#312: The 6 Toxic Phrases that no leader should ever let come
The fastest ways to demoralize the team
Found in Inc. Magazine. Sometimes it’s better to copy and paste
Here are six phrases that great leaders will never say.
1. "I don't need anybody's opinion. This is the direction we're headed."
You'll never hear that phrase from good bosses who place their teams first. Instead, they seek perspective from several angles. When difficult situations arise, they talk to several people cross-functionally -- up and even down reporting levels -- to get clarity and determine a course of action. When they arrive at a decision, sometimes the decision may not be popular; but it's always the right one because they sought many views and opinions from sound minds.
2. "I'm not responsible for that--go blame someone else."
The best leaders resist the tendency to deflect responsibility and cast blame elsewhere to protect themselves at all costs. Instead, they accept that they're not perfect and that they make mistakes. So when they make mistakes, they admit them. They recognize that they are accountable to others below their line of sight, not just those above them. When leaders model this authenticity, employees feel safe enough to take risks, make their own mistakes, and be open enough to say, "Hey, boss, I messed up."
3. "I don't need to get trained. I know everything there is to know."
Few things are as infuriating as leaders who think they're above it all, including their own need to be a better leader. Good bosses are willing to learn and gladly accept the role of a continuing learner among their team members. Leaders know that they have much to learn and that each person has something important to teach them. Leaders don't always know what is needed and what to do. They are willing to listen before making suggestions. They ask questions and are sincerely interested in the answers.
4. "That's why I hired you. Figure it out yourself."
We hire intelligent and creative people to do complex and ingenious things. But when an employee comes to you for guidance, great leaders leverage the opportunity to coach them to success. Unfortunately, according to one study, fewer than half of organizations surveyed had implemented coaching in their performance-management process. The few that did -- you guessed it -- were high-performing organizations.
5. "It is what it is."
When you hear this empty phrase from a boss, you can bet he dismissed something essential or worthy of further discussion as the opposite. It's a sign of lazy discourse. Good bosses are willing to engage others in deeper conversations to explore solutions and new ideas or solve problems together. While this phrase may be something you say to your friends during a football game on the couch while eating popcorn, in a professional setting as a leader, it makes you sound like a total dingbat and exposes you as a lazy thinker.
6. "I can't do this for you, so don't ask again."
Employees translate this as I won't do this for you, which is the ultimate way of saying, "I don't care about you." As a leader, using I can't do this for you conveys that you're not pulling your weight to get the job done to everyone's benefit. It speaks to your unwillingness to do what it takes to empower the team and make them better.