Humour, Culture and the ROR: Return On Relationships with Michael Kerr

In this episode, Roxanne Derhodge converses with Michael Kerr about authenticity and work-life balance in the workplace. They delve into the evolution of Kerr's focus from culture to humor and the challenges in implementing it corporately. They also discuss the role of meetings in shaping culture, the importance of communication and values in leadership, and hint at a part 2.

Quote: “If you want to provide more remarkable customer service, that is memorable, and you want to build a thriving positive workplace culture, then I think you have to realize that this is NO JOKE!” Michael Kerr

We are not all blessed with the humour gene. Some of us struggle to add levity and a bit of comic relief into our workplace, but it can be a great way of creating a more inspiring and happy workplace culture that can give a whole new energy to your team. On this episode of Authentic Living With Roxanne, we are thrilled to welcome Hall of Fame speaker, Michael Kerr to share his thoughts on how you can make yourself more approachable as a leader and show your team that work can be fun as well as productive.

This was such a great interview packed with so much interesting information about workplace conflict that we decided to turn it into a 2-part series. Be sure to tune in again next week for part II.

Michael is a Canadian Hall of Fame Speaker who travels the world researching, writing, and speaking about inspiring workplace cultures, and businesses that leverage their humour resources to drive outrageous results for their employees and their customers.

Authentic Touch Points:

Michael’s journey to the stage. 2:30 The evolution from humour to culture. 5:00 Humour across the sectors. 8:00 It’s about taking ourselves lightly. 11:30 Strategy to change corporate culture. 15:00
Michael’s ideas on building better workplace cultures have been featured in hundreds of publications worldwide, while his Inspiring Workplaces blog has been recognized as one of the top-30 workplace blogs in the world. He is also the author of 8 books, including, “The Jerk-Free Workplace,” “The Humor Advantage,” and “Hire, Inspire, and Fuel Their Fire.” Michael lives in the spectacularly inspiring Canadian Rockies.

I encourage leaders to reach out for guidance about presenting their authentic selves to develop an improved workplace for everyone with less conflict, as I offer executive coaching. Click here to contact me at your convenience, or click here to Chat with Roxanne! Take our NEW Online Quiz to rate your authenticity as a leader! Stay Authentic, Roxanne P.S. Have you heard? My new book, ROR: Return On Relationships, will be available on June 10th!

Links:

Michael’s website: https://mikekerr.com Michael’s many books: https://mikekerr.com/books/ Inspiring Workplaces blog: https://mikekerr.com/inspiring-workplaces-blog/ Michael’s email: [email protected] Michael’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkerr3/ Roxanne’s LinkedIn profile:https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxannederhodge/ Roxanne’s email: [email protected] Chat with Roxanne: https://roxannederhodge.com/chat/ Roxanne’s previous podcasts: https://roxannederhodge.com/blog/

(0:00) Introduction to the episode and host Roxanne Derhodge (1:42) Michael Kerr's background and journey into speaking about culture (4:03) Discussion on authenticity, work-life balance, and personas in the workplace (6:52) Evolution of Michael Kerr's focus from culture to humor and its benefits (14:02) Challenges in implementing humor in a corporate setting and self-awareness in leadership (16:40) Role of meetings in shaping organizational culture and creative ways to bring humor into them (19:37) Importance of communication and values in leadership (21:04) Conclusion and announcement of part 2 (21:22) Reminder about Roxanne Derhodge's book, "Return on Relationships"