The (2) Most Important Words for a Leader

There are a lot of words in a leader’s vocabulary, but have you ever paused to think about the most important ones? What can I say today that will inspire someone? What can I say today that will unlock what’s inside my teammates? What can I say to provide vision and clarity?

All those are important but I’ve learned that there are (2) words we should say often that have powerful impact on the lives of those we lead.

Those (2) words are:

THANK YOU!

That’s it. Your team needs to know they are appreciated and valued and verbalizing a “Thank You” is a powerful way to communicate value to someone else. In fact, not saying “Thank You” can have the adverse effect.

I’ve learned that unexpressed gratitude is often interpreted as ingratitude. In other words, when we don’t verbalize the “Thank You” it can come across to others as being ungrateful. It can make others feel not appreciated and not valued, even though that’s not our intent.

Take time today to find a way to say “Thank You”. You’ll bless others and be blessed yourself.

How to drive it to action:

Buy a stack of “Thank You” cards and write 2–3 each week. Observe your team doing the “right” things and thank them for it. It’s a worthwhile investment of (5) minutes of your time.

Also, I’ll often carve out time in my team meetings to have my teammates write 1–2 “Thank You” cards to people who helped them in some way. It’s powerful to walk around the office and see the “Thank You” cards on people’s desks.