LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM STAND-UP COMEDY – PART 2
Todd Dewett, PhD
Author, Keynote Speaker, Best-selling Educator at LinkedIn Learning, Leadership Guru, 5xTEDx speaker
[I wrote a piece a few days ago focused on leadership lessons from stand-up comedy.? People really enjoyed it.? You can find it here:? https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/drdewett_learning-growth-leadership-activity-7216872250283548673-HTWa?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop .? As it turns out, I had more ideas to use than I could fit in one piece!? So, here is the second and final part of leadership lessons from stand-up comedy.? Let me share the same warning I shared last time – some of these links contain adult material so be careful!]?
I’ve been watching, reading, and thinking about comics for many years.? They are weird, brave, and often inspiring.? They also offer a few amazing lessons that should be adopted by any achievement-oriented professional.? Here are three simple ideas that are tough to process – but utterly essential for long-term success.?
Jokes are good before they are great.
Most comics’ material begins as rough ideas and notes scribbled on a piece of paper.? They choose some of these ideas to try on stage.? Many die quickly and are discarded.? Others elicit some response, are retained, and begin to morph over time into something better as the comic makes adjustments.? They might change the material by making it longer or shorter, switching a reference, adding a pause at the right time, changing the words for better effect, adding tags, etc.? For a great example, watch hilarious comic Mark Normand move from raw idea to polished joke (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-6qISjhJCaE ).? It’s a process of training and learning.? They take risks, test ideas, listen to feedback, and try again.
Professionals all do versions of this as well.? When you make decisions as a leader, if you’re smart, you are inclusive, you use trial balloons, and sometimes (can’t be too often) you adjust your decision after you’ve made it if necessary.? Just like the comics, you must focus on skill-building.? As an engineer, accountant, or a chef, you start with what you’ve got and build.? Think about how you act in meetings.? How you present.? How you coach and mentor and how you accept coaching and mentoring.? You are very often good before great.? That is the simple nature of climbing up new learning curves.? Accept your performance and figure out how to grow!? Continuous learning is not a trite worn-out phrase, it’s a way of life for pros who want to max out what’s possible.
Reinvention is unavoidable.
There are some exceptions, but most comics must change their style or approach over the course of a career.? Maybe not Jeff Foxworthy or Emo Philips, but most evolve.? They evolve as they learn and build new skills.? They evolve to better reach certain audiences while chasing success. They evolve because public tastes change.? They also evolve because they want to act less and be more authentic in their act.?
Ron White is a great example.? How he looked, the topics he used, and his style all seem different before and after he was asked to join the Blue Collar Comedy Tour.? Here’s before:? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOQHwiiI9nU .? Here’s after:? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neUaSTSKFZc .? He learned, gained confidence, and found his lane.? Or think about Larry the Cable Guy, aka Daniel Whitney.? Larry was but one character in Daniel’s act until he evolved into understanding that real success might be possible by simply being Larry full-time.? Bobcat Goldthwait acted like a crazed caveman for years (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rITk6utJvRY ) but now is far more tame, authentic, and effective (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX2NzMnIsOg ).? Some, for better or worse, chose to narrow their target market instead of trying to please everyone – some deciding to lean very left (e.g., Carlin) while others choose to lean right (e.g., Jim Brewer).?
For professionals, the parallel is obvious.? Your interests change over time.? Even if they didn’t, other things change!? Knowledge is always changing.? The knowledge and skills you possess have a shelf-life.? What got you here soon won’t be good enough for the next move.? Even if you always embraced continuous learning, that might not be good enough.? For example, it’s common for a smart hard-working professional to be tapped to lead initiatives outside of their main areas of expertise.? Now you must face a new learning curve you didn’t even expect.? Other times, you’ve done all the right things, but opportunities dry up because your employer or industry are experiencing unexpected turbulence.? Once again, it’s time to evolve, change, and adapt or your career can easily stall out.??
They won’t always laugh.
Comics very often endure a lack of audience support.? Sometimes they experience actual hostility.? Even the greats while working on new material experience audiences that don’t care.? As if it’s bad enough to watch an audience not laugh, it could be a lot worse – you could have one or more hecklers.? A heckler dislikes you so much, they feel the need to make fun of you.? This is, sadly, common.? One response is to aggressively shout them down.? In his uniquely vile way, George Carlin did this more than a few times (for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs46bIYEYRk&t=7s ).
