When your team is stressed, a little humor at the right moment is leadership. Mocking someone is not.

Humour under pressure works by reminding people the situation is survivable, which loosens everyone enough to think again. The line gets crossed when the laugh needs a target. Then the joke buys relief for the group by spending somebody’s standing, and the cost is paid by one person who never agreed to it. Same laugh, opposite effect on trust.

In a tense stretch this week, aim your joke at the situation or at yourself. If a line lands on a person, say sorry straight away and carry on. Watch whose face changes when the room laughs.