I remember once being in a meeting with a very senior leader, waiting for the right moment to add something useful. About twenty minutes in, I finally jumped in with what I thought was a crisp, well-framed point. There was a short silence. Then someone gently said, “Yes, Vivek, that is exactly what she said five minutes ago.”

I laughed and said, “I seem to have joined the conversation a few minutes late.” The room smiled, the moment passed, and the discussion moved on.

Somewhere along the way, many professionals – especially leaders – absorb a certain seriousness. The goal becomes to always stay composed. To maintain control and never let any cracks show.

But work (and life!) is full of moments that don’t go to plan. Maybe you mispronounce someone’s name in a big meeting or confidently point to a slide that doesn’t exist. Perhaps you hit “reply all” when you absolutely shouldn’t have, or lead an initiative that ends in absurdity.

When that happens, two paths emerge. Ignore it and move on as if nothing happened – or acknowledge the blunder with self-aware humour. The first response preserves authority on the surface but may actually erode your effectiveness in the longer term. The second creates trust, relatability and room to breathe.

Those who can meet these moments with a lighter perspective – and a well-timed laugh at their own expense – are able to emerge with their confidence and likeability intact.

This week, let’s explore the power of laughing at ourselves. What does science tell us about the benefits of humour, particularly the self-deprecating kind? And how can leaders find and leverage the humour in high-stress situations?

The world seems a bleak place these days. Political crises, social divisions, economic upheaval, …the list goes on and on. It’s hard to see the funny side of things – and this seriousness has crept into the workplace as well. After all, how can professionals, especially leaders, laugh in the midst of all our current challenges?

Experts in psychology and leadership development, however, offer a different point of view: tough times are when we need humour the most. Bringing levity into heavy situations helps temper the ego, reset perspective and boost wellbeing, giving us the humility, clarity and resilience we need to navigate the way forward. As organisational psychologist and popular author Adam Grant explains:

Taking your responsibilities seriously but your ego lightly is a core life skill.

Manfred Kets de Vries, INSEAD profession and founder of the Kets de Vries Institute, puts it this way:

Humor isn’t just a frivolous afterthought to serious business. It’s a psychological survival tool. A social lubricant. A creativity catalyst. And sometimes, it’s the only thing standing between you and an impromptu rage spiral in the middle of a Monday morning board meeting.

The power of laughter

Humour may feel light, but it does some heavy lifting at the workplace – especially when leaders turn it inward to gently poke fun at themselves. Among other things, laughing at ourselves can be:

• A pressure valve that releases tension in high-pressure situations.
• An endorphin booster that lifts spirits and keeps burnout at bay.
• A bonding agent that fosters trust and psychological safety.
• A rapport builder that reduces the distance between leaders and teams.
• A thought disruptor that interrupts linear thinking and sparks creativity.
• An ice breaker that opens the door to difficult conversations.
• A mental reset that allows us to reframe challenges and forge forward.
• A great leveller that reminds us of our shared humanity – messy and imperfect.

Beyond work, humour is also one of the most enjoyable wellness tools at our disposal. Its effects are both instantaneous – lower heart rate, stress relief, elevated mood – and long-term, including stronger immunity and better mental health. One study revealed laughter to be almost as beneficial as eliminating salt from your diet. Another found that it literally adds years to your life, with good-humoured participants living around eight years longer than their counterparts.

Not all laughter is alike

• Self-deprecating humour from leaders is well-received because its flattens the hierarchy. It’s not about putting yourself down. Rather, it’s about not taking yourself too seriously.
• Inclusive humour – i.e. making fun of a situation or a common trait shared by the leader and the team – also does well, connecting people through laughter.
• Sharp or sarcastic humour, directed by the leader towards a specific individual, lands badly. It widens the gap between leader and team, creating a tense and unsafe work environment.

Where did the laughter go?

As people climb the ladder at work, they become reluctant to laugh at themselves. For many professionals, their work identity is tightly linked to an aura of competence and credibility – which must be protected at all costs. Laughing at yourself can feel like denting this image. Leadership also comes with a higher level of scrutiny. In this type of environment, even small slip-ups feel disproportionately risky. It’s not surprising that many leaders default to seriousness as a form of control.

The return of humour

Want to bring more self-deprecating humour into your leadership? Here are six suggestions to begin your light-hearted journey:

1. Call out minor misses.

Next time you stumble over a detail in a meeting, acknowledge it briefly with a laugh instead of glossing over it. This normalises imperfection instead of the usual “nothing to see here!” attitude.

2. Prep a few one-liners.

Humour doesn’t come naturally to everyone – it’s ok to plan ahead! Think of predictable slip-ups at work – a tech glitch or scheduling mix-up – and come up with a couple of self-deprecating jokes to use next time.

3. Shift into observation.

When something goes wrong, pause and ask yourself: “What’s objectively funny about this?” Coming from a place of observation (rather than judgment) makes it easier to respond with lightness.

4. Open with laughter.

When addressing a tense topic, start with a small, self-directed joke that lowers the temperature. This invites people in, rather than weighing them down with seriousness from the start.

5. Start small.

Begin using humour in low-stakes settings – team check-ins, one-on-ones, lunchtime chats. Don’t overdo it. An occasional, well-timed quip is more effective than a series of forced jokes.

6. Welcome humour from others.

Writing for Psychology Today, Emilia Bunea shares an anecdote from her time as a healthcare company CFO – which illustrates this point well:

In a progress meeting on building a new hospital wing, the project manager brought dire news: the passageway between the new and the old wing was one inch too low, and ambulances could not go through. There was a moment of silence while everyone was busy panicking, until the operations director mused: “Have you tried Vaseline?” The roar of laughter that followed defused the tension and allowed the team to start brainstorming on creative ways to solve the problem.

But had the CEO, who was also present, frowned instead of joining in the Vaseline-induced laughter, the Ops director’s rise to the top would have needed a great deal more lubricant.

In a world full of gloomy predictions, humour offers us a measure of grace and relief. Whether as a leader, parent or friend, the ability to laugh at yourself is a wonderful quality. It doesn’t solve the problem – but it changes how the problem is experienced, by you and those around you. Far from hurting your reputation, it makes you more approachable, trustworthy and likeable.

So let’s lighten up and learn to see the funny side, especially when it comes to our own faux pas. In the end, here’s some sage advice for us all from Professor Kets de Vries:

Be serious about strategy. Be rigorous with performance. But leave some room to chuckle, groan, and occasionally laugh so hard you cry. Because in the end, the ability to laugh at ourselves isn’t a weakness. It’s one of the last, great signs of sanity.