My mother would never forgive me if I told you how old she was — but let’s just put it this way, she was a teenager when God was a boy. A Scottish “pocket rocket” made of steel (and possibly Irn-Bru girders), she is still an indestructible force of nature. She can laugh the loudest at Christmas quizzes, panic about me crossing the road to buy her a newspaper (“be careful!”), and somehow keep everyone else on their toes.
It was only fitting that when Sonia Beldom invited me onto her brilliant Mumbelievable podcast, we laughed uproariously about mothers, mayhem and everything they give us. Sonia and I go back years to the Edinburgh Television Festival, and in true TV fashion, we’ve crossed paths in different guises ever since. What I love most about Sonia is her ability to blend insight with humour — her mum Margaret was a whirlwind of eccentricities, and Sonia has turned those memories into a podcast that is as moving as it is Mumbelievable.
Listening to Sonia’s conversations with comedy comrades like David Baddiel, Su Pollard, Shazia Mirza and my old mucker Ainsley Harriott, you realise quickly that every family has its quirks. What separates the happy from the haunted is often the ability to laugh at ourselves. As the great Phyllis Diller said
“A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.”
In families and in business, that curve can make all the difference.
My mother taught me resilience, but she also inadvertently taught me reframing. She lived through poverty in the Glasgow tenements, helped raise her three siblings, and, after my parents’ early divorce, worked three jobs to keep everything afloat. Instead of bitterness, she chose laughter. Instead of shame, she gave me confidence. And while she may not have seen herself as “funny,” she understood the joy of fun — and that distinction has shaped everything I do.
It’s the same in business. We all want leaders who can deliver strategy, but we need leaders who can deliver humanity. Being able to laugh at yourself is one of the most underrated leadership skills.
As John Cleese once said
“A wonderful thing about true laughter is that it just destroys any kind of system of dividing people.”
That’s as true at the boardroom table as it is at the family dinner table.
Think about your own workplace. Does your team laugh together? Can you share a self-deprecating joke without fear of looking weak? Do your leaders know when to lighten the mood and when to listen? Humour isn’t about gag counts; it’s about creating trust, connection and psychological safety.
My mother would never have used those words — but she lived them. She encouraged creativity, even when I was an overly enthusiastic teenager, drumming loudly under her bedroom at two in the morning when she had to get up for work at 6 am. She gave me freedom, even when it meant inconvenience. She modelled resilience, even when she had very little left in the tank.
And she wasn’t alone. As one recent Forbes article on the leadership superpowers of mothers put it:
“Being a mum isn’t just about raising children. It’s about developing and harnessing a set of skills to lead your family in a positive direction, despite the circumstances you’re facing. Traits like adaptability, resilience and the courage to challenge the status quo… come to help in the professional world.”
That line hit me hard — because it’s exactly what I saw growing up. Mothers may not think of themselves as leadership coaches, but they’re often the best ones we’ll ever have.
Read the full Forbes article here.
So what can business leaders learn from our mums? That love and laughter go hand in hand. That reframing the ridiculous keeps us sane. And that if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re only half leading.
Three Takeaways for Leaders
- Reframe, don’t ruminate
Like a good mum, find the funny in the frustration and keep going. - Laugh with, not at.
True humour builds connection — whether at home or in the office. - Lead with humanity
The best leaders, like the best parents, know when to joke, when to listen, and when to care.
Humour builds better relationships — in life, in leadership, and yes, even in boardrooms. Or as Sonia has shown with Mumbelievable, it’s often the only way to make sense of the madness our mothers gave us.
Well, that’s Humourology 101.
See you next Tuesday.
Warmest,
Paul x
