Leadership, Learning & Laughter

Think about your all-time favorite boss. The one with great leadership skills, from whom you learned the most and accomplished more than ever you thought you could. I’ll bet they made you laugh. Mine did. I was recently reminded how very important laughter is when learning something new.

Last weekend I participated in a 3 day riding clinic with a well-known instructor in the riding world, Karen Scholl. Being a relatively new rider with a very curious, head-strong horse, Charger, I am always very nervous about these clinics. I must admit that the last clinic left me in tears thinking I was a terrible owner and would never be able to comfortably ride any horse, especially Charger. I probably ought to just give up and sell him. I’m very glad now that I didn’t. This was my 5th clinic, each with a different instructor. Every instructor had had decades of experience both riding and teaching and I always learned something new that both Charger and I benefit ted from. But this one was different…special.

What made it different? Why did I leave this clinic filled with confidence? Why did I absorb more from Karen than all the other very knowledgeable instructors? Because she was funnier than all get out! She made me laugh at myself and Charger like I never had before. The moment I began laughing at myself I gained observational distance and a new perspective. In this case, Karen showed me what I was doing from Charger’s perspective…and it was hysterical! She reminded us all that, as with everything, “awareness is the first step toward change”.
Karen had a personal story to go with every new learning. She wasn’t afraid to tell us about how “green” she had once been and how she had learned much of what she knew the hard way. It was all so refreshing. I was not alone! She had once been just like me and if she could do it, so could I!

On the way home I was thinking of the all fun we’d had. How this time there were tears when she left for a whole different reason. “She’d won a place in our hearts” and we hated to see her go. I thought about Karen’s style and saw where the participants in my own trainings would really benefit from a little more levity and personal story telling. What about you? Are you taking yourself too seriously and putting undo pressure yourself and on your team? During these uncertain times, wouldn’t a little laughter go a long way? Do you have a personal experience that demonstrates a point you need to make? Here’s a hint: the best ones are the ones that are life-threatening or really embarrassing!