Weak words, weak requests
A former boss of mine presented this concept of weak words to me and, to this day I cannot shake it. They are words like think, try, and may. When I use these words my inner voice tries to correct me. Weak words are too cautions and not direct enough. They do not project confidence. Here are some examples.
"I think option A is best."
"I may have to address her tardiness at some point."
"Boss, I'll try to get this performance objective into the 90% category."
These sentences, as they are written, leave successful outcomes to chance. I've heard versions of them often. I've even used a few myself but I've seen the results and they are as weak as the sentences themselves. People may not take a leader seriously using these words or, when used by a subordinate, a leader may not gain confidence that something will be done or that a subordinate is committed to the task.
Now on to weak requests. Weak requests are those which are weightless. People may not take them seriously or even consider them at all. Here is the most common one. "Let's give this problem some thought so we can fix it." This really doesn't direct anything or any person. What does 'give some thought' really mean? A subordinate isn't really on the hook for anything with this directive. There are no deliverables by a certain date or specific things to 'think' about. Let's put some muscle into these.
"Option A is best and is my choice."
"I will address her tardiness right away."
"Boss, I will get this performance objective into the 90% category."
"I want all of you, myself included, to give this problem some thought and by Friday at noon, I need each of you to email me three recommendations to address this. Share what you send with each other and I'll have this up on a slide to discuss and solve at our next meeting."
These are much more direct. Outcomes are much more assured using confident and direct language.
You may want to think about the language you use and, like, at some point try to give it some muscle when you have a moment. Wait. Let me rephrase that. Rephrase and rethink what you say and direct as a leader. Be more confident and direct. Your people will appreciate the clarity and they will deliver!
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell