Hot Topic Friday: May 22

Happy Friday! Here are my May 22 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: How Funny Business is Good Business.

What It’s About: Humor is a wonderful thing. We all love hanging with people who make us laugh. Joel Stein shares a perspective that humor is also very good for business, and leadership. Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Jennifer Aaker and lecturer Naomi Bagdonas, who co-teach a course on the subject of humor, reference research that shows people “fall off a ‘humor cliff’ — both in laugh frequency and self-perceptions of funniness — around the time they enter the workforce. This is a trend that Aaker and Bagdonas would like to see reversed, since humor is an effective and underleveraged tool for power, offering a competitive advantage against peers, higher retention rates of employees, innovative solutions, and teams that are more resilient to stress.”

So What?: I love this story: “During a visit to Aaker and Bagdonas’s class, Hiroki Asai, former head of marketing communications at Apple, told the story of how he challenged himself to make all 1,000 employees laugh during every all-hands meeting. Once, he purposely showed up late to a meeting and then had a colleague play footage of him asking the beloved cleaning woman for advice on how to run the company. At the end of the video, she slapped him in the face and told him to get a grip; she became the hero of the group and Asai’s foil in many videos to come.” Humor creates self-vulnerability and boosts morale.

Now What?: However serious the situation might be, think about punching it up with a little laugh. Some suggestions:

- Try not to punch down/minimize or hurt anyone with your humor.

- If you’re the boss or a person of high status, focus on punching yourself. Self-deprecation makes a lot of people laugh. (Story above).

- Be authentic. If you’re not a good joke teller, don’t try too hard. Unleash people who are, and legitimize them as humor ambassadors.

- See the humor in everyday life. We all need it.

One Millennial Response: I assume work environments with laughter earn the most value and have the most positive impact, no matter what industry. (Ask any health care workers, cops, fire or military members about their particular brands of humor. Macabre-with-a-dash-of-hilarious seems to be their specialty). Success seems to elicit laughter. Humor is completely subjective, however a lack of laughing at anything must be poisonous.

Hot Topic 2: Should Leaders Be More Vulnerable Now?

Source: HBR; Cohn and Rangan.

What It’s About: Learning how to lead in a time of uncertainty is vital for effective succession. The authors note: “The incumbent CEO can help rising stars get to the next level by transparently sharing stories of leading amid uncertainty —both successes and failures. After sharing with the group, the CEO should ask all rising stars how they would have handled the same, tricky situations, and how they would have likely felt. These conversations should be transparent and direct. Listening with empathy, asking follow-up questions, encouraging a group discussion about techniques for self-control, and showing genuine interest in the answers helps the CEO create a psychologically safe space. Rising stars soon realize their anxieties and concerns won’t be judged by anyone, as long as they’re active participants. Over time these CEO prospects develop more situational awareness, a broader perspective, and increased self-control.”

So What?: We could use more effective leadership now. Many current C-Suite leaders need to change their ways from the outdated, command and control, ego-driven pretense of omniscient leadership. It may play in certain political theaters, but it’s not what the corporate world needs. Read the full article, but the bullet points are:

- Embrace vulnerability.

- Embrace risk.

- Let go.

Now what?: If you can't model or coach this in your senior position, please get out of the way and resign. If you’re an emerging leader, PRACTICE these behaviors now. Your time will come and you will be ready! Remember great (not perfect) leadership is a practice.

One Millennial Response: It seems to be well known that transparency is appreciated, respected (and I guess even celebrated) in very successful organizations. You can see how vulnerability works, and doesn’t cost C-Suite reputations. I think most leaders are at least aware. However, I suppose if you don’t walk the talk and you’re still stuck in an old routine, the most truly transparent thing will be that you don’t know how to adapt.

My Weekly Wine Recommendation.

Decoy Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

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[Ed Note: Find it at your local wine shops.]

And finally! Here’s Cecil’s Bleat of the Week!

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“#EconomicDignity- not GDP- must be our North Star. It must ensure the capacity to 1) care for family & be there for its most precious moments; 2) pursue potential & purpose; 3) work free from domination & humiliation.” - Gene Sperling.

Bye for now!

— Lorne Rubis

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Happy Friday! Here are my May 22 Hot Topics and how they relate to advancing culture or leadership.

Hot Topic 1: How Funny Business is Good Business.

Hot Topic 2: Should Leaders Be More Vulnerable Now?

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