Thin line difference … Tight rope walk… This is how Humor can be a “Skillful yet tricky” component in your Leadership toolkit.
Women as Leaders are less to be seen.
Women Leaders who aim to retain “Humor in their Style” are the least to be found.
From childhood, women are conditioned to be calm, quiet, remain unnoticed, soft, etc. We are reminded very often with phrases like “You laughed really loud now”, “Your voice is audible outside the room!”, “Your joke there could have been avoided” etc.
Owing to conditioning that the brain undergoes getting tuned to being “in-line” with the “frequency” that matches the time-defined-image of “Being a woman” and the time-evolved-image of “Being a woman in leadership” behaving like this becomes natural to all of us.
I am a strong advocate of “Humor – the game changer for women”.
Let me share a small snippet, where I had to present on a “Cost cutting plan & approach”. A topic that is never welcome! When, I walked into a room of silence & seriousness I could sense “heavy air” in the board room. So before launching the presentation I asked casually, “Are we cutting down on our smiles as well or is it applicable on our operational cost only?”. Immediately, that lightened the air & everyone started laughing. I knew that my plan & approach were both sold.
Let’s look at the “How” & “Why” of HQ ; Humor quotient.
Know-how of the how of Humor – Genuine, Natural & Kind. Always ensure your humor is genuine & truthful. Leadership is not a “Stand-up” for you to weave stories because you want humor. Narrate “YOUR” stories. Add funny statements related to tough situations that you have handled. Portray your hardships in the “light” of “light things” as much as possible. Leveraging humor naturally without damaging or hurting people, emotions or values is crucial.
2 funny tips :
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Don’t be party to humor that is dark; unless you like “color”.
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Rumor is not Humor; unless you are a “gossip monger”
The High in the why of Humor – Effective, Communicative & Supportive. Humor is sweet medicine. Bitter messages can be conveyed effectively & assertively with a fun element. Strong messages can be sugar-coated. Laughter will engage your audience & team. Adding punchlines can guarantee message retention & quick recall especially when it needs to be cascaded. Rapport building is a sure shot when humor is your ally. This will help you gain peer confidence & subordinate support.
2 funny tips:
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Overdose can be fatal; unless you are an addict.
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Allow time for it to take “effect”; unless it is direct.
People will love you for what you are and who you are. Big shout out to all those women leaders who have a funny bone.
About the Author
My name is Vidhya Prabhu, Associate Director at Kyndryl. It is the world's largest provider of IT infrastructure services serving thousands of enterprise customers across 60 countries.?In my capacity as Associate Director I handle a 4-fold dynamic role of Global delivery of Cloud technology, University relations, Transformation & Diversity & Inclusion. This is a multi-faceted role that I have been able to build & blend in my journey of 22+ years of work experience. I have used “Humor” to tackle rough situations & win tough situations in the past 2 decades.