Is Humor the Secret Tool for Bridging the Connection Gap?

Is humor the secret weapon for combatting disconnect in your organization? In the often fast-paced and high-stress manufacturing industry, it might not seem like there’s time for humor . . . but Tim Gard wants to change your mind!

Tim is a Hall of Fame Speaker and business coach, who uses his own humor-infused presentations to show others how humor can improve productivity and create stronger connections. He recently brought his trademark humor to the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast, where he shared more about why humor can play a surprising role in improving connection in your organization.

Why Does Humor Matter in Your Organization?

The answer is simple: when you and your team can work hard and laugh hard, you’re bound to find better results! By using humor in your workplace, you can find ways to:

Motivate and encourage your team
Reduce stress during challenging times
Bridge the disconnection gap
Start more productive and curious conversations

However, it can be difficult to find the best ways to bring more humor to your team, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the best ways to incorporate humor into professional workplaces.

In his appearance on the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast, Tim shared some of his best tips for finding your own way to bring more humor to your manufacturing organization.

Tip #1: Find Out What’s Funny to Your Team

Everyone on your team has a different sense of humor. What is hilarious to someone might not even get a smile out of someone else, and different people may react in very different ways to the same joke. To find out what’s humorous for each individual member of your team, take time to get to know them. Then, you can find ways to use humor in a way that’s sure to connect with them.

Tip #2: Adjust and Adapt in Your Communications

If you’re trying to use humor to connect with someone and feel like it’s simply not working, don’t be discouraged. Instead, consider adjusting your communications style and adapting to a style that works with your team member. For example, maybe a team member is more comfortable in one-on-one meetings rather than group situations, or is more receptive to humor while on a break. Once you find out how your team members prefer to communicate, you can find the best ways to connect with them.

Tip #3: Positivity Starts with You!

When you’re in a happy mood, it’s easier to spread that happiness to your team! If you’re struggling to connect with your team, spend some time focusing on your own mindset. Pay attention to your own behavior and reactions, and think about what you can do to create a more positive environment for your team. If you’re in a good mood, you can put your team in a good mode and make them more receptive to humor and positivity.

Learn More on the Podcast

To learn about humor with Tim Gard, don’t miss his episode of the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast, which you can find here.

At Manufacturing Greatness, Trevor Blondeel works with manufacturers to connect the top to the shop. If you’re ready to improve your own organization, contact Trevor to learn how Manufacturing Greatness can help you build stronger leaders and develop a dynamic, high-performing workplace.

Mindfulness Manufacturing

Our show is about providing listeners with real stories that come from a place of experience, transparency, and authenticity. Most importantly it’s about what we learn from these stories and applying Mindfulness in our everyday work and personal lives.
Our intention is to create an environment where people can learn through open honest discussions on how we apply Mindfulness. Although our experiences and stories come from time in a manufacturing environment hence the title “Mindfulness Manufacturing”, we still see our discussions and topics relatable to any organization or profession.

When a mistake occurs on the plant floor, your mind might jump to one question: who caused this issue, and should I write them up for their mistake? But there’s a more productive approach you could be taking—and in this episode of Mindfulness Manufacturing, guest Dr. Jake Mazulewicz breaks it all down!

With a background as a firefighter, EMT, and military paratrooper, Jake knows the challenges of high-hazard industries, and works with organizations to reduce errors and create safer, more reliable workplace environments. In this episode, Jake shares why you can’t procedularize everything, including the way you handle errors and accidents, and offers great insights and stories about how to use connection and curiosity to improve safety, address errors, and strengthen your organization.

3:35 – Procedures and policies are the work that is imagined, and on the floor is how the work actually gets done

4:19 – The work as-done is almost always radically different than the work as-imagined

5:20 – Even when you have standards and people show up wanting to do a good job, you can still see issues that need to be addressed

6:44 – There will always be areas that absolutely need to have procedures in place

8:02 – There are also adaptive jobs, which leans less into procedures and more intro troubleshooting and tacit human knowledge

10:56 – In an ideal environment, both mechanistic and adaptive models are used and respected and needed

12:11 – There are four levels, ranging from strict procedurals to looser guidelines that show what to do, but not how to do it

15:36 – Tacit knowledge gets shared through conversations

16:22 – A way to share important information is to have frontline experts record videos sharing their insights to problems, especially those that are not covered in procedures

19:44 – Through conversation and connection, more knowledge is shared

21:58 – Debriefing also plays a central role

23:45 – If you have strong discipline, you’ll find more freedom

25:31 – In most situations, errors are signals, not defects

27:07 – When an error occurs, be curious and find the deeper cause of the problem

Connect with Jake Mazulewicz

Find him on Linkedin

Visit his website