The interconnection of #Humour, #History, & #Leadership

Three Topics : #Humour, #History, #Leadership

On my LinkedIn profile, I’ve spotlighted three topics I’m particularly passionate about:

• Leadership
• Humor
• History

Naturally, some friends have asked, “What’s the connection?”.

Here’s how I explain:

Executive Search Consulting is a rewarding profession. You meet plenty of brilliant leaders from all over the world, learn from them, and share a laugh when things inevitably go sideways. But when the chips are down, and the team is under pressure, things can get rough. That’s when humour isn’t just helpful—it’s essential, like oxygen. The profession can be harsh for those who are starting it. For the established one, it's fun - you are either learning or earning or both.?

No matter how business is going, we’ve made laughter a daily requirement. Sure, the pandemic threw a wrench in everyone’s sense of well-being, but our team kept the spirits up with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour. And yes, sometimes our clients and candidates find themselves in the crosshairs—especially when we run into characters who seem to have taken a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook. Of course, we met a few Kamalas, too.?

Humour in the corporate world is supposed to be “politically correct.” But here’s the thing: I’ve never quite grasped what “politically correct” even means. Politics itself is incorrect everywhere.? How can there be an incorrect correction?

As a business leader, social leader, or even a political leader, you can crack great jokes, provided you are observant and good with a bit of history.?

Take Winston Churchill, who once quipped, “All babies look alike me.” It might have sounded rude.?Beneath Humor, there is always truth. ?People checked and found he wasn’t entirely wrong.

A good leader knows when to use humour to defuse tension or to drive a point home. Remember Reagan’s jokes in Russia? Even the Russians could laugh at them. But here’s the catch: to deliver a killer joke, especially in a complex situation, you need to have a solid grasp of #History.

You have to be genuinely interested in the people or audience you’re engaging with.?

Oscar Wilde sarcastically quipped, “I like men who have a future and women with a #History".?Basically, he is hinting at you to be better at ‘ History’ before cracking a joke.?

And a #Leader with a sharp sense of humour can turn the rough journey of business growth into a smooth cruise. This is why #history, #humour and #leaderhip are so tightly intertwined.

Of course, this kind of insight doesn’t happen overnight. As a civil engineer, history wasn’t exactly my bread and butter. Even in my MBA program, the closest we got to history was studying Peter Drucker.?

But curiosity got the better of me, and I started diving into history on my own.

World history, when you boil it down, is a series of wars and conflicts.?

And wouldn’t you know it, some of the best leadership—came out of World War II. Picture this: over 100,000 Americans were killed by Japan, and more than 300,000 Japanese were killed by Americans during the war. Yet, one leader, #General Douglas MacArthur, managed to wash away the bitterness and forge a lasting friendship and commerce between Japan and the USA. Isn't it awesome?

Abraham Lincoln, even during the darkest days of the Civil War, was known for his sharp wit. And in the 1980s, Ronald Reagan’s jokes are remembered as fondly as his economic policies—if not more so. #Humour has a way of outlasting #Leaders and becoming a part of #History itself.

If you find yourself disliking someone, chances are they’re deficient in both humour as well as history.?

Check it out, then crack a joke at your own expense for not liking them in the first place.

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Further extrapolation :

After I posted this Feature last week, with only the Triangle of ' Leadership - Humour - History' interconnection, I received a very good observation from a new friend Mr Omri Revach of Lisbon.

The interconnection between ' Leadership - Humour - History ' can be extrapolated to a Triangle to a ' Prism in 3D' and the Vertex becomes the ' #Consciousness' or '# Bliss'. As a Business Leader, as I learn a lot from History and ' see the Humour in the unfolding of every day and another day - I do experience this ' element called # 'Bliss', which I feel is fundamental to decision-making. Hence, the second diagram was hand-drawn by me. :-)

Thanks, Omri!