As a leader, the words that we use can have a tremendous impact on our ability to influence, motivate, and encourage others. Powerful words are picked up by the unconscious mind, and in turn, produce outward physical and emotional responses.
Choose the right words, and you will create a feeling of inspiration. Choose the wrong words, and you risk segregating your tribe and creating feelings of resentment.
The following powerful words will enhance your ability to perform as a leader and escalate your power of influence.
The first powerful word is not a word that you speak but is something that you must do if you wish to excel as a leader. Listening is the single most powerful action that a leader can perform. Sure, it sounds simple, but most people are terrible listeners.
When they should be listening, most people are planning what to say next, and waiting for a moment to interrupt. By doing this, it limits their ability to truly understand what another is sharing. Before we, as leaders, can be understood, we must first understand.
How much respect do you have for someone who, during a conversation, seems to be merely waiting for their turn to speak? They’re not genuinely listening to you and your ideas, and in most cases, it’s painfully obvious.
As a leader, you cannot afford to be a poor listener. If you have surrounded yourself with a team, and the team is a part of a shared vision, then you must listen. You never know who the next monumental idea will come from. Plus, if your team feels that you’re not listening to them, they will stop sharing their ideas with you, and will eventually detach themselves from your vision.
The easiest way to lead others is to make certain that your followers share a common vision. When your team shares a single vision for the company, leading becomes easy. It’s important that the vision doesn’t only belong to you. If that’s the case, then you are only a boss and not a leader.
When creating your team’s vision, get everyone involved in the creation process. Your tribe will be much more likely to follow you if they’ve participated in the vision creation process.
To make certain that everybody is sharing the same vision, it should be written down where everyone can see it. Review it daily and make adjustments as needed. The more often your team is reminded of the vision, the more it will sink into their unconscious minds. Once it’s accepted by their unconscious minds, they will be just as motivated as you to achieve it.
Avoid speaking in the negative as a leader. Because of the way our unconscious minds work, speaking in the negative can have damaging, and unencouraging effects on our intended objective. Instead, always try to speak in the positive.
For example, you wouldn’t want to say something like, “We’re not going to hit our sales goal this quarter if you guys don’t pick up the phones and start making calls.” That kind of speech will have a negative influence on the unconscious mind, and the result will be that your team will unconsciously accept failure as evident.
The exact same message could be delivered in the positive like this, “We’re going to hit our sales goal this quarter, so let’s pick up the phones and start making calls.” By simply changing a few of the words in the sentence, we have planted a message of success in the unconscious minds of our team. We’ve also changed the direction of the message from a “You” sentence to a “We” sentence. By changing it to a “We” sentence, we’ve let our followers know that they’re not in this alone.
When you combine good listening skills, creating a shared vision, and always speaking in the positive, leadership becomes easy. These skills must be practiced daily until they become habits. I recommend that you write a note to yourself, somewhere that you will see it daily, that will remind you to incorporate these powerful words into your daily life. In time, you will be amazed by the results.
Chad Chesmark works closely with Hypnotist Richard Barker in the world of Hypnosis and Magic. Chad is an engaging leadership speaker who inspires his audiences by combining speaking with mentalism, hypnosis, humor, and entertainment. He is based in Houston, TX but performs globally. To find out more about Chad Chesmark’s motivational speaking programs visit www.Leadershipmindpower.com
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