Catching up with Karyn

You can learn a lot about practicing humor from watching kids at play.

I was behind a mom and her 2 kids in the check-out lane and overheard her 6-year old singing away at the top of his lungs. It was a total nonsense song: John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt… I couldn’t help but laugh out loud—and then sing along with him!

Today’s Humor Challenge? Sing a silly song!

Think back to when you attended camp, or scout meetings, or church groups. Did you ever learn any silly songs? (Thought-provoking songs, like… Do your ears hang low? or Great green gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts?) Still drawing a blank? How about theme songs from sitcoms? How about Gilligan’s Island, Beverly Hillbillies, and Sponge Bob Square Pants? [If all else fails, Google 'camp songs' or 'sitcom theme songs'.]

Warning: Song may get stuck in your head (technically, that’s called an Ear Worm, but this is not a true parasite!). The antidote for an earworm? Substitute a...

Do you ever hit a point in your day where your energy lags, your shoulders tighten, and you wouldn’t recognize a good idea if it jumped up and bit you? Time to push back from your desk and have a little fun. Can’t think of something fun to do?

Today’s challenge: Create a fun list!

Make a list of at least 10 things you like to do (20 is even better!). Disclaimer: Make sure that at least half your activities cost you $5 bucks or less to do.

The rationale? Often when you’re most in need of fun, you’ll least be able to think of something fun to do. And sometimes the reason we’re feeling crabby or crappy is because cash flow is a problem—and you don’t want that to get in the way of experiencing some amusement.

I could give you a long list of things that I think are fun. But they may not be fun to you. Humor and fun are individual tastes. A participant in one of my programs listed skydiving at the top of his list. My mom was a pilot. She...

No doubt, there will come a time (chances are it has, already… and more than once!) that you’re stuck in a negative situation or with a negative person (the one whose goal in life is to be miserable, and whose mission is to bring down the rest of us with them!). When that occurs, one technique that you can practice is humor visualization.

I once worked with an administrator who had a gift for making all around her unhappy. Whenever she attended a meeting, by the time it was over, somebody was sure to leave crying. As I was walking out of one such dismal meeting, a colleague came up to me, and in a voice dripping with sarcasm asked, “What were you smiling about in there? You two collaborating on some little scheme?” When I realized she was insinuating that somehow I was fraternizing with the enemy, I was shocked. I’d found the meeting painful. How could she think I’d been smiling? And then it dawned on me…

At the low point of the meeting, I...

Shared humor is even more powerful than humor experienced by yourself. When you share humor with another person, you both get to experience the benefits!

Today’s challenge: Designate a humor buddy.

Reach out to someone who shares your sense of humor. Invite them to be part of the Humor Challenge with you. This person is someone you can laugh with, try out your humor exercises on, and can help hold you accountable.

I have a number of humor buddies that I love sharing humor with. I know when I send something their way, they’ll appreciate a chuckle and know that I was thinking of them. And when I’m in need of a boost, I can call them, email them, send them a text, give them a shout-out on social media, or get together over coffee (or other beverages of choice!) and they’ll provide the support I need in the form of something funny.

This challenge is about helping you create a humor habit so you can maximize the benefits that humor provides. You can do this by...

I’ve often wondered what holds people back from using humor. I think a lot of times it’s because people don’t want to look silly. The word “silly” comes from an Old English term that meant to be healthy, happy and prosperous. (Who wouldn’t want more of that?)

When I think of “silly” I immediately think Monty Python’s John Cleese and “The Ministry of Silly Walks.” It’s a classic. You might be surprised to know that John Cleese—one of the funniest men alive—does not consider himself to be particularly funny. In his “real life” he’s not “the life of the party.” But he has the confidence to do something silly for his own enjoyment, and the enjoyment of others.

So what do you think? Are you willing to overcome your fear of looking silly? (FYI: I've found no medically validated cases of anyone dying from embarrassment.) For some of you, this may stretch you a little...

