Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life: It’s Better to Laugh
Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that when something unexpected happens, it’s often better just to laugh about it.
I was on a video call with someone that I was advising, and we were talking through some of her work so that I could help her with some direction and changes that needed to be made. It is key to point out that it was a video call. As I was discussing some of the issues with her, from out of nowhere, a little hand slowly came from behind me, reached around my face, and stuck a monkey sticker on my forehead, and then my granddaughter exclaimed, “You have a monkey!“
I had some options in that moment. I could have gotten angry and reacted from that anger. I could have gotten frustrated or annoyed, and expressed that to this little girl. Or I could have laughed, which is what I did (and so did the person on the video call) because it was innocent and funny. Of course, it did help that it was an adorable little three year-old and so, to some extent, I couldn’t help but laugh. But I think it would also be fairly easy to have a different reaction. The point is, I got to choose what my reaction was.
The same idea is very applicable to other circumstances that you navigate. Whether it is a meeting, an activity, or a project, you will likely experience obstacles and interruptions. They can be minor things that you can quickly move past, or they can cause a disruption that requires an adjustment. Either way, how you respond to it is totally within your control. You can get angry, you can get frustrated, or . . . you can laugh!
My dad would say, “You can be better or you can be bitter, but better is better than bitter.” How you react is up to you, but know that there is a consequence or impact based on your reaction. It may affect others, and it will definitely affect you. If you choose to laugh about it, you are much less likely to get frustrated and to let that frustration derail the progress that you are making. Instead, see the interruption as either a lesson that can be learned or a story that can be told, which turns it into something that brings value.
That’s the lesson on leadership from this little thing in life, from my granddaughter placing a monkey sticker on my forehead in the middle of a video meeting. You will experience interruptions, complications, and challenges. You get to decide how you will respond to those. If you can choose to see it as something to laugh about and to learn from, you can be better, not bitter, and that will help you and others to handle it well, grow, and move forward.
