Buzz words and responsible semantics
Friends, let’s talk today about buzzwords and responsible semantics.
I was introduced to the idea of responsible semantics by Rick Carson, a renowned and seasoned counselor and executive coach from whom I learnt the Gremlin Taming Methodology, a fascinating piece of work.
Today, I use the phrase responsible semantics in a slightly different but related context of leaders who ask of their people a certain kind of behavior.
Supposing you are a leader, and your Manager were to tell you:
You need to have a growth mindset
You need to improve networking
You must be a great storyteller
You must have executive presence
You need to be strategic
You must be ambitious
You must have passion
You must influence without authority
Sounds heavy right?
Unfortunately, that is what the average leader gets told on a daily basis by senior management, urging that they demonstrate newer and newer behaviors but more importantly read their minds because only the leaders who ask for this may know what exactly they have in mind when they use these terms.
Responsible Semantics as Rick Carson says does not rely on verbal crutches. Responsible semantics are accurate semantics. It presents our intentions and expectations in simple words and sentences and in a simple language where what we say is coming from our true self and not what “I read” or “I picked up” or “what I have in mind” and “you know what I mean?”
It is one thing to say to your team member, “You need to have executive presence”.
It is an entirely different thing to say, “When you are in a meeting with senior management, kindly develop the ability to read and assess how the meeting is proceeding and then decide what you should say, when you should say it and if you should say it at all. Should you be diplomatic, or statesmanlike or candid is a matter of good leadership judgment.”
So, the next time we would like any of our leaders to demonstrate a behavior that they are not demonstrating, or they are demonstrating less of, it would be useful for us to use phrases and terms that are specific, that make clear our authentic intention.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/lJ9PEPO4K44
