Leaders and leadership teams in organizations deal with a lot of s$#%. The easy-to-solve problems and dilemmas are not the ones that walk into their doors or make it onto their meeting agendas.
Dealing with complex, recalcitrant, even intractable issues (and people) often raises hackles, creates friction, and heightens conflict.
The best leaders I know have learned that a little humor goes a long way in those settings. Adding a little levity in tense environments often raises the level of engagement while lowering the degree of contentiousness. These skillful leaders often employ one of the strategies used by improvisational comedians which is to "never block and always roll."
"Yes, and...." is a much better starting phrase than "Yeah, but..." Likewise, "How might we..." is a better stem for problem-solving conversation than "We can't and here's why..."
IF we hope to craft impactful solutions, that is. Lighten up!
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