When these phrases are used appropriately and wisely in group and team
situations, they will put you in a natural leadership position.
I spend a lot of time helping leaders with succession planning--essentially, helping them develop other leaders.
What's interesting is what happens just before the developing begins.
Truth is, leaders aren't developed from scratch. What happens instead is that someone is first recognized as a potential leader and then the development begins.
So what is it that leaders look for in those they think might have
the potential for leadership? How are future leaders recognized? By a
lot of things, obviously, many of them idiosyncratic to the corporate
environment within which they will work.
However, when I help senior executives make this decision, one thing
comes up frequently: How the leadership candidate conducts themselves in
group situations--and specifically, how they contribute to group
discussions.
There are three phrases in particular, variants of which I hear
remarked upon time and again when they're used appropriately and wisely
in group and team situations:
1. "I have nothing to add."
You know the person who simply has to contribute to every single item under discussion, irrespective of whether or not they have anything of note to contribute? Don't be that person.
Doing so shows only fear (that you might be outshone by someone else
if you don't speak to every point) or bumptiousness (you believe you
actually do know something about everything under discussion, however esoteric).
Be confident in your own potential leadership abilities to simply
state you have nothing to add when, um, you have nothing to add.
2. "I don't understand what you mean by..."
Don't want to seem stupid in front of colleagues? Fearful that if you
don't know the meaning of every acronym thrown around that you'll be
dismissed as not "with it"? Get to the back of the succession line.
Potential leaders talk like 6-year-olds when necessary. "I've never heard that phrase in this context before--could you help me understand what you mean by it?"
won't get you laughed at (unless you work with jerks, in which case,
you have deeper problems), it'll get you recognized as genuine and
trustworthy.
3. "I recommend that we..."
There's a type of team member who will avoid making any
statement that involves some risk on their part. Whether it's being
asked to express an opinion or make a recommendation, they'll wiggle
like a trapped squirrel rather than be definite about their own views.
This usually comes out of a fear of being wrong (sometimes its
genuine shyness, but that's rarer than you'd think), and people who are
afraid of ever being wrong don't make good leaders.
I don't suggest that you start throwing around your opinions on every
matter under the sun (see point 1 above), but if you want to be
considered for future leadership, I do recommend you fully think through
those issues in which you are involved, and make your recommendations
clearly and without vacillation (opinions can come later; share them if
and when you're asked).
Want your leadership potential to be recognized? Try using these
three phrases--or whatever version of them you're comfortable with--next
time you're working in a group or team.
http://www.inc.com/les-mckeown/3-phrases-that-will-get-you-noticed.html
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