Leadership and Humor, the Moomin Way

Abstract Drawing on an ethnographic study in the Moomin business we explore how a discourse on humor enables organizational members to enact a particular form of leadership. While the Moomin heritage and philosophy steers leadership towards supporting and caring for people and respecting their differences, the relational and contextual nature of organizational interactions renders leadership and humor subject to friction and tensions. We elucidate how humor plays out between leaders, in meetings, in supporting people, and in parties, and how humor is constantly on the edge. Our study contributes to understanding leadership as discursive practice steered by humor.