teamwork

Carnival of HR: Humor at Work Edition

By on August 4, 2010 in What I Learned From

If you’re correctly applying humor at work, one of the groups you’ll be talking to is HR.   Not because they’ll be scolding you for taking a break at 3pm to run down a Slip N Slide in the company’s front lawn, but because they’ll be yearning to learn more about the amazing benefits of humor.

carnival of hr

With that in mind, I have the pleasure of hosting this week’s Carnival of HR–a gathering of awesome HR-related posts from around the web.  Check out the below links for topics ranging from leadership to teambuilding to chickens (sorta).  And be sure to follow these folks on Twitter or RSS–they have some amazing blogs and are just the kind of people you’ll need to know when you have to explain to HR why pulling an office prank on your CEO is totally a good idea.

That’s it for this week’s edition of the Carnival of HR.  Round of applause for the authors, well done.

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Team-Building Through 3 Pictures

By on June 26, 2009 in How-To Humor

Of the countless team-building exercises that can help improve the dynamics of your team, one of my favorites involves each team member sharing personal pictures with the group.  The exercise is great in almost any setting, but is especially well-suited for teams who only meet virtually or are just starting out.

The set-up of the activity is simple: ask each member of the team to provide 3 photos that represent who they are.  Then when sharing the photos, the person can describe a little about themselves and also answer any questions people might have.

I’ve found that giving a little bit of direction can help here, and usually suggest people bring in the following:

1. A Picture of You as a Kid.

These pictures are almost always hilarious and can also provide a lot of information about the person’s history.  Plus it serves as a reminder to each of us of where we came from.

My picture below is from during my short-lived stint as a child-model.  Modeling never worked out, but I have always loved Osh Kosh B’Gosh and something about the picture just seems to encapsulate who I am.

kidmodel

2. A Current Picture with Friends and/or Family

Many times, our friends and family define who we are as a person.  A picture of them is a way of sharing that personal side of us, as well gives others an insight into what relationships we value most.

The picture with my brothers comes from last Christmas and shows our sense of humor and love for our mom.  The color of my sweater also happens to be my favorite color.

family-pic

3. A Picture of You Doing Something You Love

When we first meet another person at work, the tendency is to ask generic questions related to their work: what do you do? how long have you done it? how much do you make? (OK, maybe not the last one.)  But asking about what the person loves to do not only strengthens the relationship, but is also so much more interesting.  I’ve been amazed with what some of my co-workers do outside of the workplace.

This picture of me comes from a stand-up show in the middle of a particulary embarassing story.  I love performing and making people laugh, even if it’s at my own expense, and the picture is a great way to show one of my biggest passions.

57406207-M

What Are Your 3 Pictures?

The possibilities for the pictures is endless, as well as the discussions that will take place after.  But in just three pictures, you are able to get a strong understanding of each of your team members.  The pictures are not only more interesting than someone just talking, but they also serve as a springboard for discussion, both during the presentation and afterwards.

I don’t know about you, but I feel more appreciated and included when people ask about more than just my work.  If you ask me how my comedy is going, or about my mom, I’ll know that I mean more to you than just another co-worker or employee, and isn’t that what team-building exercises are all about?

So the next time you’re kicking off a new team, or you just need a great team-building game, ask everyone, “What are your 3 pictures?”

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Collaborating Through Yes And

By on June 2, 2009 in Learn with Humor
photo by teaksato

photo by teaksato

Two words is all it takes to improve your team’s ability to work, think, and create together. Taken from the world of improv, they are the foundation to collaboration, cooperation, creativity and other words that start with the letter ‘c.’  What two words are they?  Yes And.

The Power of Yes And

The number one rule in improvisation, Yes And is a short phrase improvisers around the world embrace and use every time they take the stage.  It is about the acceptance and building of an idea, situation or action.

When you first start learning the art and science (it is both) of improvisation, the Yes And rule is very literal. One of the first games new improvisers learn is called Yes And. The game teaches the fundamental skills of listening and accepting (“Yes”) and building or contributing (“And”) by requiring every sentence in a simple scene to start with a player saying “Yes,” repeating what they just heard, and then adding new information.  One example scene might go:

A: “OK Thomas, let’s get started with today’s meeting.”
B: “YES, let’s get started with today’s meeting, AND we’ll brainstorm some new ideas.”
A: “YES, we’ll brainstorm some new ideas, AND come up with the next million-dollar product.”
B: “YES, we are going to come up with the next million-dollar idea, AND it will cure cancer, reverse balding, and improve the taste of broccoli.”

Now there’s nothing particularly amazing about this scene, but the fundamentals are there to take us into a wonderful world free of cancer, balding, and bad tasting broccoli.  By forcing the players to repeatedly say these words, they are reiterating, “YES I heard what you said and accept that you offered it, AND here’s how I’m going to build on that.”

Collaboration through Yes And

Yes And inspires teamwork and collaboration. Knowing you will not only have to understand what the other person is saying (though not necessarily agree with it), but also build on it, shifts our goal from “Here’s my idea” aka “Me me me” to “Here’s our idea” aka “We we we” (all the way home).

In business, this translates into a willingness to accept that something has been offered–a proposal, a corporate mandate, a budget cut. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with it, just that you acknowledge AND build on it, where “building” could include offering a new proposal (you are accepting that there is a perceived problem or opportunity and building on that by offering an alternative solution).

