21 Things Leaders Need to Say and Do More Often

Posted on: 12-11-2013 by: David

Click to watch an awesome video!

Every leader is concerned to some degree or another about how to create profound and powerful employee engagement. Every year leaders across North America spend billions trying to do just that. Yes, massive amounts of money are spent in an effort to equip, encourage, envision, enlighten, and exhort employees to be genuinely and deeply engaged at work.

In other words, to get them ‘to care’.

I am about to give you the keys to doing just that. In fact, I am going to give you 21 things you can say and do to help the people you lead ‘to care’. To begin with though, we need to understand that at the end of the day employees are really interested in 3 things:

Do you care about me?
Does my work matter?
How do I measure my work to see the difference I am making?

So, with that in mind, are you interested to learn the 21 things you can say and do to help your people care? Before I tell you, I need to let you know where I got this from, because I didn’t come up with this myself. Nope, I am borrowing this from a video I saw on YouTube. I was significantly impacted by the content of the video, by the nature of the presentation, and by the presenter himself.

I don’t know the name of the presenter, but he was profound and powerful. He calls himself “Kid President” and he’s only 9 years old. But don’t be fooled by his age – he is awesome! You can see his presentation on YouTube: “20 Things To Say More Often”. So, here is my interpretation of his message, as it applies to leaders:

21 Things Leaders Need to Say and Do More Often:

“Thank you.” – show genuine gratitude to your people.
“Excuse me.” – it’s not all about you, excuse yourself when you step into an employee’s office, or space.
“Here is a surprise corn-dog I bought you because I appreciate you.” – practice random acts of kindness to express genuine appreciation.
“I’m sorry.” – own your mistakes and apologize when you make one.
“I forgive you.” – make things right with people after they make mistakes. Don’t leave them wondering where they stand.
“You can do it.” (But not if it’s something they can’t do.) – provide genuine encouragement that befits their level of ability.
“I have BBQ sauce on my shirt too.” – empathize with weaknesses and flaws, because we all have them.
“Please.” – this shows respect and honor.
“Everything is going to be OK.” – let them know you have a strategy and a plan and you are working it.
“Awe, you got me a corn-dog too? You shouldn’t have buddy.” – show genuine gratitude for kindnesses extended. (Even if you don’t like corn-dogs)
“I don’t know.” – it’s OK not to know, but you will find out the answer.
“You’re so awesome!” (And mean it.) – practice exuberant encouragement and affirmation.
“Hello person I have never met before, here is a high five.” – take the initiative to meet everyone on the team and express exuberant gratitude for them being on the team.
“My sports team is not always the best sports team.” – It’s not a competition that you always have to win, admit that everyone has gaps.
“Nothing.” – yes, just keep your mouth shut when appropriate.
“Make a fart sound, it’s funny.” – you have to have a sense of humour. Learn to muck it up and laugh with the team, as professionally as possible.
“I disagree, but I still like you as a person.” – encourage differing points of view, fierce conversations, and spirited debates, but always keep it respectful. The best solutions are found amidst a wide variety of perspectives.
“Scream.” – sometimes you just need to go get alone somewhere and let the stress and frustration out. Better to do it there, than letting it out on an employee
“Life is tough, but so are you.” – don’t candy coat things when they are tough, but encourage and affirm the strength of character your people have to work through it.
“Something nice.” – regularly extend encouragements, kindnesses, and affirmations to let staff know you care
“Let’s dance!” – you must know how to celebrate successes with your people.