Language Drives Your Culture

Recently, one of my clients was frustrated by what she called a “negative culture.”

I asked her to elaborate and be more specific. She went on to describe a handful of examples of:

• People criticizing each other
• Negative comments like "that will never work" in response to another's ideas
• Gossiping about a coworker
• Playing the blame game
• Using negative language and focusing on problems during most situations

Every group of people that comes together regularly has a culture. This is true for a group of golfing buddies, a Girl Scout troop, a sports team, and, of course, your company. ?There are unwritten rules about how things get done, what can and can't be talked about, and what type of jokes are okay. If you pay attention, you will start to notice that all groups of people have a "language" of their own.

Language is a key driver of your culture.

Culture is how your people behave. You may not have put a lot of thought into the language used in your company or where it comes from.

It has developed organically over time. The language you use as a company typically follows the language used by the strongest personalities. This means you have a language (and a culture) by default rather than by design (intention).

When designing your culture (which is a continuous process), language is something you want to pay more attention to and be more intentional about. Every day there are numerous interactions between the people in your company. These day-to-day micro-communications between your people provide an opportunity to be more aware and choose the language that is used.

You can't control every communication and the language your employees use, nor should you want to. But you can influence them. Lead by example. Use clear, specific, and intentional language in all your communications. From formal presentations to your daily interactions, you have the opportunity to shape your culture by the language you use.

It starts with you. This will inspire your entire team to make better choices for the language they use. Like all behaviors, language is a choice. People can choose to use more effective language. Language underpins what we value. From the words on your website and brochures, to your top-down communications, to peer-to-peer communications, and all those daily interactions, language is a key driver of your culture.

Going forward, your leadership team consciously wants to use more language that reflects what you value as a company. Since you have already identified what you value in your Core Values and Core Purpose (Mission), that is a great place to start. You may want to use your value “Respect” and your mission “To improve the lives of clients and team members…” to help you choose words in everyday interactions that instill these ideas.

When you frame language through the lens of your mission and values, it is easy to see that when we criticize others, make negative comments, or label/judge someone (i.e., lazy, careless, disappointment, bad attitude, etc.), we don't respect them, and we are not trying to help them improve.

There is better language you can choose that is both respectful and can help people improve. It starts by paying attention to the language you use in all daily micro-conversations. Notice when you are being negative. Look for opportunities to use more positive language. One way to get better is to eliminate bad language habits.

7 Language Habits to Eliminate in Your Communications

Falling into bad language habits is easy. In a popular TED talk, Julian Treasure (an international communication expert) captures seven sinful language habits you see in companies all the time. They are:

o?? Gossiping – talking ill of a person when they are not present

o?? Judging – looking down on someone; to regard as inferior; forming an opinion

o?? Negativity – the expression of pessimism or criticism

o?? Complaining – expressing dissatisfaction or annoyance

o?? Excuses – looking to be released from duty or responsibilities

o?? Exaggeration – representing things much better or worse than they really are

o?? Dogmatism – the expression of opinions as if they are facts

?

Are any or all of these part of the language in your company?

One way to improve your culture is to eliminate bad language habits from your company. If you as a leadership team understand that your language has a significant and direct impact on how your people perform, then it becomes an opportunity to use language as a sustainable competitive advantage.

?Start with your leadership team and encourage them to eliminate negative, judgmental, and critical language. Instead, reframe their language so they are communicating clearly and helping the other person to improve.

?You can think about a company a little like a pro sports team, where good leaders are good coaches, and the goal is to continually improve the performance at every position…in this case through improved communications.

?

Kevin Poland is the owner of? The Renaissance Group, a consulting and coaching company that provides small business owners with tools and frameworks to live an extraordinary entrepreneurial life.? We can help you build and install a business operating system so your company can run, grow and scale without you.