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<v Speaker 1>Hey, this is Christ with Hacking and Leadership. On today's

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<v Speaker 1>discussion on employee engagement. I want to talk about engaging

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<v Speaker 1>employees through humor, and I want to talk about this

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<v Speaker 1>specifically because I think I think this is something that

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<v Speaker 1>Lorenzo does really well.

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<v Speaker 2>He has for as long as I've known him.

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<v Speaker 1>And there's kind of been this rise a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>in leadership training development programs that have tried to kind

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<v Speaker 1>of propose that leaders should be more humorous and almost

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<v Speaker 1>trying to train them on being more humorous. And while

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think that they are necessarily that necessarily have

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<v Speaker 1>zero effectiveness, I think that they are kind of very

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<v Speaker 1>narrowly focused on. You know, there might be very specific

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<v Speaker 1>situations where it works for one person, but not necessarily broader.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think that leaders who are not incredibly witty

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<v Speaker 1>or humorous to start with, they potentially could lose some

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<v Speaker 1>of what they do have, which is just their their

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<v Speaker 1>authenticity or the feeling of authenticity they have with their

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<v Speaker 1>teams if they try something new thinking that it's gonna

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<v Speaker 1>work out well for them, and then it ends up

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<v Speaker 1>not working out well for them. But that doesn't that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't stop me from knowing that humor is it can

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<v Speaker 1>be a very very effective leadership tool when used correctly

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<v Speaker 1>in the right circumstances and with the right people.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean I'm a you know me, I'm a

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<v Speaker 3>huge proponent of humor, maybe even in parts of my

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<v Speaker 3>career where it was overused, right, maybe continues to be sometimes.

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<v Speaker 3>But I think that we talk about like having fun,

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<v Speaker 3>having a good time, opening up, not you know, taking

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<v Speaker 3>our work serious, but not taking ourselves too serious like

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<v Speaker 3>that for me is the underlying element of like humor.

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<v Speaker 3>If it's not like maye go up here and do

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<v Speaker 3>a five minute stand up set for my team, right,

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<v Speaker 3>it's like, let's laugh at ourselves, Let's have some fun,

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<v Speaker 3>Let's have some healthy banter amongst each other that allows

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<v Speaker 3>us to be able to know that, like, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>we can be we can be human, we can be

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<v Speaker 3>you know.

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<v Speaker 2>We can we can be.

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<v Speaker 3>We can be personal in a in a way that

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<v Speaker 3>doesn't feel like it's just completely highly focused only on

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<v Speaker 3>getting work done and just really dry and everything. Now

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<v Speaker 3>to your point, like, I think that there's a lot

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<v Speaker 3>that has to be considered there and you have to

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<v Speaker 3>be very conscious of you know, when and how and

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<v Speaker 3>where and why and you have to be really, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>conscious of how people take humor, Like you have to

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<v Speaker 3>know your team and know the people that you're around.

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<v Speaker 3>And we've we've all been there and seen it. We've

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<v Speaker 3>all been around people and social you know, dynamics where

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<v Speaker 3>somebody said something that was funny to you but maybe

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<v Speaker 3>not funny to others, right, or it felt like it

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<v Speaker 3>was just the wrong timing to say something. Somebody got

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<v Speaker 3>nervous and they tried to say something funny to kind

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<v Speaker 3>of break the ice or release some of the tension,

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<v Speaker 3>but that created more you know, like like those things

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<v Speaker 3>happen too. But I do think that there's an element

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<v Speaker 3>of it where, you know, laughing and having some fun

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<v Speaker 3>to me is how humor is applied appropriately when you're working.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you're I think you're right about that. I think

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<v Speaker 2>when it comes to I.

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<v Speaker 1>Think the most effective humor is one on one when

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<v Speaker 1>if you're a leader of people, because it's the more

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<v Speaker 1>people that you are that are around you, the harder

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<v Speaker 1>it is to be humorous in a way that lands

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<v Speaker 1>correctly with every person that is around you. And the

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<v Speaker 1>larger that group gets, the harder it becomes. With individual people.

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<v Speaker 1>You're talking about just individual relationship, and a person who

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<v Speaker 1>does this well will know what level of humor what

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<v Speaker 1>they can say to one person versus another based on

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<v Speaker 1>whatever that relationship is. There are people who have I've

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<v Speaker 1>had working relationships with where things I've said to them

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<v Speaker 1>in humor or that they've said to me in humor

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<v Speaker 1>would have been career ending for them to say to

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<v Speaker 1>somebody else, right, let's be honest about it, right, and

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<v Speaker 1>to the right person it's not. It's laughed at, and

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<v Speaker 1>you move on because you have the benefit of the relationship,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, backing it up and understanding, you know what.

