Watch Your Language . . . words really matter

Our language as a leader invites or distances, encourages or discourages, builds community, or continues the ennui or isolation.

Part I.

It’s only words
And words are all I have
To take your heart away.

Bee Gees, "Words"

It is often said "Actions speak louder than words."

The implication is that words are not important. At the very least, the phrase dismisses the importance of words. Actions in a leader are important. I contend that words still have great impact. In fact, they are a form of ACTION. The leader's words ultimately are seen and heard by listeners and readers as conveying the strategic thinking of the leader.

I was reminded of the truth of the Bee Gees' lyric in a recent interview in preparation for designing a leadership development program for mid-level leaders within a Fortune 500 company based in North America. One of my potential participants was responding to a question about her experience of leading change in the organization. The leader spoke of understanding what the current situation is, seeking the input of different stakeholders, being clear where the department was headed. "Then," she said, "We transformed."

The word "transformed" caught my attention. I noted it, and included it in my report summary of the interviews I had conducted. I went further, concluding that perhaps, "Transformational Leadership" might work as an overall frame for the learning process we were proposing. When I presented my proposal to the group delegated to oversee the leadership development program, one of them responded "Oh, Michael, ‘transformed’ is the word being used in the organization to mean a reduction of staff numbers. It means a ‘doing more with less’ strategy—a downsizing, if you prefer."

I had completely missed the context of the language or words being used, and thereby missed the meaning behind the leader’s words --- and indeed the action or implementation strategy to which she was referring.

Words as Actions of the Leader

As you might imagine, "transformation" was not the title we selected to roll out the manager program. This anecdote illustrates the power that language holds. It is the secret sauce: the little-noticed tool in the leader's tool kit that allows her to see the evolving context in which she is asked to lead, connect with, and motivate, convince, and outline her thinking. Our language as a leader invites or distances, encourages or discourages, builds community, or continues the ennui or isolation.

As a spouse, parent, grown child, voter, manager, or leader, each of us knows, at first hand, the power of words to ennoble or belittle, engage or enrage, catch or squander, incite or excite, endear or distance.

Language as Hallmark of the Human

Anthropologists tell us that all species on the planet communicate. The varieties and means of communication and the ability to do so constitute a lesson in the wonders of the world. However, verbal and written language set the human being apart among earthly species. That we use language is one of perhaps two distinguishing marks of the human species. The other is consciousness—the capacity to reflect on action taken by instinct and change that behavior consciously.

We humans are constantly thinking . . . and then . . . for a short time, or over a longer period of reflection, our thoughts issue forth in speech. Our ancestors drew on the caves before they wrote down a language, but both activities are rooted in the same distinguishing human impulse: the reflective capacity to decide what to say (or what to draw) upon reflection.

We can even, using the skill of bracketing, lower the volume on the non-stop chatter and reaction in our own heads and thoughts. We bracket our thinking in order to pay proper or full attention to one another and others' thinking, or, indeed, (perish the thought) become aware of, and pay due attention to, our own thinking!

In Part II, I’ll look at the way a language community is shaped by its leader, and we’ll explore some concrete steps you can take to choose and use language wisely.