Are You A Ninth Letter Leader?

Every meeting is an opportunity. A unique moment which can bring a team closer together or shred the fabric which binds. Many leaders talk about building their teams, but few truly understand the complexities and intricacies of establishing the necessary culture of unity.

Today, our company experienced a unique opportunity. As many organizations do, we feel the tyranny of distance from our Chief Executive Officer. 8,000 miles separate our ‘island’ from the mother ship of corporate. For the past two weeks, we have been planning the big day. A proud moment to show off our team, detail our successes and receive the much-deserved praise of our CEO. Thirty executives lined the boardroom when she entered. Her demeanor was incredibly down-to-earth and she was sincerely interested in our locality and this branch of the overall team. The moment of truth…the presentation began with an amazing video of our personal success story to set the tone for our 13 slide presentation lined with exponential successes, resolved challenges and positive future prospects. As our presenter unveiled the narrative, faces began to fall in unison. Instead of the upbeat, positive words we usually promote our story with…one word, one letter, echoed off the barren faces…’I’. Although the slides had not changed, the tone had. Over the next thirty minutes, 69 times sentences began with the ninth letter of the English alphabet. This incredible opportunity to brag on our team, to promote our successes, to highlight our efforts had been wasted. Not intentionally, but subconsciously and inadvertently. This team-building event transpired into a team-dividing affair.

Caution must be used with “I, me, mine” terminology. These words are the natural comfort-zone selection of many individuals and unintentionally offend others. When building a culture of teamwork, these three pronouns interject individualism and are extremely possessive. Dynamic leaders maximize the use of “we, us, our” phrases. This allows the development of a mutual solution where all parties believe in shared success. To fully understand this concept, count the times people use “I, me, my” in their daily exchanges. Simply take notice of the words next time you are sitting in a meeting. Now, think how the topic might be received if every one of those possessive words were replaced with the team building terms, “we, us, our.” A simple change to ‘We’ creates a side-by-side stance, drawing attention to common interests and shared effort. This subtle point, a simple strategy, will greatly influence team building and help build your case as a win-win instead of win-lose; don’t be possessive. If ‘I’ take credit for a success, it does not build ‘Us’ as a team.

Don’t be a Ninth Letter Leader.