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<v Speaker 1>Where that's rooted in. I think when a leader is

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<v Speaker 1>trying to be humorous in front of a group of people,

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<v Speaker 1>a widespread group of people that all report to them

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of diversity, different roles, different positions, backgrounds, different

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<v Speaker 1>levels of time and relationship with that leader, sometimes the

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<v Speaker 1>only type of humor that works well is it can

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<v Speaker 1>be like self deprecating humor. So if a leader becomes

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<v Speaker 1>self deprecating in front of the group, then that can

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<v Speaker 1>be effective. But even that can be a pitfall for

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<v Speaker 1>some people because if you're self deprecating on something that

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<v Speaker 1>you shouldn't be bad at, but are bad at as

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<v Speaker 1>the leader and the team knows it. Then it's just like,

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<v Speaker 1>oh my gosh, this this person knows they're bad at

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<v Speaker 1>being a leader on this team, they don't care that

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<v Speaker 1>can land the wrong way to So it has to

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<v Speaker 1>be something like, you know, you stepped outside of your

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<v Speaker 1>role to help with something, to do something that you

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<v Speaker 1>wouldn't normally do, and we're not good at it, but

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<v Speaker 1>you kind of did your best at it, and you're

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<v Speaker 1>self deprecating about that. Process that can work can work

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<v Speaker 1>out well, but that's kind of the only the only

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<v Speaker 1>place that that works when it comes to a large

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<v Speaker 1>group of people. I want to go over some of

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<v Speaker 1>the things that leaders can do if they if they

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<v Speaker 1>feel like that that the humor they're trying to insert

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<v Speaker 1>into their teams is you know, landing incorrectly, or if

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<v Speaker 1>they're trying to get better at this.

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<v Speaker 2>But first let's get up towards for one of our sponsors.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, if you're a leader and you're trying to

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<v Speaker 1>figure this this this road out, navigate it for yourself

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<v Speaker 1>and kind of figure out first of all, if if

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<v Speaker 1>you already know that you're good at this, then you know,

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<v Speaker 1>like This is if the feedback that you've been given

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<v Speaker 1>is positive, and if you have solid relationships with people individually,

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<v Speaker 1>then chances are your way of inserting humor when necessary

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<v Speaker 1>or when you want to is done correctly. Now, that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean that you can't make a misstep and cross

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<v Speaker 1>the line every once in a while. It just means

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<v Speaker 1>that in general, you probably have a good a good

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<v Speaker 1>way forward here. If you don't feel like the way

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<v Speaker 1>that you insert humor as a leader is effective or

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<v Speaker 1>that it's building relationships and it's hurting them more, the

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<v Speaker 1>first thing you want to do is any time you

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<v Speaker 1>had an opportunity to try to be humorous, you need

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<v Speaker 1>to pull people aside after the fact and ask them

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<v Speaker 1>how it landed.

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<v Speaker 2>People who you know you can trust.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't want people who are just gonna like say, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>of course you did great.

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<v Speaker 2>You know when you.

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<v Speaker 1>When you can't really trust that they're being honest with you,

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<v Speaker 1>And you don't want to ask people who you know

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<v Speaker 1>have it out for you or who are gonna who

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<v Speaker 1>are you know, hypercritical about everything, because then you don't

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<v Speaker 1>know whether you've you've done the right thing. These have

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<v Speaker 1>to be people you have a solid enough relationship with

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<v Speaker 1>where they want to see you succeed, and they can

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<v Speaker 1>tell you whether or not how you threw something out there,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it landed correctly or didn't land correctly, or give

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<v Speaker 1>you kind of the nuance of it. That's really the

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<v Speaker 1>only way to become more effective at doing this is

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<v Speaker 1>kind of figuring out Okay, being able to see in

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<v Speaker 1>you know, back in time, connect the dots looking backward

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<v Speaker 1>and say, okay, I can see why that didn't land

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<v Speaker 1>correctly or why it landed well with this team, but

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<v Speaker 1>not this team, you know, based on whatever their history

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<v Speaker 1>with the organization is or or culturally or or anything.

