I have rarely felt so ridiculous. Here I was, standing in front of a division president, several general managers and directors, plant managers and a large number of peers, handing out Easter candy and dressed in a white bunny outfit, complete with long ears and a cotton tail. And the whole thing was being photographed so everyone else could enjoy it via the divisional newsletter. If there was any positive spin to put on this, it was that I had won the coin flip and was therefore wearing the white bunny costume. My friend lost and was wearing the pink one.

The events that led me to the bunny costume started so innocently. I was asked to join a safety team, the first of its kind at my factory. It was a team of both management and non-management associates. In the early days, the managers served as "gophers" for the team but also made sure everything stayed on track. My friend and I were management sponsors — non-voting team members who helped develop and justify the team budget. So when the presentation to the larger audience was scheduled close to Easter, the team decided the management sponsors should pass out candy as part of the presentation. My fate was sealed ... there was a bunny costume in my future.

Looking back, I consider the experience one of the milestones of my career. It achieved the goal of getting people's attention and making the presentation memorable. More importantly, it signaled that two young managers were willing to lay aside youthful pride and (overestimated) reputations for the good of the team and the message of its presentation. And it showed that the team of non-managers was really in charge and management was willing to support the will of the team, even to the point of dressing in bunny suits and handing out candy to people who held our careers in their hands.

Though this tale (and tail) is now long behind me, at times I've wished for my bunny costume to demonstrate my commitment to teamwork in a better way than I can express in mere words. The symbolism of the bunny costume story is very important. Leaders can send unintentional messages about their relationships with others that foster intimidation and barriers rather than communication and openness. If they aren't careful, they can send the message,"I'm better" in addition to"I'm the leader." Someone told me a long time ago that I should take my work seriously, but not myself. It's too easy to make the two the same. I'm not suggesting that every manager should dress in a bunny costume and give out candy. But that, or something similar, may not be a bad place to start. Most organizations could use more humor and humility.

Searching the management and leadership literature for material on humor and laughter is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. The main character in Blanchard and Johnson's book,"One Minute Manager," finds the ability to laugh, even at himself. He may be a jovial fellow at times, but he is hard-pressed to find those who are like-minded. Humor is so essential and universal that it is amazing it consumes so little print in management material. Leadership Through Laughter, or LTL, isn't telling the best jokes or being the life of the party. It isn't acting goofy or childish. It's using humor and laughter as a tool to teach, coach, communicate, reinforce values and break down barriers. It may involve a little self-deprecating humor to teach a lesson. It means taking our jobs, but not ourselves, seriously. (The initials LTL are no coincidence. While utilizing this approach, some will think you are personally carrying less than a truckload above your shoulders.) All types of organizations need more openness, fewer barriers and more teamwork to flourish in the future. We need the most we can get from everyone in the organization. We need people willing to tell us when we are about to do something stupid without having the fear of being blasted. We need to muster all of the available brain power to stay in business and prosper. Laughter certainly isn't the only element we need, but it is an important one.

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