Too many managers find themselves in leadership positions without the necessary knowledge and skills to inspire and motivate their employees.
This includes communication skills and, if we need to be more specific, the use of the right words and phrases. Although actions speak louder than words, when a person says something he should not say, the consequences can be severe.
Using personal authority or status to insult and belittle employees who are at lower levels in the company’s hierarchy is devastating not only to the productivity and commitment of the individual employee but also to that of his colleagues.
With all this in mind, it should be noted that there are a few commonly used phrases that good leaders never use. Here are three of them:
“I don’t need other people’s advice”
Bad bosses are not team players because they do not have enough confidence in the abilities of their employees to delegate important tasks to them and seek their opinion when making difficult decisions. With them, everything comes down to power and control, which must be constantly exercised to saturate their ego. On the other hand, when faced with a challenge, the first thing good leaders do is seek the opinion of their team members. They allow each of their employees to express themselves and take into account the feedback received when making a final decision on the actions to be taken. In many cases, these solutions are not the most popular, but they are almost always the right ones, as they are based on as many different points of view as possible, shared by smart and talented people.
“I’m not responsible for that”
Bad bosses never take responsibility for their own mistakes and always look for ways to shift the blame onto someone else. Good leaders put their egos aside because they know that admitting your mistakes is not a weakness, but a sign of vulnerability and humanity – something that makes others trust them. When leaders speak freely about their failures, they create an environment in which their employees are also not afraid to share their failures and continue to take risks despite them.
“You have nothing to worry about”
People are not stupid. They sense where things are going when the company is facing difficult challenges, and they can immediately understand that their boss is not honest with them when he tells them that they have nothing to worry about. Good leaders, in turn, keep their subordinates up to date and keep them informed promptly of all important things that happen in the organization, especially when it directly affects their work and their clients.
