Humor in the Workplace Blog

Leading with Humor – But What if I’m Not Funny?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 Michael Kerr

When I talk about the importance of having a sense of humor to be an effective leader, one of the first questions I often get asked is, “But I’m not funny. What do I do?”

Let’s be clear: I’m NOT talking about being the office clown or telling jokes all day, or even being funny.

What I am talking about is the need for leaders to embrace the spontaneous humor that happens every day at work, and about not being a roadblock to the humor that naturally occurs.  Too many leaders suck the fun out of a work environment by being overly rigid or by micromanaging or even blatantly squashing any semblance of fun that arises naturally.

In other words, step number one to leading effectively with humor is don’t be a killjoy! Even it is   contrary to your personality style, leaders need to appreciate the value of humor in the workplace,  which sometimes means allowing people who have more outgoing personalities than you do to flourish in the workplace and utilize their skills, passion and creativity to help foster a great work environment.

The second key to using humor effectively, especially as a leader, is to be yourself.  If you trying using humor that just isn’t you, employees will see through it and your use of humor may even backfire because it will be viewed as a cynical ploy to engage employees.

There’s a reason that so much emphasis is placed on “authentic  leadership” these days-because it matters!  Authenticity builds trust.  And trust is a key value in an successful workplace.  And since we are never more real that when we share our sense of humor, humor can help us come across as more real, more authentic, more human and hence more trustworthy—as long as the humor you use reflects and shows off the real you!

The third and final key is to not be afraid to laugh at your own missteps.  Laughing at yourself will help keep you humble, will make you more approachable and sends a powerful message throughout a workplace. Laughing at yourself can set a workplace tone that helps people feel more at ease, that helps people to take greater creative risks and encourages others to laugh at themselves—thus ensuring, perhaps, that costly mistakes don’t get repeated or swept under the rug!

Michael Kerr, mike@mikekerr.com, www.inspiringworkplaces.com, www.mikekerr.com, www.humoratwork.tv

Humor in the Workplace is a No Brainer!

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 Michael Kerr

The idea of “humor in the workplace” shouldn’t be a tough sell. At least, not in theory. 

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12 Ways to Add Humor to Your Tweets

Monday, August 23rd, 2010 Michael Kerr

12 Ways to Add Some Humor to Your Tweets!

If you want to get noticed and re-tweeted then add a little humor to your Tweets, at least now and then.  Humor helps humanize your corporate image,  get your message across, and helps you stand out from the herd to be heard.

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Dancing Lessons on Leadership, on Humor at Work

Sunday, May 30th, 2010 Michael Kerr

This fabulous video illustrates a great lesson about both leadership and follower-ship. 

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Humor in the Workplace Reveals Hidden Truths

Monday, May 10th, 2010 Michael Kerr

To Tell You the Truth, A Little Humor Helps

One of the many reasons humor is so powerful as a communication

tool is it can give people the cover to say uncomfortable truths

they might otherwise keep to themselves.

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Good Customer Service isn’t Good Enough!

Sunday, May 9th, 2010 Michael Kerr

If you want to provide exceptional customer service, then you need to inspire and train your customer service providers to exceed customers’ expectations, because offering good customer service only meets your customers’ expectations!  Good customer service simply keeps you out of the dog house!

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpOmojWpvqk&feature=player_embedded ]

Why Humor in the Workplace is Needed Everywhere!

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 Michael Kerr

Why do you need humor in the workplace? Because humor in the workplace can be both an effective tool for creating more innovative, healthier, inspiring, successful workplaces AND it’s the end result of working in truly successful, inspiring workplace. Humor at work really is a valid indicator of workplace success.  Watch Michael Kerr’s one-minute video:

[flash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zohMkxg-Dmg ]

Communication in the Workplace: How you say things matters!

Monday, April 26th, 2010 Michael Kerr

For inspiring workplace communication, remember that it’s not just WHAT you say

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Creativity at Work: Catch BIG Ideas with BIG Questions!

Monday, April 26th, 2010 Michael Kerr

How do you catch a big fish? Use a big hook. How do you land big ideas? 

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Communication in the Workplace: Lose the Bull!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010 Michael Kerr

If you want to communicate in inspiring ways and be more effective with workpalce communication, then avoid deja moo.

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