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<v Speaker 1>But the more data you can get from people after

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<v Speaker 1>the fact, the more likely you are to you know,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of make better decisions going forward and kind of

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<v Speaker 1>you know, have the the empathy that it takes to

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<v Speaker 1>to see the result of something you're about to say

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<v Speaker 1>through the eyes of everybody who's about to hear.

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<v Speaker 2>It, and then and then kind of tailoring that thing accordingly.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think the highlighted point around like checking in

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<v Speaker 3>with those around you, I think is critical here. Again,

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<v Speaker 3>it's it's it's some people are naturally funny. Some people

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<v Speaker 3>can read a room some people have a an understanding

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<v Speaker 3>of social nuance and what's going on and group dynamics

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<v Speaker 3>and things like that. And then there are people that

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<v Speaker 3>may be a little bit more oblivious, maybe haven't been

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<v Speaker 3>in enough different social spaces to be able to understand

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<v Speaker 3>how things come across or how they could come across,

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<v Speaker 3>or when's a good time to inject humor and things.

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<v Speaker 3>So like, if this is something that you're listening and

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<v Speaker 3>you feel like I could probably do more here, it

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<v Speaker 3>is going to be critical that as you do it

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<v Speaker 3>or as you see it happened amongst your team, that

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<v Speaker 3>you are checking in with those that you're very conscious of,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, those in the room or those kind of

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<v Speaker 3>in the conversations.

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<v Speaker 2>You need to look at body language.

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<v Speaker 3>You need to really understand, like, you know, are you

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<v Speaker 3>making sure that you're meaning of injecting some fun into

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<v Speaker 3>a conversation or having a little bit of humor. It's

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<v Speaker 3>just about that and that if there are elements that

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<v Speaker 3>maybe making people uncomfortable or they're not used to or

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<v Speaker 3>you pick up on things, or you have people around

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<v Speaker 3>you that you can trust that we'll talk to you

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<v Speaker 3>about it, Like you definitely want to bring people in

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<v Speaker 3>if this is any part of something that you're working on,

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<v Speaker 3>because it can feel like, oh I can, I can

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<v Speaker 3>be funny, and then you take your personal humor and

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<v Speaker 3>the way that you talk to your friends and family

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<v Speaker 3>and try to do that at work, and many times

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<v Speaker 3>it does not go over well. So I definitely would say, like,

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<v Speaker 3>make sure that you're checking in with those around you,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, if this is something that you're going to

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<v Speaker 3>be doing more of.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you're spot on with that.

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<v Speaker 1>And I will say, lastly, be very careful not to

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<v Speaker 1>sacrifice something really good that you already have to try

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<v Speaker 1>to get something else that you perceive is better. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no question that leadership is about relationships. And there's

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<v Speaker 1>no question that a person who has humor and wit

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<v Speaker 1>and the ability to kind of do it on the

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<v Speaker 1>fly probably has a much easier time creating and building

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<v Speaker 1>relationships than a person who doesn't, because that's how human

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<v Speaker 1>beings are naturally wired to gravitate towards people like that.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you are not that kind of person and

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<v Speaker 1>you attempt to be, what kind of happening is a

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<v Speaker 1>situation where you a weren't successful and b you lost

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<v Speaker 1>what you did have with that person or that team,

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<v Speaker 1>which is just that they knew what to expect of you,

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<v Speaker 1>that you were authentic in your lack of humor, but

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<v Speaker 1>they could there was still that level of trust. You

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<v Speaker 1>can be a very effective leader if you are not

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<v Speaker 1>a humorous leader, you absolutely can be You can build

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<v Speaker 1>be a very effective builder of relationships if you are

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<v Speaker 1>not a humorous person. It just might take a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more time and more interaction with people to make

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<v Speaker 1>that happen. But that's better than killing the relationship or

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<v Speaker 1>the leadership as a whole by trying to be something

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<v Speaker 1>that you're not. So be very careful. There's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of nuance here. If you can give it a shot,

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<v Speaker 1>then great. You might find something within yourself that you

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<v Speaker 1>never need had and go forward with it. But that

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<v Speaker 1>feedback is critical because if it's not going the right way,

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<v Speaker 1>you could do more damage than just being happy with

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<v Speaker 1>the way things are, So keep that in mind as

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<v Speaker 1>you go forward this. Thank you all for listening today.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll see you next Thursday for our next discussion on

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<v Speaker 1>employ engagement.

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<v Speaker 2>You have a great day,