The world is full of negativity. You turn on the TV to a news station and you quickly discover this. Negativity sells. It’s a sad state of affairs. We’re inundated with negativity and it brings us down. Recently I began to brainstorm my own list of powerful phrases for positive leaders.
10 Powerful Phrases For Positive Leaders
1. I accept responsibility:
As a leader, all responsibility will eventually fall on you. Owning this and being willing to say it will help you go farther.
Don’t be a leader who passes the buck. Positive leaders know the buck stops with them.
2. You did a great job:
Letting people know you notice the work they’ve done helps boost their confidence for future tasks. Make sure you’re telling your team they did a great job.
3. How can I help you?:
Positive leaders don’t sit back and watch from afar. They do watch. They notice. And they’re willing to utter the positive phrase above when needed.
Make sure you’re asking your team members how you can help them.
4. Thank you:
Thank you is a powerful couple of words. Whether this is leading in your home or your organization, Thank You is a phrase positive leaders say often. Your spouse will appreciate it. Your children will appreciate hearing it. And your team will appreciate hearing your appreciation.
5. I’m glad you work here:
You want to see your team member’s face light up like the Griswold’s Christmas tree? Tell them how glad you are to have them working for you.
6. What’s Working?:
Positive leaders know things are going well. They also know their team knows what is working. Have you asked your team what’s working? Give them the opportunity to open up and share about the things going right.
7. You Have my Support:
Your team members can feel like a cog in the wheel. They can fall into the trap of believing no one in leadership appreciates them or supports them.
Turn that around. Let them know you support them. Tell it to them. More importantly, show them you support them.
8. What do I Need to Change in Myself?:
Leadership isn’t only leading others. Leadership is leading yourself.
Recognizing this leads to the above question. It helps you to think about the tasks, actions, and goals you have. You may need to change some of the things you’re doing, thinking, and planning on doing.
9. Let Me Tell You How Amazing Ben Is:
You may think this is a strange phrase but it’s not. The name may not be Ben but there are many “Bens” in your organization.
There are team members doing great work. They show up, they bust their butts, and they innovate.
Are you bragging on these team members? You need to be. Bragging on team members to other team members shows them you notice and are willing to talk up the team members doing great work.
Make sure you’re bragging on people!
10. And what else?:
I got this question from Michael Bungay Stanier. He wrote The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap. He often encourages coaches to ask the AWE question: And what else…
And what else helps you to dig a little deeper into what’s going on. This question also shows you want to know more.
This article about positive leaders originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
