The Kinds of Humor That Help Leaders Build Trust

Leading an organization is a serious job, but Adam Christing argues that humor is a shortcut to building trust at an organization - and without it, you might be missing out on an important leadership tool. Christing is a comedian, speaker and author and he walks through five main kinds of humor that are most effective at work. It's not about knock-knock jokes, he says, but finding a style that's authentic to you. Christing is author of the book The Laughter Factor: The 5 Humor Tactics to Link, Lift, and Lead.

Share Podcast

[HBR IdeaCast podcast series]

HBR IdeaCast
Episode 1041

The Kinds of Humor That Help Leaders Build Trust

Listen | Podcast loading...

###

A conversation with speaker Adam Christing on finding your funny.

• Subscribe:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

All episodes

Details

Transcript

August 26, 2025

Leading an organization is a serious job, but Adam Christing argues that humor is a shortcut to building trust at an organization – and without it, you might be missing out on an important leadership tool. Christing is a comedian, speaker and author and he walks through five main kinds of humor that are most effective at work. It’s not about knock-knock jokes, he says, but finding a style that’s authentic to you. Christing is author of the book The Laughter Factor: The 5 Humor Tactics to Link, Lift, and Lead.

• Subscribe On:

Apple

Spotify

RSS

Latest in this series

All episodes

This article is about MANAGING PEOPLE

** Follow this topic

** Following

Related Topics:

• Psychology

• Trustworthiness

• Persuasion

• Organizational culture

• Business communication

Original source