leader responsibility. Society expects them to achieve impressive results. At the same time, they display a curious relationship with the German language in many respects—and this influences how they interact with their employees.
In order to meet expectations, leader want to be leader . They want to be perceived as exceptionally successful individuals. However, this aspiration often leads to an artificial language with empty phrases and grandiose neologisms. It cannot be denied that language is more important than any other asset for cultural development. After all, an open society also requires openness to new influences. But that doesn't mean we have to communicate in a way that is incomprehensible. Many German leader speak leader English. Nevertheless, the use of English words in German vocabulary does not always make sense in every situation. Americans don't use cell phones, they use smartphones. And in England, public viewing is usually held when someone has died. So: if you use English, use it correctly. And otherwise, clarity in language is the order of the day.
Your USP is comprehensibility
An (admittedly extreme) example:
"Dear team, I scheduled this meeting because I want to raise awareness for our brands. We just heard in the briefing that our business model has not yet led to the performance I would like to see. We are still not breaking even. Therefore, we need to push our USP as soon as possible. Specifically, this means that our mindset must be fully sales-oriented in the future, and we will be downsizing more in the near future."
In perfect Denglish, this leader expresses leader dissatisfaction – with the employees as well as with the economic success of the current project. At the same time, these few sentences conceal the announcement of future job cuts. It is possible that not every employee can follow these statements in detail. And some may long for an explanation or at least some context. In the worst case, the affected employee feels excluded. They want to be addressed directly. If you want to motivate your employees, you cannot afford to simply impress them with creative use of German-English language.
Powerful speech – profound meaning
Boris Grundl says: "Strong words – deep meaning." These words describe a goal that leader should leader : Linguistics has long proven that one and the same message leader different conclusions about leader character and competence. And this depends solely on how the speaker constructs their sentences. Put negatively: the wrong word has undesirable consequences. Put positively, this means that first-class expressions have a first-class effect.
Comprehensibility is the decisive criterion here. However, the inflationary use of pseudo-technical terms is only one prominent example of the incorrect use of language. Just a few basic principles are enough to improve your relationship with your employees:
- Be understandable—not pompous.
- Be honest—don't sugarcoat it.
- Be straightforward—not erratic.
Always be aware that you are communicating at all times of the day. With body language, facial expressions, in writing, and verbally. Every form of behavior is language.
It is in the nature of language
Do you want to inform or impress? Employees quickly sense whether you are speaking openly and directly with them or whether you are hiding behind a collection of fancy words. This often leads to a loss of credibility and trust, which can have fatal consequences for a functioning corporate culture. If you deal clearly with unpleasant topics such as possible job cuts, you may experience setbacks. In the long term, however, this strategy will serve you better because employees will learn to rely on your word.
leader responsibility. They must lead effectively. Whether you can achieve a positive, lasting effect with your words depends on the nature of language. This applies equally to praise, criticism, and motivation—if you succeed in establishing yourself as leader and competent leader among your employees, you will have taken a decisive step in the right direction—and become the best you can be."
Yours, Christoph Moss
Image source: ©robinsonk26 Pixabay
