Is your language affecting your leadership success?

Is your language affecting your leadership success?

The language you use with others and to yourself has a massive impact on your results. If you keep saying things are challenging…guess what, it will be challenging! You’re instructing your mind to expect challenging…so that’s the experience it delivers.

You don’t get what you want in life…you get what you expect

Notice your language when you have a challenge coming up. Because your thoughts and outlook on the activity in hand will determine how tough, or straightforward, the activity will be. Remember, you don’t get what you want…you get what you expect!

Quick example…you start getting a sore throat and you think to yourself…”I do hope I’m not getting a cold”. That’s very dangerous language and here’s why. If I say “don’t think of a blue tree”…what do you think of? A blue tree of course. That’s because you can’t not think about something that you don’t want to think about, without thinking about it first!

So, when you say, “I hope I’m not getting a cold”, you are focusing your mind on the words “getting a cold” and manifesting the physical environment for a cold to take hold. Deepak Chopra (M.D. and founder of the Chopra Centre for Wellbeing) says “your immune system is constantly eavesdropping on your internal dialogue”…and it’s not just your immune system!

And in sales leadership?

Every time you don’t want something to happen, your attention tends to focus right on it. “I hope this isn’t going to be a tough sales meeting”; “I don’t think this sales person is going to make it”; “The team really don’t get it” are all versions of “don’t think of a blue tree!”

Now let’s get real here…I don’t deny that sales leadership comes with many challenges these challenges are easier to overcome when we use positive language! Rather than saying “This is really hard” you could say, “this may not be easy but the more I do this the more skilled I become and the easier it becomes”. A simple reframe which, if you replicate for all your challenges, would create a significantly different experience for you…and your team!

Even the most positive leaders…

…can fall into the trap of negative language, so start to notice when you do this. Every time you hear yourself using negative language with yourself or others, reframe what you say using positive language that’s framed on what you want rather than what you don’t want. Over time you’ll start to notice yourself becoming much more positive, goal focussed and happier!

Until next time

Leigh 🙂