A motivating leader in a landscape company brings out the best in others, creating a work environment that matches the employees’ standards. Good leaders communicate well, stating clearly what they expect and how well their team is doing in achieving it.
Sometimes leaders can say the wrong things. They use cliché statements that can be interpreted as uncaring or out-of-touch.
To the team member, these phrases seem like excuses. They lose respect for their manager and start to see him as not being willing to get involved and really lead. Here are 3 phrases to eliminate from your conversations:
- “It is what it is”. Your job as a leader is to make things better. This statement makes you seem lazy. If it needs to be changed, change it.
- “I’m open to feedback”. Often you’re saying this because you don’t ask often enough for feedback. Or you don’t really appear open to receiving it.
- “There’s no “I” in team. For the high-performing team member who wants to share new ideas or stand out as excellent, this can be a depressing thing to hear. Every team is made of “I”’s – individuals. Each will contribute in different and unique ways to the success of the whole. Encourage everyone to step forward and make their team more successful.