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Or, you could just ignore them and try to move on.? This is the most common approach.? Different still, you could respond to a difficult audience response by trying something really different to surprise and win over your audience.? Oddball comedian Bobby Lee had a go-to move he once used, but it too bombed (watch 4:26 to 7:57, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfe6lSAvudU ).?
Professionals – pay attention.? They won’t always like you either! ?A boss, a colleague, a vendor, a client, the guy in the mailroom.? They won’t always like you. ?They won’t always support what you say or do.? They won’t always have your back.? They might even say things to you that feel heavy, overly critical, or mean.? That’s unavoidable.? Comics know this, accept this, try to learn from this, and then keep going.? Truthfully, many quit, but a few become great.? It’s no different for professionals who try to climb the ladder.? It will not be easy.? Success inside an organization is about learning to lead when they don’t agree.? Leading when they agree with you is much easier.? My advice is don’t fight like George and don’t get extreme like Bobby.? Absorb the difficult moment with grace to the very best of your ability and don’t enflame any negativity.? Process the situation carefully later and be willing to seek expert input.? Then, to some degree, navigating a similar future situation successfully is more likely.? How much more?? That depends on how much you can be emotionally stable and a real fan of learning – just like the comics.?
Who am I kidding – comics aren’t emotionally stable!? They are, however, great stress relief.? So, the next time things get a little too difficult at work, exit stage left and go spend a few minutes listening to or watching a comic who really makes you laugh.? Long live the comedians.?
WHAT’S UP WITH DR. D?
Honestly, I’m in summer mode!? My boys are both back in town from various travels.? My neighborhood in Houston has power again (after six nasty days without).? My granddaughter is back from her trip to Ohio, and she brought her bestie.? So, today Cheryl and I are taking the whole crew on a lake trip for the week.? There will be significant swimming and floating involved, a bit of grilling, a little boating, and many games of enhanced Uno (we use ridiculously fun special rules).? Here’s a challenge for you – put down the TV remote and your phone/socials and go play a game with the fam!?
Until next time – go learn something, maybe help someone, or at least do something interesting!
My books:? https://tinyurl.com/yvwuvmaw
Me on stage:? https://bit.ly/3EfcDSb
Book me:? https://bit.ly/3WHeRB0 ?
All links in one place:? https://linktr.ee/drdewett .
Through my LinkedIn Learning courses and workshops, I help business professionals get their point across and drive change. || Communication Educator and Coach, LinkedIn Learning Author
4 个月I agree that there is so much to be learned from stand-up. I've worked with a local comedian to create a series of training videos for clients about doing stand-up, and then we end the week of learning by having all the executives do a three minute piece at a local comedy club. Great learning on MANY levels!
Team Manager, Financial Analyst @ Financial Sector, Banks | Master's in Economics, Banking Strategy, M&A, Cross-Border Transactions, Corporate Banking, Risk Assessment Expert
4 个月Thanks for the new insights and new parallels with comedians. Comedians are emotionally unstable. People who find themselves with self-regulating trauma want emotional stability. This becomes even more obvious when it comes to Ukrainians in Europe. You live in America, and we live in Europe. However, according to the UNHCR, globally more than 6.5 million Ukrainians live abroad, of which 6.0 million are in Europe. Most people only want to learn a foreign language. Most perceive negatively learning a foreign language based on English. This is all happening in the most English-speaking country in the EU - the Netherlands. Therefore, a teacher with distorted Russian thinking about “subjective reality” is found in order to teach a new foreign language. There are Dutch volunteers for linguistic exercises, but most Ukrainians prefer to study without English. It's very hard for me!!! Almost no one studies anything professionally, i.e. up to 10% of people learn and update the necessary skills determined by their self-awareness or requested by an employer. For those who are used to working in English, there is only one straw left - LinkedIn, articles and letters from coaches, LinkedIn Learning. Thank you for your work for us!!!
Executive Presentation Coach | Speech Rehearsal & Media Interview Prep for Top Execs
4 个月Comics do a thing called "workshopping" - they try out new material in smaller venues to see how it goes, and what needs improvement. It's an excellent way to gauge where your material needs tweaks (as well as which bits need to get cut.)
Leadership Strategist & Speaker | Award-Winning Author | Transforming Leaders & Their Organizations through Actionable Strategies
4 个月This! “Absorb the difficult moment with grace to the very best of your ability and don’t enflame any negativity.”