What comes to mind when you think of humor? Is it class clowns, mean girls, or sarcasm? Maybe it’s viral videos and practical jokes.

Whatever your answer was, I’m guessing it wasn’t the word “leadership.”

Maybe you got a poor introduction to humor as leadership as I did. I was most familiar with humor as it was misused to poke fun, alienate, and simply be mean. It was typically sarcastic and biting. It made people feel rejected, on edge, and less than.   

But humor can bring comfort. It can bring correction. We can lead people with humor.

Like I said, humor and I didn’t get along for awhile. When we met in social settings, we were at odds with each other. It was at my expense or the expense of others. It was sarcasm for sarcasm-sake. It was snark because a joke came to mind. It was feeling good about how witty and smart you are. That’s not leading through humor.

Humor can be so much more than that when used well. Professional comedian John Brennan explains it like this: “Laughter is a weapon that we use to get through the tough times.” 

Some professional comedians know the power of the gift they’ve been given. John Brennan is one of them. And Anjelah Johnson is another. Most commonly known for her fast food worker, Bon Qui Qui, Johnson knows comedy.

Following the disturbing weekend of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Johnson performed at seven sold out shows in San Francisco. On her Instagram account, she wrote: “It was such a heavy weekend with so much sadness and darkness in the air but I was so honored to be able to do my part in bringing joy through laughter.”

Some people are just funnier than others and they are able to gift our culture with laughter.  Johnson is one of them. She knows how to use it and she’s leading through it. But humor isn’t just for the funny people. Humor is a leadership technique for everyone.

Humor and leadership don’t normally go hand in hand. I get that. It’s not something that we put on LinkedIn profiles, but isn’t leadership, parenting, and discipleship more than what translates to a resume?

Leading through humor is a way to break the ice. It’s a way to lead without a heavy hand. It’s a way to point out the wrongs. It’s a gentle nudge to speak the truth in a loving, gentle way. When humor is well-used, it’s the spoon full of sugar that helps the medicine go down. 

Just like other leadership traits, with unharnessed intentions they can be used against others, instead of for them. Think about boldness and persuasiveness, they can be used selfishly or they can be powerful, empowering tools. Humor has power and we are all responsible to use it well.

Humor is a main part of your leadership style. Are you using it well? I’m inviting you to use your humor on purpose, for a purpose. Let’s use it to comfort and disarm. Let’s use it to speak truth gently. Let’s use it to lead.

Have you ever thought of humor as leadership?