I went to a crummy high school, and grammar was definitely not my thing. In fact, I probably did not learn what a pronoun was until I worked at AnswerLogic. (At AnswerLogic, I also learned that marketing is a gerund! Who knew?)
However, I have now decided that pronouns play a surprisingly important part in building a high-performance organization.
When employees – especially executives – talk, I listen for their choice of pronoun.
- Do they say, “When you decided,” or “When we decided?”
- Do they say, “Their strategy is to …” or “Our strategy is to …”
- Do they say, “Their goals are …” or “My goals are …”
When I hear people describe things in the third person, I know that they are not fully bought-in. They are holding the organization, its vision, its values, and its goals at arm’s-length. They are reserving judgment. Leaving a way out.
So leaders, I suggest that you start by examining your own choice of pronouns. Are you fully bought-in? Then, start listening for the pronouns that everyone else is using.
You can’t finish in first place if everyone talks in the third person.
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