3 Ways You Should Communicate With Your Boss…
The way you talk about your superiors will be a self-fulfilling prophecy determining how others will eventually talk about you. You will never be credible in the eyes of others if you are bad-mouthing your leaders. Words are like boomerangs; whatever you throw will return even faster.
Words are like boomerangs; whatever you throw will return even faster.
You cannot raise your influence with an unsupportive narrative. It doesn’t matter how secretive or secluded your conversations are, they will always find a way out. Words are powerful; they cannot be contained. What you say will find it’s way. Words always produce results: good, bad, or indifferent. Words are constantly at work effecting outcomes. Once something is communicated, it is out there. The wave of impact that word has will continue to carry momentum long after it is heard. This is why we play back words and conversations in our heads long after the conversation has been finished. Author Napoleon Hill said, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” Words are truly like seeds that will eventually produce sweet fruits or bitter roots. We must be very careful and very intentional about the words we communicate, especially when it comes to those above us. Author Mireille Guiliano said, “Intelligence, knowledge or experience are important and might get you a job, but strong communication skills are what will get you promoted.”
Here are 3 ways you should communicate with your boss/leaders…
1) Build On Their Ideas, Don’t Tear Them Down
Many people come out of the gate swinging tearing down everyone else’s ideas so their’s wins. The moment you start attacking other people’s ideas is the moment you ring the fight bell. No one likes to be shot down and assaulted. You need to build on top of your leader’s ideas. To get your point across make sure you sway the conversation in a way that doesn’t criticize. Always seek to build on top of an idea rather than dismantling them. Don’t just focus on how ideas won’t work, focus on what is needed to make it work better. You have the right to disagree with decisions from your leaders, but you never have the right to cause dissension about it. At the end of the day you either have to get on board or jump ship…but don’t cause a mutiny. Always fighting your leaders will result in your demise. Control your tongue and you’ll control your future.
You have the right to disagree with decisions from your leaders, but you never have the right to cause dissension about it.
2) Always Stay Genuinely Positive
The way in which you talk about situations gives others a quick judgment about you. How you communicate sets the tone for your reputation. You must hold yourself to a higher standard than even the standards others hold of you. And in order to do this you have to lead yourself first. I have found that the hardest person I have ever had to lead is myself. President Theodore Roosevelt once stated, “If I could kick the person responsible for all my troubles I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week.” If we are not leading ourselves well, we cannot lead others well. Toxic words create toxic outcomes. No one wants to be around a complainer who is always talking negative about everything and everyone. There cannot be any tolerance for destructive words. The truth is, you attract what you talk about. If you talk negatively, you will draw more negativity. Misery loves company. And not just loves either; it’s magnetized to it. But success also loves company, and is magnetized to it as well. What goes around comes around.
You must hold yourself to a higher standard than even the standards others hold of you.
3) Speak Their Language, Not Your Own
When dealing with other people everyone has their own native language. They need to understand you based on their terms, not yours. This means you must understand what is important in your leaders vocabulary. The more you can find common ground with them, the more they will buy into you. Only focusing on what you are passionate about could easily alienate what others are passionate about. Do your homework and know your audience. Speak in their language, not your own, and people will connect with you. If you want to have influence with your superiors and gain their ear, then use your words wisely. The more supportive of them you are, the more opportunity you will create. Listen to what your leaders communicate about and speak to those key values.
