Leaders have a tremendous impact on their organization, because the phrases they share with their teams can either produce distrust and apathy or ignite passion and commitment.
Everyone is a leader.
And what you say to the people that you work with will influence their work ethic and attitude. A strong leader will recognize this, and take advantage of every opportunity to be an encouraging and inspiring flame that his people want to be near and benefit from. Yes, HOW you deliver the words are a very important part of your communication… but these are likely the 12 most inspiring things you can share with your team to ensure that they are fully invested and feel themselves to be a valued and contributing part of something larger and more significant than themselves.
Great leaders are quick to praise productive decisions or ideas. It isn’t about who is right, leadership is about deciding what is right. Instead of having to be the fountain of knowledge and wisdom for their organization, strong leadership acknowledges the contributions and comments that the people around them offer — and by doing so, you encourage future innovation and give other the gift of recognition.
People don’t want to be appreciated… they NEED it. Money may be the reason they took a job, but they will leave that job when they see a chance to get more recognition and feel more valued by their superiors and peers. The simple but powerful (and FREE) action of telling your people that you are glad that they are on YOUR team can be a much more impactful phrase than you might first assume. We all want to belong, and telling your team that you are proud to have them as part of the crew can work wonders.
Some people want to lead by doing everything themselves. But the more you do, the less your people feel needed or competent to manage. Part of your job as leader is to delegate and give up responsibility to those who surround you. People usually live up to (or down to) the expectations we set for them. When you trust them with something important, instead of treating them like children, you insire their loyalty and best efforts.
Rewards are nice. Despite Daniel Pink’s conclusions about the ineffectiveness of carrot and stick motivation, people do want to be rewarded occasionally for their efforts. The team you lead wants recognition — but only if it is sincere and valid. Saying this with only a weak reason to may undermine it’s intended effect… but sharing a nice unexpected gift after a truly deserving performance can be incredibly powerful. What gets rewarded often gets repeated.
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy — and makes your workplace a dull environment. While productivity is important, it is the job of leadership to build a culture of smiles, laughter, enjoyment, and lighthearted fun. A day away from the office together, or a fun business teambuilding event can do wonders for morale. You may be surprised to see how much that productivity improves when you encourage your people to do what they do and have a little fun along the way.
People are like certain species of fish. Their growth is determined by the tank that you place them in. If you encourage them and consistently remind them of your faith in their judgment and abilities, they will grow into the person that you want them to be. Don’t treat them as they are — help them to see the person that you see them becoming, and let your words paint a picture of the skills and traits that you know they can demonstrate.
No matter how strong or impressive the employee, athlete, or coworker — at times he or she will say something that you either don’t agree with of think is completely ridiculous. It is at times like those that you need this line. Let them know they have been heard. Let them feel that you are weighing their suggestion or comment. And let them feel comfortable and safe in offering ideas in the future by not criticizing them and killing the instinct to contribute.
The single most significant role of a leader is to give your people a job and then be a resource that is available, not hovering. If you do a good enough job of removing obstacle and allowing your people the time to work on what you have given them as a project or activity, you have been a good leader. Tell them what you want and then get out of the way — but use this phrase to let them know you are there as a supportive and helpful resource for them.
Asking for opinions is one of the wisest things a leader can do. Nobody is wise enough by themselves, and the message you send by asking for the input of your team is that they are intelligent and creative and valuable members of the project instead of just hourly employees and mindless drones. You don’t have to take their advice most of the time — the simple act of asking them about their perspective, though, communicates your interest in getting other ideas and may even provide a surprising and valuable insight.
Everyone has an opinion on open-door policies. Just because you leave your door open does not mean that your team feels comfortable entering the room and sitting down to discuss things with you. A great leader connects enough with his team that people feel safe sharing their situation and ideas and challenges. When you share this phrase with sincerity, and are truly interested in having a conversation and building relationships and understanding, the loyalty and commitment your people feel toward you grow exponentially.
If you are a leader, people are going to work seeking to please you. Your team wants to feel validated and appreciated for their efforts — especially when things are tough. Sharing a short thank you can be powerful — but I would encourage you to NEVER share a simple thank you. Always share a SPECIFIC thank you. Let them know exactly what it is they did that you appreciate, and the more detailed your thanks, the more likely it s they will really feel like you noticed their efforts.
Attitude reflects leadership. Strong leaders accept that their people often take a cue from and are at the very least influenced by the team leader’s attitude each day .Greet your team every opportunity you have, and share a smile and a positive comment to remind them that things are good. Encourage a positive attitude and perception of things by being an example of positivity and optimism. If you are determined to make it a great day, that attitude will filter down to every one in the organization.
Your team wants to be inspired. No matter how gruff or self-sufficient they may seem, every one of the people on your team remember moments in their lives when someone said something to them that mattered.
You can add another moment to that list of memories if you make it a point to take advantage of opportunities to share these 12 phrases with your team. They don’t cost you anything extra, other than a bit of thoughtful consideration for those that surround you — but their impact can be tremendous.
And once is never enough. Motivation doesn’t last forever. Zig Ziglar says it’s a lot like showering in that respect — that’s why he recommends it often.
