Eliminate These 3 Words From Your Leadership Language

“That should be okay.”

“Let me know what you want to do later.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

We have all used and heard these phrases, and while they are all perfectly reasonable, none of them is particularly meaningful for the listener. Each one of them is vague, generic and non-specific; each has little impact as an effective communication choice.

When you’re in charge it’s important to be as intentional with your words and actions as you can. In a study conducted at 400 companies with more than 100,000 employees, businesses reported an “average loss per company of $62.4 million per year because of inadequate communication to and between employees.” Proof that ineffective communication can seriously cost your business. As a leader you must be considerate of your language choices and aware of both the words you use and the words you avoid. Here are 3 words every leader must remove from their language in order to be more deliberate, articulate, and effective when communicating with their teams.

“Should” is a big one. “Should” is technically a modal verb, one that implies possibility and probability. However, if a clear probability is not defined then phrases that include “should” can come across as vague. As a leader, you don’t want to be vague with your team, you want to demonstrate definitive thinking. So, if “should” comes out of your mouth, simply rephrase it. From “that should be okay” into “that will be ok if…” or “actually I need more information before deciding.” Keep in mind that your team needs to know what you you expressly want and expect, and “should’ can muddle your message.

The most innocuous of these three words is “later.” In colloquial language “later” has a number of light meanings that all imply the passage of time into the future. But as a leader you need to be specific with setting your expectation around time and deadlines. The phrase “let me know what you want to do later” could be construed in many different ways. Do you mean “by the end of the day” or “by the end of the week?” Two very different deadlines that could either leave you hanging or create more confusion for your team member. So when you’re reaching for “later” consider what you need and when you need it by. Your team will only be able to deliver results on time when they know what the actual deadline is. Which will help with productivity and satisfaction for you and your team members.

In ye olden times, “fine” was meant to express excellence, exquisite quality or moral admiration. It was offered as high praise and there was no deviating from this definition. However, over time, “fine” has become synonomous with satisfactory, average or even “meh.” No longer equated with high praise, “fine” has become a marker for basic acceptability. Because of this wide gap between excellent and acceptable the question for you is how do you mean it? If you are acknowledging someone’s work, you will be have to be more descriptive and pointed so that your report understands what you really mean. If they have achieved excellence then proudly let them know! And if it is simply acceptable, use this moment to offer constructive feedback so that they can go from “meh” to “impressive” or from “fine” to “beautifully articulated.”

As a leader you have an indelible impact on those around you. Your team is especially tuned in to what you say and how you say it. So it’s incredibly important to be attentive to the words you use regularly. Once you create awareness you will be in a better position to use more meaningful language which then becomes a living demonstration of what intentional leadership can be.