Humor Minus Credibility Equals Doofus: 12 Back to Basics
Leadership Principles Anyone Can Follow
>From the book Humor Minus Credibility Equals Doofus at
http://www.leadingonedge.com/doofus_one_pager.htm
Ed was just appointed team leader in a public works organization
of the federal government. In preparing for his first meeting
with his new team, Ed thought long and hard about some of his
prior managers' leadership styles. One characteristic that he
particularly admired in several of his managers was the ability
to connect with the team through humor. He decided on a strategy
that would help the team accept him as a leader--he would show
his human side and use humor to connect with them.
Ed had his first meeting with the team and was very satisfied
with the results. The team seemed to really like him. The
meeting was filled with laughter and both the team and Ed seemed
to really be enjoying themselves. Ed was very happy and believed
things were getting off to a great start.
With each passing meeting, though, there seemed to be a growing
concern among the team. While Ed seemed to connect with the
team, he didn't see the cooperation on getting things done as he
had hoped. There were also a couple of team members who asked
for permission to interview for positions outside of the group.
Ed was growing concerned over the trend and asked Betty, one of
the team members, what she thought was the problem. Betty's
counsel hit Ed right between the eyes: "Ed, you're a great guy
and people really like you, but I just don't know if you've got
what it takes to lead this group. We're kind of feeling like you
may not have the skills needed to lead us, which is creating a
lot of concern among the team." While Ed's focus on using humor
to connect with the team is great, he didn't take the time to
establish the necessary credibility with the team.
Any one of us can think about an influential figure we've had in
our lives, whether a parent, boss, or religious leader, who used
humor to build camaraderie and inspire people. Leaders who have
a sense of humor motivate those around him to want to
participate in the journey. The problem arises, though, when a
leader tries to connect with a team of people prior to
establishing himself as worthy of being followed. If a leader
fails to establish his worthiness by gaining credibility with
the team, the team may only stick with the leader when things
are going well and there are no problems on the horizon. The
moment that problems start cropping up, team members will be
more apt to defect because they won't have faith in the leader
to navigate the storm. Credibility breeds acceptance, humor
fosters inspiration.
So why is the failure to establish credibility such a massive
issue? Here are the biggies:
Team members need to trust that the leader can get from origin
to destination - Being a leader means knowing the plan and
leading the team down the field. The leader not only needs to
know the plan and how to execute, she needs to communicate the
plan to the team and ensure the team understands and believes in
the plan.
Team members need to feel secure that the leader will navigate
well through stormy issues - Think of an airline flight you've
been on where some unexpected turbulence hit. While the plane is
rockin' and rollin,' the pilot speaks to the passengers with
incredible calmness and control. His job is to make you feel
that things are well in hand. Imagine if turbulence hit and you
heard the pilot scream "HHHEEELLLPPP!!!" I'd be heading for the
exits. Having credibility with the team gives the team greater
security that the leader will get them through sticky issues.
Use of humor by a credibility-starved leader will exacerbate the
credibility issue - When leaders continually use humor as a
means to connect with a team without establishing credibility
up-front, the use of humor itself becomes a credibility
inhibitor. Teams will tend to see the use of humor as the leader
trying to "cover up" the fact that he may not know what he is
doing. Thus, each time the credibility-starved leader cracks a
joke, he is actually reinforcing this lack of credibility issue
with the team. Rather than seizing the opportunity to gain
credibility, the leader uses it to brush up on his lounge act.
Appropriate use of humor is a great means to inspire a team to
perform, so long as the credibility has already been
established. Use the following tips to help you get over the
credibility hump:
Start with listening - Gaining credibility doesn't mean you have
all the answers before you understand the questions. In fact,
not taking the time to listen can actually hurt your credibility
campaign and brand you as arrogant (we'll talk more about this
in lesson #2). Demonstrating a clear understanding of team
concerns and issues is a great credibility builder in that the
team learns to trust you as a leader.
Use humor sparingly up front - The team first and foremost wants
to know why they should be following you. Use those initial
opportunities with the team to connect through understanding the
issues they are facing and gaining an understanding of the most
important things for you as a leader to focus on. As you build
the credibility, feel free to introduce more humor to move the
team from accepting you to being inspired to follow you.
Don't be so gun-shy of using humor that you are viewed as a
stick-in-the-mud - Being cautious about using humor shouldn't
give you a reputation as stern, mean, or stoic. By all means, be
pleasant, approachable, and engaged in your interaction. The
team will find it easier to talk to you and will get a more
comfortable feeling that you understand their problems.
Use a bit of self-deprecating humor - I use this technique a lot
particularly when I am doing presentations. I will frequently
tell of a situation where I did something really foolish or
where I publicly embarrassed myself in front of a group of
people. This demonstrates that you're secure enough with your
own abilities to share them with other people. It also shows
that you are able to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too
seriously. One note of caution here: don't be self-deprecating
to a point that the team sees you as having a self-esteem issue.
Avoid humor which tarnishes the credibility of others - Using
humor which trashes other people or competitors creates problems
in a couple of ways for you as a leader. The first has to do
with the trustworthiness of the leader. While team members may
see destructive jokes as funny, they can develop a viewpoint of
"so what does this person say about me when I'm not in the
room?" The second has to do with the questionability of your
motivations. When you trash talk others for a laugh, you can be
viewed as attempting to build your credibility at the expense of
someone else through your own insight and wit. For credibility
to be well entrenched in the team it needs to be absolute, not
relative. Otherwise, you're only demonstrating that you are
worthy to lead a team until someone better or smarter comes
along. Not a good foundation to establish credibility.
Look, none of us wants to follow a leader with all the
personality of cottage cheese. Having a leader who is able to
share an occasional joke and laugh with a team is huge in moving
a team from acceptance to inspiration. Just ensure that you as a
leader take the first step to establish credibility with the
team and garner their trust in you before you get too liberal
with the funny stuff.
Get all 12 Back to Basics Leadership Principles Anyone Can
Follow at http://www.leadingonedge.com/doofus_one_pager.htm