I stumbled upon a tweet by the Mother Nature Network on laughter. It contained a link to an article on the results of a study by Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist at University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. AND, get this, Dr. Scott is a part-time, stand-up comedian.
Dr. Scott concluded from her study people don’t just laugh at things they think are funny. People also laugh to show positive feelings of likability, agreement, and commonality toward others. In her words, “laughter is an index of the strength of a relationship.”
“laughter is an index of the strength of a relationship” – Dr. Sophie Scott
The article made me think of a personal story. I once worked for a senior executive who rarely laughed. Within weeks of her hire, the culture of the entire office changed. It went from a collegiate, “we’re all in this together” results-oriented atmosphere to a self-centered, fear and intimidation, activity-for-the-sake-of-appearance-focused environment.
Morale took a nose-dive and sales and marketing performance soon followed.
Does Your Organization Have a Chief Happiness Officer?
Without exception, every successful sales and marketing organization I’ve ever been a part of has been led by a “Chief Happiness Officer.” These are people who, in spite of their formal titles or official roles, manage to keep the rest of us from taking ourselves too seriously. They know employees who like each other will focus more on achieving quantifiable wins for the team than on useless activities designed to promote their own self-interests. They know strong personal relationships bring out the best in everyone and allow the team to achieve more.
Take a moment to look around your office. Does your organization have a Chief Happiness Officer?
ADDITIONAL READING
- TED Talk, Why We Laugh, Sophie Scott
- Read about Bob, one of our success stories, who just happens to call himself The Chief Happiness Officer
Photography Source: Gratis Photos