Leading Through Language

16 THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP IS…POSITIVE

Recently, I was conducting a workshop for a group of senior finance leaders in a major financial services institution in downtown Toronto. We were discussing the need to make messages positive rather than negative. The CFO said, “I can't agree more. I remember in 2006, the investment bank had had its most profitable year ever. At the end of the year we brought all our staff together. Our CEO stood up and started talking about the year. And I will never forget what he said. ‘We had record results. And I have only three words to describe them. Not. Good. Enough.’ In that moment he lost the whole company. For the next three years not one of us wanted to work for him. And we never forgot what he said.”

Nearly a decade later, that story was still fresh in the CFO's mind. That one use of negative language had stuck with him, and it had destroyed his confidence in the CEO.

This is an example of why leaders make the choice to lead using positive (yet realistic) language. They recognize that if they want to inspire others to act, they must paint a picture of the future that provides hope, and they must provide positive perspectives on difficult realities.

People want to follow positive leaders. I asked Jeff Medzegian, Director of Supplier Performance at Boeing, to describe the characteristics of the leaders he'd most enjoyed working for during his 20 plus years at Boeing. He told me:

I think the better ones are…positive and inclusive…

They're ...