Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the link between transformational leadership and humor, as perceived by the principals of the Model California Continuation High Schools that were recognized from 2002 to 2007. The second purpose was to determine the degree to which there was an association between the five leadership practices, as identified by Kouzes and Posner (2002a), and the four types of humor, as identified by Martin et al. (2003), as perceived by the participants. Methodology. Sixty-three principals responded to three research instruments: (1) the Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ), (2) the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self, and (3) a researcher-developed demographic survey. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings. The principals reported strong perceptions that humor contributed to their leadership style to release tensions, to help communicate, and/or build relationships. The leadership practices data indicated a high degree of perceived use of all five leadership practices and the humor styles data indicated a stronger-than-average use of positive humor and a less-than-average use of negative humor. However, the data also indicated only a low correlation between two leadership practices (Inspire a Vision and Enable Others to Act) and one type of humor (Self-enhancing Humor). Conclusions. The participants perceived a strong link between their leadership practices and their use of humor. However, the data indicated that the majority of transformational leadership variables and types of humor variables did not produce a significant relationship. Based on this study, transformational leadership practices did not correlate to a particular type of humor. There may be no simple relationship between leadership and humor. Perhaps effective leaders create situations and/or recognize situations where humor enhances leadership. Recommendations. Further research might (1) study a comparison sample (teachers and students) to determine if the perceptions would be similar; (2) study a female sample to determine if the results would be similar; (3) investigate the ways leaders express humor and how humor contributes to their leadership competence; (4) investigate how leaders use humor to stimulate creative thinking and problem solving; (5) compare the leadership practices of model continuation high school and traditional high school principals.