Are you practicing the three key steps to scaling up?
Learn how fintech scale-ups turned insights into action via scoping, sensemaking, and enabling, plus a structured checklist for growth....
Brain Circuits
Are you sick as a parrot? 4 ways to sharpen your language skills and become a more effective leader
The soulless language of management speak leads to uninspired and disengaged teams. Peter J. Meyers explains how to connect with people so they stay engaged, focused, and motivated.
Questions to ask yourself
- As a leader, do you use “I” excessively?
- Do you frequently use hackneyed management phrases, such as “out-of-the-box thinking,” “low-hanging fruit,” and “pushing the envelope”?
- Do you think about the signals you send through your behavior (i.e., how you come across to others) and whether they match your intentions?
- Do you regularly explain to people what they’re doing well (or poorly) and what it means to the work, their career progression, the organization, and the impact you seek through the work?
Unfortunately, the language of violence pervades management communications: “destroy the competition,” “bring out the big guns,” “eat what you kill,” etc.
4 ways to sharpen your language skills
Read more and read aloud
Reading expands your vocabulary. When you read something aloud, you engage more fully with the language. Pick an author whose work you love and walk around your office, reading their work out loud as if it were your own thoughts. After half an hour or so, try writing something. It doesn’t have to be anything specific: automatic writing is ideal. Then review your writing and see if new words and syntactical structures are available to you.
Switch the ‘I’ versus ‘you’ ratio
If you use “I” excessively, your interlocutor is likely to switch off and disengage cognitively, emotionally, and psychologically. Switch the “I” and “you” ratio round, and lead with “you”: “Here’s what you need, what you expect and want, and what your challenges look like.” Make the exchange about the other person. Using “you” shows them that you care about their concerns and needs.
Be prepared
Warm up before communicating with others and find ways to access a state of mind where you feel resourceful and primed to choose words, open doors, and express emotions that encourage, empower, and inspire (think about actors, musicians, athletes, or dancers and the warm-up exercises they do that decide how they perform). Prepare in advance so, instead of frustration, boredom, anger, or fear, you show up with a sense of purpose and intellectual generosity; a gift you have prepared that you want to share with others.
Reach for a better language
Unfortunately, the language of violence pervades management communications: “destroy the competition,” “bring out the big guns,” “eat what you kill,” etc. These micro-aggressions subtly condition the way we connect. Avoid them by being deliberately conscious of the words you choose and use language that encourages thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and innovation.
“In a world where purpose and meaning are missing, engagement is plummeting, and employees are switching off, leaders need to dig deeper to find the words to connect.”
Key takeaway
Communication is a core leadership skill. In a world where purpose and meaning are missing, engagement is plummeting, and employees are switching off, leaders need to dig deeper to find the words to connect, motivate, and inspire.
Further reading
Communication: let’s be clear, we should cut out the clichés
How to re-engage your audience when things go wrong: the Diamond of Dissent
How to be remembered for the right reasons #5: Create shared connection
Authors
Related
Does your board meet these seven sustainability tests?
Explore seven sustainability tests that help boards align initiatives with value creation, resilience, and long-term corporate longevity...
How to think like an optimist (and why you should)
Discover how to think like an optimist and empower your team with proactive and constructive responses to uncertainty....
How to spot – and fix – pseudo-engagement in your team
Identify signs of pseudo-engagement and apply leadership-focused actions to turn surface satisfaction into real team results....
Learn Brain Circuits
Join us for daily exercises focusing on issues from team building to developing an actionable sustainability plan to personal development. Go on - they only take five minutes.
Explore Leadership
What makes a great leader? Do you need charisma? How do you inspire your team? Our experts offer actionable insights through first-person narratives, behind-the-scenes interviews and The Help Desk.
Join Membership
Log in here to join in the conversation with the I by IMD community. Your subscription grants you access to the quarterly magazine plus daily articles, videos, podcasts and learning exercises.