The Importance of Humor in Project Management

“Sorry I’m late. My wife and I got into an argument about laundry. I threw in the towel.”

Dead silence. Finally, someone let out a long groan, followed by collective laughter. This person is the VP of a PMO in a large, global company. We all understood he was busy and probably coming from another meeting. But, his humor broke the anxiety of wondering when he’d show up as there were key decisions we needed him to make.

We see humor on TV, Netflix specials, and social media posts by various contributors. These light-hearted antics can help calm frayed nerves or just give us a quick laugh. But, we don’t talk that much about humor in project management. Is it important?

Let me tell you, humor in project management is no laughing matter. There will be times when stress runs high, issues rear their ugly heads, tough conversations happen, and something will catch everyone off guard. I’ve found humor a powerful tool when interacting with teams and stakeholders. Here are some areas humor helps with.

“Autocorrect can go straight to he’ll!”

Creates Better Project Manager & Team Relationships, and Positive Norms. I believe humor is a leadership tool. It helps set team norms for letting others know appropriate joking and fun is acceptable. Leaders set a precedent for behavior in the office, so remember this is a workplace! Keep it clean!! Humor contributes to a more comfortable relationship between team members by allowing conversation outside of work topics and helping everyone get to know each other.

I took over a project that had its project manager publicly removed. Team stress was high as senior leadership was now watching this project closely. I met with the sponsor and tech lead, who gave me a quick rundown of the team and scope, including that development was being done with Java. At the intro meeting with the team, I asked everyone a question: “Why was the JavaScript reality show canceled after only one episode? People thought it seemed scripted.” Silence, then groans. I laughed which seemed to break the ice. I kept the meeting light and laughed a few times. Everyone knew the criticality of the project, so no need to put more stress on them. It helped our team culture and we did eventually deliver.

“We all have something in common. You don’t know what I’m going to say. Neither do I.”

Helps with Meeting Engagement. Humor can increase meeting involvement by making the atmosphere more relaxed. When people are relaxed, they’re more likely to speak up or ask questions. I’ve also found the quiet ones engage more in meetings when they can include humorous remarks. This works in most meetings, but I do limit humor when interacting with executives. A lot of them don’t have time for humor!

“When it comes to showing up at this place every day, I question my sanity. Sometimes it even responds!”

Shows Humility. Self-deprecating humor can make leaders more approachable. It shows they’re human, especially when it comes to making mistakes (which we all do). It helps team members to understand that mistakes are not disasters, promotes issue processing, and brings the problem-solving stage sooner. It can also encourage team members to adopt a more humble and forgiving mindset when each teammate’s value does not depend on their success.

“Two fish are sitting in a tank. One looks at the other and says: “Hey, do you know how to drive this thing?”

Increases the Memory of Your Presentations. Using humor in presentations, whether spoken or an image on the slides, can make your presentations more memorable. A funny or clever phrase or pic can help drive home a point or help team members or stakeholders remember a key date.

For example, I was presenting to a program leadership group about key upcoming dates and how their contributions to our team will help with success. Incidentally, one of the key dates was Friday the 13th. Every slide that referenced Friday the 13th had a cartoon pic of Jason Voorhees (if you don’t know, look him up). Everyone remembered that date, what was being delivered, and who was contributing to that date.

One Note: Keep Cultural Norms in Mind. I had a coworker from Japan who came to the U.S. for a visit. I tried to tell him a joke when we first met in person and it didn’t hit the mark. He told me in his culture, humor can be used after formal introductions and business is conducted. I also told someone from India to “Be like Nike and just do it!” when it came to giving them approval to complete a task. They didn’t complete it and after asking, I was told since I didn’t give a definitive yes or no, they weren’t sure if they were supposed to do it or not. Know your audience!

Humor can make up for several deficiencies and helps you and your team build a stronger project culture. Find ways to inject appropriate humor into interactions. Remember, know your audience! Not all people or cultures will appreciate humor, at least right away.