Page 92 - Appreciative Leadership

The Art of Illumination 65

Humor: The Other Vital Sign
Humor and wit have long been recognized as a way to bring out the best
of people and relieve stress. According to the research of Professor Chris
Robert and doctoral student Wan Yan, humor has a broad positive impact

on people and the workplace. They have written, “The use of humor,
and the ability to produce and make humor, is associated with intelli-
gence and creativity, two things highly valued in workplaces. … Humor
has a meaningful impact on cohesiveness in the workplace and com-
munication quality among workers. The ability to appreciate humor …

to laugh and make other people laugh actually, has physiological eff ects
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on the body that cause people to become more bonded.”
The people we interviewed shared stories of times when humor

made a difficult situation seem less worrisome, when it helped turn
a tense situation into a hopeful one, or when it just made work more
fun. One person told us about a time when the mere sound of laughter

from the boardroom had a pivotal effect on morale:

I worked at a company that was being bought out, and we were
all very nervous. During this time our CEO would go into
meetings with the other company executives to make decisions
about the future of the company and our jobs. From outside the
boardroom door we could hear him laughing. Even though he
had the weight of the entire business on his shoulders, he was
able to laugh. People heard his laughter and sighed in relief. We
felt it would all be okay.

Without knowing it, this CEO’s ability to laugh in a tense situa-
tion brought a level of calm to people with whom he worked. When a
person in charge or someone with authority exhibits humor, it holds
special significance. People often gauge a situation by how leaders

respond. Leadership reactions can escalate diffi culties or diff use them.