used - I kept a big, red clown nose in my desk. It worked wonders!