Words are impactful. The tone, flow, and perception are major influences in the workplace. Words can motivate and encourage, or they can make people feel powerless and disengaged. There are a lot of common buzzwords that are influencing our businesses, and unfortunately, there are three other words that we may not be using enough.
Grace
Nobody is perfect, so why pretend? To build accountability, we sometimes get so caught up in the details of making sure everything goes so smoothly and to a level of perfection that we forget mistakes are key to development and success. Showing our teams a little grace will help reduce fear and unnecessary pressure and anxiety, leaving employees more comfortable to make decisions and be all-in wih the organization.
Forgiveness
We’ve all been disappointed by a false hope or expectations. However, it is likely that we have also broken promises or given false expectations to someone as well. People tend to think of their lives in terms of a story and stories have heroes and villains Since it is our story, it is easy to assign characters to everyone only through our perspective. The problem is that life is more complex than that. Most of us don’t wake up in the morning thinking about how we can ruin another person’s life, which is why carrying baggage and holding grudges can only have a negative impact on you. Move on. Forgive.
Vulnerability
We often like to be our own problem solvers. The reality is that great leaders don’t need the answers, just the next question. When we don’t have an answer, we don’t have to fake it. Sharing with our teams that we don’t know what to do will help our teams relate to us better and it will make them feel an increased responsibility for mutual outcomes. Effective leaders are always vulnerable.
Grace, forgiveness, and vulnerability. These aren’t typical executive words, but they should be.
