KEYGroup® Press Releases

Mind Your Words: "Good" Language Sets Successful Leaders Apart

Pittsburgh, PA  - When your mother told you to mind your words all those years she may have suspected that you were going to be a leader someday. Language is one of the principle tools of leadership and Joanne G. Sujansky, the CEO of KEYGroup, says that you can tell the difference between effective leaders and poor leaders through the type of language they use.

And no, we’re not talking about the use of profanities and harsh words. Even poor leaders these days know that type of language could put you on the wrong end of a harassment lawsuit. But leaders today have to use language to inform, inspire, and persuade employees.

Whether through speeches, vision statements, or annual reports, a successful leader must find the right words that can connect employees and managers with each other, as well as with other stakeholders.

 “I’ve worked with many excellent leaders over the years and no two were exactly alike,” Sujansky explains. “Some had great technical knowledge while others had great vision. Some were charismatic and inspirational, while others were introspective and insightful. But, no matter what gifts they brought to the role of leader, they all had one thing in common: their primary tools of leadership were words.” The difference between successful leaders and ineffective leaders depends upon the words those leaders choose.

As Sujansky puts it, “The way people talk about their work, how they describe their customers, the job titles they use, and how they speak with co-workers all help to define the culture. But, sometimes you have to listen very carefully to catch a sense of the organization’s culture. Slogans, posters, and marketing campaigns, which are highly visible in some organizations, may not reflect the true culture. It’s what their leaders and employees say that really defines a winning culture.”

Leaders have to be acutely aware that key words can inspire bottom line results. We all realize that when we choose the wrong word, or use a term out of context, it can blow up in our faces. Organizational leaders have to be very sensitive to how their language impacts others. Do these leaders use language that clarifies, motivates, and inspires? Or does their language tend to confuse, discourage, or demoralize? Consider the options …

• Make Them Feel a Part of the Team:
  Employees feel a greater sense of loyalty when leaders use terms like ‘team’ and ‘partner’ and talk about ‘our’ goals and customers. Winning organizations also use titles that refer to employees as ‘associates,’ ‘colleagues’ and ‘teammates.’ When leaders talk about ‘subordinates’ and ‘workers’ they tend to create an “us versus them” mentality.
  
• Make Them Feel Empowered:
  Leaders empower people by expressing confidence in an employee’s ability to get an assignment done (‘I know you can do it’ or ‘you’re the best person for the task’) or do they undermine them with expressions of doubt (‘I’ll give you a chance’ or ‘nobody else wanted to do it’)? Effective leaders also speak of ‘goals and ‘targets rather than ‘deadlines’ and ‘due dates.’
  
• Help Them Understand Success:
  Thriving organizations have a vocabulary of success; they use words that help employees understand what needs to be accomplished. People in winning organizations tend to use terms like ‘victory,’ ‘achievement,’ ‘result,’ ‘outcome,’ ‘performance’ and ‘payoff.’ In struggling organizations you’re more likely to hear people talking about ‘coming up short,’ ‘botching a job,’ ‘dropping the ball’ and similar phrases. The language of success is energizing while the language of failure is demoralizing.

As a veteran organizational consultant, Sujansky says, “Whenever I visit an organization for the first time I like to wander around, listen, and observe the types of language being employed in speeches, memos, conversations, signs, and other communications. It usually doesn’t take me long to tell whether the culture is energized and positive or struggling and negative.”

But building a positive, productive working environment requires more than words alone. A leader’s behaviors and actions have to match their words as well, because employees need to believe that their leaders really care about them as much as they care about the bottom line.

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