Humor Within Leadership Theory

Three general stances facilitate reflexive humor : not-knowing , curious and collaborative . They provide a way for individuals to explore express , and share the views and meanings of situations that , otherwise can drive them apart . Let us examine each in turn

Not-knowing Stance

This stance involves taking the xpert position of not knowing Taking this stance encourages humor by levelling the hierarchies of position and knowledge . While hierarchies exist in all organizations emphasizing them discourages humor deemphasizing them encourages humor Reflexive humor emphasizes equal participation rather than hierarchical power , thereby bringing about

a shift from hierarchy to collaboration

Humor is characterized by content and relationship aspects . We all are aware of the content aspect of communication - the information that a message is intended to convey . The egalitarian ethic of reflexive humor eliminates the positions of hierarchy and power in the humor . A not-knowing stance conveys the message that everyone is equally qualified to generate ideas , opinions , and perspectives about a situation or a problem . This means that the manager enters into the dialogue without any preconceived notions or ideas . The not-knowing stance also encourages listeners to attend to both the outer ' humor of others as well as to their own inner ' humor . This egalitarian approach encourages each participant to contribute to the mutual exploration of ideas

Curious Stance

The curious stance simply means that one expresses one 's ideas in a funny manner . A dogmatic or assertive expression of ideas often hinders the creative process , but a comic mode of expression encourages others to take , leave , or develop ideas at will without vesting or territoriality . This climate encourages the free exchange of ideas on their own merit and without threat of penalty . Taking this stance helps to multiply varying perspectives on a problem and , naturally , leads to an evolved solution . A final...