It was a new job, loads to learn and fast. I
was constantly juggling multiple tasks and fighting deadlines; needless to say
trying to fit into the system and getting my head around the very many ‘processes’,
if you catch my drift. This was serious stuff and had no room for error. The
result, all work with no time to catch my breath, constant meetups, many MOMs, and countless tasks to follow up on.
During one such meeting, my manager concluded
a serious discussion with the punchline,
“…it’s
like making a vampire the caretaker of a blood bank…”
You may think I have a warped sense of
humour, but this cracked me up. A gale of laughter erupted, and the tension
about the whole issue dissipated. After a few giggles, we both got back to work
with relatively more ease than ever before.
Having a good sense of humour is a quality
that is always underrated, or rather, is never articulated when it comes to developing
managerial skills. No business school has ever dedicated a course or part of it
to developing a sense of humour in their curricula. For some people, there’s no
grey area when it comes to a good sense of humour; you either have it or you
don’t.
There is no universal definition for humour
either. It is culture specific; what may seem hilarious to an American may be
considered impudent in Japan. And, it is context specific. The type of jokes that
would appeal to a marketer and a financial advisor are different. The Humour Code deals with this subjectivity
of humour at length. A catch phrase would be considered funny when it’s wrong
yet okay, unsettling yet acceptable, and threatening yet safe. If this principle
in particular is ignored, there is a far greater probability for attempts at
humour to go awry or in certain cases, horribly wrong. So, is it possible for managers
to use humour in order to manage better? If so, why?
1. Trust
Applying this principle gives an impression that the
manager is not oblivious to the employee’s plight. Hence, is a very good way of
earning the team’s/subordinate’s trust.
2. Engage easily
Managers who use this strategy coupled with an
understanding of the counterpart’s psychology engage easily and are adept at
creating and maintaining transparency among the team.
3. Creates a jovial organisational
climate
Humour is essential merely because it make people laugh
and connect; workplace happiness is a very essential element in employee
satisfaction and therefore, retention.
4. Are more emotionally
intelligent
Managers who can successfully do this are deemed emotionally intelligent
which is the building block of people management.
The good news is that
a sense of humour can be developed, although it requires a little effort in
seeing things with a new perspective. A lot of books probe into
it, focussing on jokes and what kind of humour makes people laugh.
Unfortunately, they fall short in offering an insight into how these can
be employed in today’s global workplace. That will only come with a lot of
interpersonal communication, experience, and numerous failed attempts at
humour. In short, epigrammatic (peers, subordinates), highbrow (like-minded),
self-deprecating (peers), or deadpan (superiors, peers, subordinates) are all
acceptable at a workplace provided they be executed with extreme caution in
order to avoid going overboard with them. On the other hand, aggressive humour
is best left alone.