Maybe, “have fun” should have been leadership behavior #1.
Given that I often get the feedback like “smile more,” “tell us how excited you are to be here” and “you look so serious” fun can be in shadow for me.
Could it be in shadow for you too?
Flavor Fatigue
Yes, leadership is serious business. In the ManKind Project leadership training series, we have a workshop called The Burden and Blessing of Leadership. Leaders carry a burden, and yet we must have the courage to step out of our felt experience to serve those we lead.
Just because we feel the burden and pressure of leadership doesn’t mean that we have to pass that onto others.
I’m reminded of a term I learned last weekend from a man whose brother is a competitive eater, flavor fatigue. It’s when you get bored with what you are eating so your body and mind want to stop. I believe there can be a similar experience created by leaders – leadership fatigue.
Leadership fatigue is when those we are leading get bored and check out because there is little variety of energetics. If we are pressing all of the time, it can become exhausting. Same is true with too much humor or jokes.
What’s the flavor of your leadership?
Is it possible that your leadership could benefit from some energetic variety?
Bring on the Fun
- Celebrate. Tap into your Sovereign archetype – the King or Queen, as described by Carl Jung to honor, bless, and celebrate those you are leading. Feedback to groups or individuals that is continuously about improvement and doing better can leave people wondering if they will ever be good enough.
- Be Social. Play! Have Fun! Dr. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play and author of the book Play, says that play is a fundamental human need that improves the well-being of groups and individuals.
- Laugh. It’s a universal human sound and a useful index of how we feel about the people we are with. And said to be the best medicine. In fact, Laughter Yoga is a worldwide movement with more than 5,000 laughter clubs around the world.
Not only is fun good for creating engagement, but it’s also good for our health.
Go Answer the Call
Matt
