The office environment is full of verbal and leadership clichés. The phrases that were originally used to motivate are heard so often that they became synonymous with other absurd behaviors of incompetent bosses. An interesting article on this topic was recently published by a renowned British expert on corporate performance, Bernard Marr, on LinkedIn Pulse. We can only add that many of the following phrases are repeated in the Czech environment as well. And the fact that many Czech managers use these clichés with their people in English make then even more absurd.
"There is no ‘I’ in team."
Teamwork is essential, however, that does not deprive individuals of their individuality. On the contrary, managers should be able to use the strengths of individuals. No manager can succeed by treating his people as anonymous cogs in the machine.
"Give 110 percent."
Aside from the fact that this requirement is mathematical nonsense, it is also leadership nonsense. Employees can not know specifically what it means. Your requirements must be specific.
"Think outside the box."
Another example of a completely vague requirement. You should rather think about what concrete steps you can take to motivate your team to approach problems differently.
"Work smarter, not harder."
This statement indicates that certain work should be done faster and easier but that is all. If you see ways to approach the work differently and better, talk about it and share it. Phrases will not help.
When you omit these clichés from your vocabulary, you can dramatically improve your leadership style. Focus on active people management techniques instead of empty words.
What leadership clichés do you think are the worst?
-kk-