Professor Rob Wilson, Medical Director, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

I very much admire those people who use humour to engage with their audience at the same time as communicating a serious message. It is something which I aspire to be – and do – as a leader; and something which I am learning about from others who do this well. One of the key things I have noticed is that those leaders who use humour draw on their own very real personal experience. They tell a personal story which relates to, connects with and engages their audience.

A few months ago I was fortunate to be unexpectedly sitting at dinner next to John Sentamu, Archbishop of York. I found him very engaging and his story fascinating. After legal training he rose to the judiciary in Africa, with an ambition to change things for the better. He ended up being thrown into prison and eventually thrown out of his country. Finally he resettled here and started a new training and career path. Sentamu tells his story using his very considerable authenticity and humour. His dislike of the Mugabe regime is well known, in particular the way in which it robs people of their identities. He cut up his clerical collar on a BBC programme as a demonstration of what the regime does to people.

It is perhaps less well known that parents of some Ugandan children (including the Sentamus) include Mugabe in their children’s names as a form of protection against the regime. In 2007 John Sentamu was named ‘Yorkshire Man of the Year’ and in his acceptance speech he revealed that his middle name was indeed Mugabe and that he had noticed spelt backwards becomes that best known of Yorkshire expressions, ‘E BA GUM’. A serious message about the Mugabe regime and the lengths people will go to protect themselves communicated with humour, reflection and personal anecdote.

Leadership Nudge

What is your story and how can you use humour based on self-reflection to engage with people?

By Professor Robert Wilson, Medical Director and Surgeon at South Tees Acute NHS Foundation Trust. Robert is also Professor of Surgical Science in University of Durham and has been involved in a variety of leadership roles including assisting with the Church of England Growing Leaders course. To contact Robert please email him on: robert.wilson@stees.nhs.uk