In order to be a highly effective leader, you must be able to successfully influence and persuade others.
While we all know how powerful our actions are in influencing others, we cannot lose sight of how powerful our words are as well. Ralph Waldo Emerson noted this power, for both good and bad, with these words:
“No man has a prosperity so high or firm, but that two or three words can dishearten it; and there is no calamity which right words will not begin to redress.”
This is true in any role we play in life, but the importance is greater if we hold a role in supervisor leadership, executive leadership, or any type of corporate or organizational leadership.
Our words matter.
If we want to make a positive difference, we must consider positive, encouraging, forward-looking, uplifting, confidence-building words.
Our choice of words matters in our formal coaching and mentoring roles, in our presentations and emails, and they matter in our everyday face-to-face interactions with people. Your leadership communication is about more than just the right corporate messages or sharing a monthly update.
Your responsibility as a leadership communicator must start with consciously choosing the words that will lead people in the direction that best serves both them and the organization. As you wrap up the week and head into the weekend, just as you plan your calendar, to-do list and priorities for next week, think about and plan how you will communicate those objectives to your team.
Remember: Your words matter, choose them wisely.
What are some words you have used with employees that you wish you could take back?
Photo Credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/words-1459814
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