3 Phrases to Stop Saying to Your Team to Achieve a Thriving Business

No matter how talented of a leader you may be, there is no doubt that at some point or another, you have had issues delivering your message. As a result of these miscommunications, good people will be lost along the way. It is impossible to refrain from making inevitable mistakes as a leader, but you must learn from these mistakes and avoid repeating them. There are some common phrases you use that you may see impacting your people negatively.  

Let’s touch base on that tomorrow.

When you say, “let’s touch base on that tomorrow,” not only does it show that it does not hold importance to you at that moment, but it also shows that you are not placing value on what they have to say. Also, depending on your memory and reliability when tomorrow comes, you may forget. We all have things going on, and it may slip your mind to reconnect with the person that you promised. So, remember to listen to your people, and talk about their ideas today. If you must, set up a scheduled time to do chat so that they will know it takes importance in your day as well. If you do not make yourself available to your people when they have something to say, you make yourself that much more unapproachable and create a divide between leaders and employees. 

Send me a reminder or calendar invite.

This phrase will easily make you sound like the entitled boss who was too important to schedule your meeting or set a reminder for something. Again, this places a lesser value on the person speaking to you. This is not an environment for your employees to thrive in. You will see morale lost in the workplace, less creativity, and soon your employees will stop coming to you if they feel as though you use them as an executive assistant. You should be able to make things a priority and remind yourself of your own meetings and tasks if you care about your people.

Can you do me a favor?

Now, this can be used if you genuinely need a favor and will pay it back. But asking your employees for a favor just so that you do not need to do something that you should be able to do is not acceptable. Asking for something with no intent to return will cause people to notice and feel used. It is good to always make yourself open to them needing a favor in return. Make sure you go above and beyond to make the genuine good deeds count. Your people will notice, and it will give them more of a reason to perform well if they feel as though you are in their corner also.

Talent as a leader does not trump adequate communication with your team, and there are certain common phrases that can be avoided so that you are able to form more genuine and meaningful relationships with your employees. When your employees regard you in a positive light and not as just the "boss," you are far more likely to get better results from their work.