The Power of Words

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty says, in a rather scornful tone, “It means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” says Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” says Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.” ~ Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

Words have power and who gets to decide what they mean (‘which is to be master’) is significant. In today's world of intense political division we often see examples of the inflammatory nature of words and how they are used and how their impact and meaning is often questioned or simply rewritten.

As leaders we must be aware of the impact of words. Words by their nature hold emotion and depth and power. When we as leaders are speaking we need to understand the way that different words may land and how they may affect a situation. In the words of Brene Brown, “Clear is kind”. Brown wasn’t implying that in defense of honesty and clarity that we can just ‘say it like we see it’ without regard for its impact. Thoughtful word choice facilitates reflection, processing, and growth and builds relational capacity.

Words can also matter by their absence. When leaders leave a vacuum and do not address situations or do not take time to make important connections consistently across time - by their absence they leave room for false assumptions, doubt, mistrust and fear.

The Robinson Resource Group suggests in their blog that a leader's words can Educate, Persuade and Amplify. The responsibility of leadership is to be sure that what we are saying - the words we are using - are educating, persuading and amplifying thoughtfully and honestly.

“We have to remember that our words can either inspire greatness, or they can extinguish the potential of those we lead.” ~ Tanveer Naseer