Words matter.
I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve heard in the presence of other executives where they casually toss around phrases like “labor” or “workforce” when they talk about the people in their organizations. When you hear them talk through their “labor problems” and “workforce issues,” it doesn’t even sound like they are talking about people.
The way we lead impacts the way people live and the words we use impacts the way we lead. This is why it is so important to realize why words matter in business.
Layoffs are discussed in boardrooms as if they are weight-loss plans, a way to “trim the fat” from organizations. Leaders speak of “managing head count” rather than stewarding lives. In factories, workers labor on “the floor,” a term that subtly places them beneath those in offices. Even the term “human resources” reduces people to just another asset, akin to machinery or raw materials. These words shape mindsets and influence how people are treated.
It doesn’t matter where you work in the organization or what you do,
people simply want to know that they matter. That's why words matter.
“Employees” are “fired”—a term derived from French firing squads. Why wouldn’t we treat a team member with the same respect when we determine that separation is necessary, as when we welcome them into our organizations?
I’ve often talked about this broken language of business. When we use phrases and words that dehumanize the people in our organizations it allows leaders to distance themselves from the consequences of their actions. They no longer have to worry about whether a person has to support their family. They no longer have to consider whether the person or their family members rely on the medical care provided through their job. It doesn’t matter. They’re simply a number, a function, just like all of the numbers the company uses to make their numbers.
One of the most revelatory experiences that shaped my leadership philosophy came when I was at the wedding of a friend’s daughter. There, seeing the proud parents among the assembled crowd, it became crystal clear to me that every single one of Barry-Wehmiller’s team members are like that young lady. Every single one of them is someone’s precious child, with hopes and dreams for a future through which they can realize their full potential.
When management succeeds in dehumanizing the people within the business, it doesn’t really matter how you treat them, right? They’re just numbers. They’re just functions for your success.
But when you see the people in your business as someone’s precious child, the lens in which you view them changes. That’s why we have developed our own vocabulary at Barry-Wehmiller because we want to be intentional in our interactions with the people within our organization.
We don’t use the term “employees,” “labor” or “subordinates.” They’re teammates, team members. We don’t measure head count, we measure heart count. We don’t have “HR,” we have a People Team.
We don’t have bosses or managers. We have leaders. No one wants to be bossed; no one wants to be managed. You don’t manage your spouse or child. People want to be mentored. They want to be coached. They want to be led.
Once, when speaking at a convention of infrastructure supply companies, I was asked to meet with a number of industry CEOs in attendance. As I addressed the group, I asked each person to identify themselves and – I used a phrase I had never thought of until that moment – I asked them to tell me how many people were in their span of care.
This simple change has made a great difference in the way our organization and (through our Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute) other companies think about their leadership.
The people our leaders lead, they do not “report to” that leader, they are within that leader’s span of care. Just that simple deviation from the normal way of phrasing things completely changes the dynamic of the relationship. Per a Google search, the literal definition of “report to” someone is “to work under the supervision of or take instructions from someone who is in a higher position. It implies a hierarchical relationship where the person reporting is accountable to the individual they report to.”
But when you talk about being within a leader’s span of care, it helps to change the way leaders think. It suggests the sense of responsibility a leader should feel to those they lead. Our children do not “report to” us. Our spouses certainly don’t. When we invite someone to join our team, we are bestowed with the awesome responsibility to provide the care and inspiration and support that that precious human being needs to become everything he or she was meant to be.
If you are a leader or team member, no matter your role in an organization, if this seems too flowery or idealistic for you, I have a challenge: Try it. Even for just a week. Change your vocabulary. Stop saying “manager” or “employee.” Think of the people in your organization or on your team as someone’s precious child within your span of care.
For me, it made a lasting change in reversing the lens through which I viewed others. I bet it can for you as well. A simple shift in perspective can set off an avalanche of true change.