Leadership lessons from pop culture
The BIG Takeaway™
newsletter
Sept. 26, 2022

This week's BIG Takeaway:
Not taking yourself too seriously can help increase psychological safety in your organization
Video: YouTube
Laughter and its secret "Powers"
Eli Manning's lesson to all organizations

The context: Former New York Football Giants quarterback Eli Manning posed as a walk-on at Penn State last week.

  • Manning went undercover - that's him above - with a wig, fake 'stache and makeup.

  • He pretended to be named Chad Powers and no one except the head coach was in on the gag.

  • Watch the clip (go to 1:38 if you want to skip the setup). "Chad gotta run. Chad run fast."
​What we can learn: Being able to laugh at yourself can lead to a more psychologically safe work environment.
​​
  • Studies have shown that "regardless of whether people actually thought a leader was funny, self-deprecating jokes would be seen as an expression of a leader’s values and concern for others."

  • Let's be clear, laughing at yourself is not the same at laughing at others. Michael Scott in "The Office" isn't what we're after here.

  • This example highlights one of the six pillars of our SAFETY™ model, Social Learning Theory, i.e. people learn by watching other people. 

    People see Manning - a role model and leader - laughing at himself; they then learn it is OK and beneficial to do so.

My take: To quote Leonard Nimoy in his "Simpsons" cameo, "The world needs laughter."

  • ​​Being able to laugh at yourself and your mistakes helps people see that you, just like everyone else, are human.

  • It doesn't have to be an elaborate skit or something from SNL; it just needs to express sincerity and authenticity that it's OK to laugh.

  • As always, the leader sets the tone. Appropriate self-deprecating humor can be a big level for creating a safe culture.
The BIG Takeaway:
Not taking yourself too seriously can help increase psychological safety in your organization
What you can do to become a stronger leader NOW
👉​Things you can do on your own
  • ​What will you do TODAY to add some self-deprecating humor about a mistake you made or something that happened?
📢​ Things you can do with others:
  • Work with your team or other colleagues to dig deeper into our topics using our simple conversation prompts. Instead of a book club I like to think of this as our "movie-or-TV club." ​

    This week's prompts:
    1.  What do we agree with and disagree with from the study cited in the  newsletter?
    2. As leaders, how can we add some self-deprecating humor to our workplace?
Did you know we can design and deliver FREE custom classes or programs based on topics we write about?

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That's all for now

But wait! Here's something NEW: Read our weird news story of the week.  
  • “Every time the notification goes off, she’ll look toward the door. She knows what she’s doing,” Whitley said.
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​Thanks for reading and please remember:
  • We archive our stories and put them here for the world to read so feel free to have a look.
  • If you have any ideas or feedback Contact me with your thoughts.
Rich Trombetta
​@trombettarich

Please share this and tell your friends and colleagues!
Our why:
We believe EVERYONE has something to offer. It's is just a matter of making it EASY to create the environment for them to do so.


Our vision:
Companies will make the effort to keep people psychologically safe at work as they do to keep them physically safe on the job. 
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