Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and goalagiving. This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellavaliedo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode four sixty seven. Today we're going to focus on something that quietly defines your leadership reputation. The words that you use. Every sentence you say as a leader
either empowers your team or creates toxicity. And the kicker is most leaders don't even realize they're doing it. There's a great visual that I came across recently that compares the language of toxic leaders versus empowering leaders. The difference is subtle, but the impact is massive. So let's break this down in a real simple way and give you a few tools you can start using today. Let's start with the toxic side. Here are some common phrases that
toxic leaders use. Please don't challenge me like that in meetings. I'll just do it myself. It's faster. That's not how I would have done it. You should start on this immediately. Let me take a look first before you send it. Now, read those again in your head. They might sound like a boss trying to stay in control or keep things running smoothly, but what they're really saying is I don't trust you, I don't believe you're ready, and my way is better than your way. This is how you accidentally
destroy initiative. This is how you kill creativity. This is how people stop bringing you ideas. Now let's flip it to the empowering side. Listen to how these same situations are handled differently. Instead of don't challenge me, say thanks for raising that your input made it stronger. Instead of I'll just do it, say this is a great chance for you to lead. Instead of that's not how I would have done it, say I'm glad you tried that. What did you learn? Instead of you should start immediately,
say here's the deadline you can prioritize as needed. And instead of let me take a look first, say I trust your judgment, Go ahead and send it. See the difference. One set of phrases tells people they're replaceable. The other tells them they're responsible, valued and trusted. So let's go deeper. Why does this matter? Because your words are your culture, the tone you set in your emails, your team meetings, your quick hallway conversations. They become the environment your people
either want to stay in or run from. And look, leadership isn't about being soft, it's about being smart. There's nothing weak about empowering language. In fact, it takes more strength to say you've got flexibility, work how it works for you than to micromanage someone's schedule. This kind of language builds a leadership brand where people take ownership. They don't wait for you to make decisions. They act, they speak up, they grow, and isn't that what every leader
wants anyway? So here's the challenge over the next forty eight hours. I want you to monitor your own language. Just listen to the things you say or type and ask yourself, is this building someone up or tightening the leash? Am I leading or just controlling? You don't need to change everything overnight. Start with just one toxic phrase that you notice you say too often. Replace it with an empowering version and test it and watch what happens, Watch
how people react differently. You'll see it and once you do, you'll never go back to the old way ever again. So a quick recap before we wrap up. Here's five empowering swaps to keep your leadership toolkit sharp and ready. Thanks for raising that. Instead of don't challenge me, this is your chance to lead. Instead of I'll do it myself. What did you learn? Instead of that's not how I would do it. Here's the deadline. Prioritize is needed instead of start now, go ahead and send it instead of
let me check first. They're small changes, but they lead to big trust. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com