Remember that you do well what you do often. Looking for ways to share these 12 most inspiring phrases with your team may be challenging at first, but the impact it will have on your team culture when you start incorporating them into your conversations may amaze you.
Featured image courtesy of Tim Morgan licensed via Creative Commons.
http://www.greatresultsteambuilding.net/blog
Sean Glaze has enjoyed motivating athletes and inspiring teams for over 20 years, and has consistently turned under-achievers into winners, both on and off the court, with his practical tools and focus on teambuilding and leadership development. As an experienced author, speaker, and team-building coach, Sean entertains and influences audiences with a unique blend of dynamic content, interactive activities, and practical action steps. If you are part of a business, school, or athletic team looking to improve communication or inspire accountability, contact Sean and experience the benefits of improved team motivation and morale in your organization today! You can also connect with Sean via Facebook, or LinkedIn for helpful insights, information, and resources to lead your team!
"That is interesting" is classic, Sean. "Interesting" was one of the 12 Most Quotable Quotes in a Quirky Household I used a few posts back. Gotta love taking the non-commital, ambiguous way out versus the negative ;) I Believe In You and Come On In are great for morale and sense of belonging, too!
I appreciate your posting in this blog, re: 12 Most Exalting Phrases Leaders Share with their Teams. I understand these positive words can ignite passion and commitment of people to the organization. I also would like to share my ideas on positive recognition and the use of exalting phrases that will make people’s self-esteem go high. I guess everyone wanted to feel important, that's a fact, that means in every human interaction, you should always respond to this human request. In my view, there are about 5 human key behaviors that we should be concerned about to raise people’s self-esteem, meaning how would you help your people feel more important and valuable to the organization. Words indeed can make or unmake a man, so to speak.
1- Acceptance – understanding human frailty. No one is perfect and everybody makes mistakes. What is important is that erring employee must be coached to fine-tune his behavior and performance with the organization’s objective and culture. I can say, ”It’s ok to make mistakes but what is important is you can learn from those mistakes….”
2- Appreciation – a leader should take every opportunity to thank each person for everything that he/she does, large or small, in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. This would make them feel better and become more motivated to do more of the things for which they receive appreciation. A leader with an attitude of “gratitude” is , to me, the most effective leader in any organization. I can say, “Thank you for a job well done.....”
3- Approval – Giving praise and approval on every occasion. I also call this positive recognition. Why don’t leaders catch their employees doing something good and praise them instead of them catching their subordinates doing bad things? Praise them, right after every event. Their self-esteem goes up and they feel very happy. The good thing here is that if you genuinely praise them doing good jobs, it often gets repeated. Call it positive re-enforcement, if you will….Thing is people will do more and more of those things that are most approve of by people whose opinions they usually respect and value. I can say, “I like what you said, it is really a good idea…..”
4- Admiration – regularly compliment people on their positive personal traits and qualities, such as punctuality, persistence, attention to details, ideas, and ideals. Compliment them on their achievements, both at work and in their private lives. If they have a new car, tell them how nice it is, if they have a new baby or just tied the knot, tell them how happy you are as a leader. For as Abraham Lincoln once said, “Everybody likes a compliment.” I can say, “How nice it is....” or "I like ...."
5- Attention – this I believe is the most important of all the above qualities of a good leader. Paying attention to your people means that you actively listen to your staff when they want to talk to you. They would feel more important and again valuable to the organization. By paying attention to your staff and giving them importance, you can bring out the best in them. Nodding, smiling (positive body language) and thanking from their input would make them very receptive to the organization’s leadership. They get tremendous satisfaction and contentment by having the opportunity to express themselves to their leaders. I can say, “Let us sit down and talk….”
Implementation of your action plan:
There is an old Zen saying that says ”The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.” To me, this means that a book, classes, or personal instruction can only communicate ideas about reality, not reality itself. So what I am saying is, it has to be implemented. If we can talk the talk, can we walk the walk? So as a leader, they have to start experimenting on the proper approach to implement the above. Practice management by walking around, so to speak. Take a walk to the office, stop and talk to every employee and say something nice to them on a regular basis. I would love to include all the 12 phrases you mentioned above. Each day, a leader has to select one person and positively recognize his/her good actions in front of other employees, for example, praise an employee for his punctuality. I can say “How nice of you to come regularly at the office this early….” Large organizations usually give bonus incentives to such employees and with praising and positive recognition of his being punctual will definitely bolster his/her self-esteem. If you treat all of your employees as part of your asset account instead of an expense account, you will grow your organization exponentially. At least to me, these are, in addition to what you have written above, the most important phrases that can help empower people.
What a thoughtful comment!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts - I especially liked #5. Being present, and giving others our attention, is vital to communicating with others!
Kate-
Thanks so much for your comments...
I enjoy and appreciate your twitter posts, and would be honored to have you share this with your audience!
1 Like
Sean,
This is a home run of a post. Excellent substance and you can feel the inspiration just pouring out of it. Great job and I will share it on my social media streams.
Kudos @PegFitzpatrick & the other @12most management team members for a continued stream of great posts.
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™
@KateNasser @12most Thank you so much Kate! Your support is greatly appreciated.
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