As a leader, you want to be a straight-talker. No sugarcoating, exaggerating or minimizing. But there’s a fine line between straight talk and a toxic tone.
Some seemingly innocent phrases can have a negative impact on everything from morale and productivity to the bottom line.
So, you want to avoid phrases and mindsets – like these seven – that can pollute a positive work environment.
Even the most confident bosses can stumble when it comes to delivering difficult messages.
In fact, business leaders are slower to share bad news than good news, a study in Social Science Research Network found.
That shouldn’t be a big surprise. It’s simply easier to deliver a positive message.
But there’s more at stake at getting the difficult message right.
Ever feel like employees just don’t listen to you?
Well, you aren’t alone – for two reasons.
There are a lot of managers feel the same way you do.
The second reason? Many employees actually don’t listen.
And it comes at a big cost: Studies say companies lose more than $25,000 per employee each year because poor communication hurts productivity.
No matter how talented you are, having to have a difficult conversation with an employee is not something you look forward to.
Not only does it cause anxiety, such conversations can be morale-sapping and are full of legal minefields.
So it is key not to make mistakes when having those conversations. Here are the 10 biggest mistakes you can make.
You might have a great team already.
But inevitably, you will have a few model citizens or “rock star” employees that stand out. You wish all your team members would be like them because that would make your life as a manager so much easier.
You know you can depend on your best employees. They consistently deliver great results and at times are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.
But the results of comparing employees to each other can be disastrous.
Here’s why you shouldn’t play the comparison game.
The next time you utter, “I’m too busy,” realize what that really means.
It’s an excuse, and a weak one at that. It’s a cop-out.
You’re either trying to fool someone else – or maybe just yourself.
We’re ALL busy. But the truth is, there’s no such thing as “too busy.”
If you’re telling someone else you’re “too busy” to be involved in their thing, all you’re saying to them is that you don’t see it as important enough to bother with. So why don’t you just say so?
Everyone likes to talk about time management, but what we should be talking about is productivity.
The only reason time management comes up is that we’re not being as productive as we think we should be.
But most of what derails us has nothing to do with the clock. It’s the bad habits we get into.
Here are 10 mistakes we make that erode our productivity. Focus on these and most of your problems will go away.
Clichés are so easy to use – but they are a cop-out.
You may think they are great ways to motivate your team, but they’re so overused they no longer have any meaning – or motivational power.
Or they are simply ambiguous and have no impact.
Are your really that unoriginal?
Here are seven business clichés you want to steer clear of:
As a leader, I know making a first impression is important.
Truth is, I’m not always that good at it.
But it is even more pressing that you make a good impression on your own people every day. That’s a real challenge.
The words and the tone you use to make a huge impact on each interaction.
Some phrases spark positive reactions. Others help conversations move forward effectively. And some make a perfect ending.
So, we’ve created this cheat sheet of phrases to help you communicate more effectively not only with your employees but also with your colleagues and customers.
You’re smart and can trust your instincts in a lot of situations. But this is one where it’s best to stick to the facts.
Employee motivation.
It’s the key driver of employee performance and shouldn’t be left to chance, according to research in Harvard Business Review.
Motivation drops sharply after people have been on the job with their managers six months, several studies found.
One of the biggest reasons: Managers think they know employees well enough to determine what will keep them engaged.