Welcome back to today’s 30-Day Humor Challenge. Humor is abundant if you look for it. One of the places I go to for humor is my library. I love books, and I have a huge collection of authors who are funny and insightful. Books by comedians are an obvious choice, like Ellen DeGeneres (My Point, And I Do Have One), Dennis Miller (Rants), or George Carlin (Brain Droppings).

There’s also humor from modern-day philosophers like Robert Fulghum in his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, or how about a little sci-fi humor with books like All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Star Trek or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Maybe you prefer something a little more classic like tales from Mark Twain (that other humorist from my hometown—Hannibal Missouri!).

I enjoy books from funny gal pals like Loretta LaRoche (Life is Not a Stress Rehearsal), Gina Barreca (It’s Not That I’m Bitter) and Mary LoVerde (Stop Screaming at the...

I speak to thousands of people every year about the power of humor. Nearly everybody “gets it,” and they all appreciate humor. But when I suggest that they consciously bring more humor into their lives, some of them resist, saying “But I’m not funny!”

To which I say: “GREAT!”

Here’s the good news. To enjoy humor, you don’t have to be funny! Some of the happiest and most successful people I know aren’t funny, but they recognize its value. They’re not humor initiators but they ARE humor appreciators!

So let’s kick off the challenge with something easy and start by examining your sense of humor. What makes you laugh? Do you enjoy deadpan humor like Steven Wright’s? Or do you like redneck humor like Jeff Foxworthy’s? Maybe you’re a fan of slapstick like The Three Stooges. (Knuuck, knuuck, knuuck…) Maybe you’re a fan of satirical humor like Sarah Silverman. And what are your favorite...

Humor is a valuable leadership tool because it opens up the avenues of communication between you and your employees, as well as between you and your customers.

When you've demonstrated that you're someone who appreciates humor and that it's acceptable to laugh with you, you're also showing others that you can be approached with other types of messages. People will feel freer sharing challenges and even bad news with you.

This doesn't really sound like a good thing, does it? If leading with laughter results in an increase of people having frank, direct conversations with you about less than wonderful news, some of you are saying, sign me up for Club Super Serious. Who wants to open the floodgates to every complaint and concern?

Good leaders do. Conventional wisdom may say ignorance is bliss, but conventional wisdom has never been blindsided by the fact they have a toxic employee who's actions are going to inevitably lead to expensive, reputation-ruining litigation; conventional...

Dr. Bob Dent is the Dean of Health Services for Midland College, as well as the VP of Patient Care and Chief Nursing Officer for Midland Memorial Hospital, which is located in Midland, Texas. He’s one of those impressive individuals who has more characters in the abbreviations of his professional accomplishments than most of us have in our actual name!

But his accomplishments aren’t just a result of his education, or his certifications. Dr. Dent’s caring, compassion, and charisma exude through his easy-going style and sense of humor. I’ve had the privilege of watching Dr. Dent during a visit to Midland Memorial and seen first-hand his mastery of leading with levity: setting the tone for fun while at the same time setting high expectations of his staff.

The result? They’ve achieved ANCC's Pathway to Excellence—twice! They are enthusiastic about their path on the ANCC Magnet Journey. Patient satisfaction scores are high and continue to climb, and...

Jacqueline Ko Matthews is the founder and CEO of PJMint, a digital wealth management firm that delivers better, safer and cheaper comprehensive, advanced quantitative wealth management strategies online to everyday investors. She was the right-arm Investment Executive to former Virginia Governor/current U.S. Senator Mark Warner in his $200m family investment office and played a critical role in establishing the Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Hong Kong office focusing on China, Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets. She worked under then Co-Chairman Robert Rubin who later became U.S. Treasury Secretary.

We’re thrilled to have her insights on Leading with Levity to share with you.

Here are the highlights from our conversation:

Listen to Your Team

“There are leaders who only want people to listen to them. A better approach is to do more listening. Make decisions based on the input of your team members. Solicit multiple viewpoints and have them present you with the pros and...