Mark Twain once said, “A sense of humor is a sense of proportion”. He was so right. My coaching experience has taught me that top-performing teams have a hearty sense of humor. They laugh at life, and they laugh at themselves. They do not create humor at another person’s expense.
I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s. One of my favorite shows was Andy Griffith. It was all about life in a small North Carolina town called Mayberry. Everyone was part of the show. There was the barber, the teacher, the sheriff, the deputy, the local mechanic, and several other key players. At times they drove each other nuts. Somehow they always maintained their sense of humor. There were no cheap laughs.
Then came the new wave of humor. The prize would go to the person with the best put-down. I enjoyed shows like The Beverly Hillbillies, and Dick Van Dyke without realizing what was happening. Humor was beginning to have a “bite” to it.
Today, that “biting” humor seems to have grown fangs. When I watch talk shows or Saturday Night Live, humor doesn’t have the same taste as before.
A well-known commentator recently said, “The way you can tell good journalist: When they report on someone, you can’t tell whether they like the person or not.”
In our companies and businesses it is vital to have a good sense of humor flowing in a healthy way with no personal target. If we can do this, we make a contribution to a strong team.
