Jim Michmerhuizen writes....
>>>>
Come to think of it, I've been in at least one situation where humor was a
constant presence -- but as a mask for lack of vision. And it was good
humor, not bitter or black. It represented a kind of polar opposite to
the example we're thinking of here: the group "couldn't get serious" about
itself. <<<<
About 15 years ago I discovered my mind works in a way that new creations
are constant, easy to come by and easy to make a reality. This is why I am
intrigued with the Learning Organization. What I have wanted to find out
was "How can I get teams of people to be like this"?
One way I have found is to constantly use light humor in the work place.
It keeps people relaxed and creates a starting point for human relations.
I also use it with others when I am participating in a team creation on
demand (which occurs infrequently). Last year four of us were asked to
create a unique National Quality Month calendar for our company. We knew
each other well having worked together on teams.
We had 1 1/2 hours in the company of a creative arts person who would take
our concept and polish it up. We got hung up at the end of 30 minutes. It
felt like we were trying too hard. I started joking and teasing the
others. After 5 minutes of absurd plays on words, we were on our way to
creating an award winning calendar. This is probably the 10 time in the
last 5 years of being a part of or facilitating a group needing creativity
on demand. I have used humor a few times when people get tense. It seems
to work to get them out of the box - really. I have felt it was the
playfulness that made it work.
In the past, I used humor all of the time and found that some people do
not like it during creativity sessions. I have been getting better at
understanding when humor will be accepted and when it will upset other
people.
The discovery I made 15 years ago was that if I let my mind play, make odd
associations, be like a kid again, I could create practical new ideas on
demand (unless sleepy). An example of the playfulness: Why don't we find
vanilla topping for chocolate ice cream as common as we find chocolate
topping on vanilla ice cream? Some day during a creativity exercise I will
silently say this to myself, laugh silently, and new ideas will start
popping into my head.
-- Dave Buffenbarger Organizational Improvement Coach Dow Chemical Company (517) 638-7080 dwbuff@aol.com