What Yes And Is Not

At first glance, Yes And seems to be synonymous with blind optimism, suggesting “everything happens for a reason,” and that there is this zen-like hippie idealism that everything is positive. This type of mentality would not bode well for any business–crises do occur, projects do fail, companies do lose money.

These events are hardly “for the best,” and that’s not what Yes And is suggesting. Rather, Yes And is about accepting a given situation and figuring out how you can build from it.  Said differently, Yes And is similar to the idea expressed by James K. Feibleman: “That some good can be derived from every event is a better proposition than that everything happens for the best, which it assuredly does not.”

Yes And for Success

The theory of Yes And is quite powerful–but, at the end of the day, theory doesn’t sell product. The true benefit from the Yes And mentality isn’t realized until it is internalized. When Yes And becomes a part of how you behave, the effects are profound. When an individual, or even better, a team, understands this principle, negating is replaced by building, complaining turns into taking action, and wishful thinking becomes getting things done. There’s no challenge a team can’t handle when they agree to work and build together.

So how does one go about internalizing this mentality? The short answer is to incorporate it into how you think and behave. Improv workshops can augment this process, as can talking the concept with others. Consciously applying this mentality in key business applications can lead to incredible results.

No matter what situation you find yourself in, becoming frustrated and giving up will never lead to the best results. It is in these moments that Yes And proves its worth. Instead of growing frustrated due to lack of funding, or angry over mounting issues, you can accept the circumstances and figure out how you can build from where you are. Ask any manager, this type of attitude will surely lead to success.

So what are you waiting for? Start Yes Anding today by leaving a comment with your thoughts on these two powerful words.

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How to Take Advantage of Microblogging

By on February 10, 2009 in Learn with Humor

Over the past couple of weeks, a tool/service called Yammer has been picking up traction where I work.  Yammer is basically a corporate version of Twitter–it allows for “walled” microblogging or, to put it more simply, the ability to post short notes that only people with your company’s email address can see.

(Side Note: If you’re wondering, yes you can follow me on Twitter.)

Whether you use Twitter or Yammer, Microblogging has a number of benefits, perhaps the most beneficial is ambient awareness, and is just one way for friends or employees to stay connected.  It’s also become a great way for people to get instant answer to questions that might not be available elsewhere in the company or through as quick of means (e.g. “Has anyone else figured out how to apply multiple categories in Outlook 2007?”).

Here are a few ways to fully leverage the power of Microblogging via Twitter, or internally at work, Yammer:

How to Take Advantage of Microblogging

1. Post Short Entires That Don’t Justify a Full Blog Entry.

This is what made Twitter popular at first.  As a blogger, sometimes I have short ideas that don’t require a 300+ word entry, and aren’t fully formed like (most of) these posts are.  In fact, I’ve started “yammering” short jokes at work as a way to lighten the mood (and satisfy my need for puns).

2. Follow a Specific Person or Subject

Following a specific person is a great way to stay up-to-date with what they are doing.  My friends follow me on my personal account and can get a sense of what I’m doing from day-to-day.  You can also follow a company, suggest as CNN, to see late-breaking news.

One of the cool features of Yammer, and kind-of available in Twitter, is the ability to tag a post (simply by adding a #).  Anyone can make a post and tag it, and then as a reader you can choose to follow that tag.  For example, the various jokes I post, I tag as humor (by adding “#humor” at the end of it).  You can then choose to follow the #humor tag, and then whenever I, or someone else, post something with that tag, you’ll get it.

3. Get Updates on a Project.

Imagine you’re working together with someone on project.  It would be helpful to know when they’ve completed parts of the project, or when they need help.  If you’re both on Twitter or Yammer, and following each other, you can make simple posts to update your progress.

Why wouldn’t you just use Instant Messaging?  Well imagine, now, instead of 2 people working together on a project or common goal, it’s 50 people.  Instant Messaging isn’t much help–but Microblogging becomes even more powerful.

4. Get Help on a Problem.

Probably the most prevalent use of Yammer at work is someone asking a question and getting (nearly immediate) responses.  It’s like Yahoo! Answers on steroids.  You ask a question, and then people following you can provide their perspective or point you in the right direction.

Getting Started with Microblogging

Obviously none of the above ideas would be feasible if the system weren’t easy to use.  Luckily both Twitter and Yammer allow for a number of ways to make and follow updates.  You can use email, text message, a web page, or download an application for desktop or Blackberry.

I personally prefer the desktop app that sits in my tray and lets me know of any updates.  Whenever I come up with a joke, I can this just open it up, type it in, and hit enter, and magically all the people following me are then delivered the wonderful gift of a laugh (or a “wow, what’s wrong with him?”).

But rather than describe the different ways to get started here, just head to the home pages for Twitter and Yammer, check the FAQs, and start tweeting or yammering away.

(And don’t forget, you can follow all the fun at Humor That Works on Twitter.)

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Building Teams and Relationships with Humor

January 6, 2009

Note: This is part 2 of a 5 part series detailing why it’s important to have humor in the workplace.  This post discusses humor’s ability to improve relationships with your direct reports, peers, and managers, aid team and trust building, and improve your overall satisfaction at work. It’s well understood by psychologists that when people share [...]

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