Ten Things Leaders Rarely Say - (But Totally Should)!
Every leader has a stash of lines they trot out in the workplace – most of them empty catchphrases that suck oxygen and deliver zero. Here’s 10 of the things I wish leaders would say to their teams that could take performance from eye-rolling to high-rolling!
1. “I have no idea — what do you reckon?”
The leader who admits the blank and throws it to the room allows their people to stop performing certainty and start adding real value. “I don’t know” isn’t the end of a conversation. It’s the start of a much cooler one.
2. “I think I might have messed that up.”
Not “mistakes were made” or “wasn’t me!” Leaders who hold themselves accountable and name their screw-up early while they are still a small mess have a team that stops investing their best energy hiding their boo-boos or mis-steps. Owning a Tuesday wobble is how you avoid the Friday catastrophe.
3. “We won’t be going ahead with your concept — but let’s walk through why.”
The easy version is a flat no and a closed door. A true leader declines your idea and takes the time to provide context on why, offers helpful feedback on the concept and applauds the courage taken to put it out there in the first place. Teams who experience valuable leadership conversations like this will gladly bring you their next ten ideas.
4. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Said loud and proud, not smuggled in three weeks later hoping nobody kept the minutes. The leader who says it openly gives everyone else permission to update their views too, instead of defending a hill they stopped believing in last quarter.
5. “I’m completely cool with you getting the kudos for this.”
Absorbing the credit would be so easy and would give a leader still addicted to a professional pat on the head the dopamine fix they are craving. But a boss who realises that their reward comes from watching their team hit their A-Game is the true winner. Teams who regularly watch their hard work attributed to someone else learn to take their foot off the pedal.
6. “I zoned out for a bit there — sorry, let me tune back in properly.”
The bravest sentence in any meeting, because it admits the unthinkable: the leader is a human with a wandering mind. The one who says it earns the quiet devotion of the six other people who also drifted off somewhere around slide nine.
7. “This could have been an email.”
This is especially magic if it’s said by the leader who called the meeting and results in a change in the meeting calendar. Role modelling applying this level of scrutiny to all meetings might just raise productivity to such a level that economists would be summoned to explain it.
8. “I’m so glad you’re taking the time to think this through carefully.”
Said warmly to the person who stopped running around like a chook with its head cut off and protected a bit of white space so they could actually think. Today’s workplaces are infected with a deep and abiding bias to action that often results in busyness for the sake of it, so the leader who praises deliberate pause to plan and think is a rare species. Appropriate time to think isn’t slacking off – it’s an investment in great outcomes.
9. “I’m all out of ideas on this one.”
Still, somehow, one of the hardest to say. Yet the leader who admits the tank is empty gets a team that piles in to help refill it and feels grateful for the opportunity — instead of one that watches their leader run on fumes with no energy to provide the leadership support they are tasked with.
10. “I’m proud of you.”
Out loud, to the actual person. Costs nothing. Takes four seconds. Buys a loyalty no bonus structure has ever quite managed. Considering it’s incredible value – it’s shocking that it’s free.
Each of the Ten is short, honest, and requires a comfort with vulnerability. Teams that hum aren’t the ones led by the Wizard of Oz – an all-powerful, all-knowing and inscrutable leader. They’re the ones with someone at the helm who’s brave enough to call it how it is!