The 5 Best Four-Letter Words Leaders Can Practice Today
Remarkable success begins simply.
Fools make simple things complicated.
- Complexity leads to confusion.
- Confusion produces anxiety.
- Anxiety creates insecurity.
- Insecurity leads to stagnation.
The 5 best four-letter words for leaders
#1. Kind
Unkindness is always bad. But a person in a rush has no time to be kind.
Jeff Bezos said, “Cleverness is a gift. Kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy…. Choices can be hard.”
Kindness is about:
- Respectful tone.
- Good manners.
- Perspective taking.
- Generous affirmation.
- Moving toward, instead of away.
The best time to be kind is when you’re being tough.
Kindness with drive grows remarkable relationships and delivers delightful results.
Reflection: What actions come to mind when you think of being kind?
#2. With
People go further ‘WITH‘ than they go alone.
How might you create partnership between team members that nurture development, enhance ideation, bolster accountability, and fuel energy?
- Pair up people on projects.
- Assign a two-person team to plan your next team meeting.
- Create accountability partners who track each other’s progress toward goals.
Warning: The wrong ‘with’ destroys enthusiasm and defeats resolve.
Remarkable things begin in connection with others.
Reflection: How might you let others know that you are their ‘with’?
#3. Hope
Forget about hope-so hope. Think of hope as confidence. What are your points of confidence?
Developing hope:
- What challenges have you already won?
- How do past wins inform and enable the next step?
- Who might step up in new ways?
- How might you take the next step?
Leaders believe progress is possible.
#4. Brag
Bragging is bad when you do it about yourself and good when you do it about others.
#5. Stop
One of the toughest questions you ever ask is, “What do we need to stop?”
What four-letter word for leaders might you add to the above list?
What four-letter word is most relevant for you today?
Great post. Thanks. I would add CARE, which is connecting with another person and lifting up their capacities to move through a challenge. Another addition would be HELP. This is the next level of caring, offering to do what another cannot do for themselves at a particular time. When someone needs help, just caring leaves them lacking what it will take to move them forward. When someone needs care, helping shorts them from experiencing the strengths they already have and developing greater confidence for future situations. It’s a fine line that leaders discern.
LEAD
CARE
CHANGE and COACH–sometimes you need to break the rules!
Ha! Good point, Paul.
“Push” with kindness, yet assertive as a leader with the intended push to Teach or install the values to progress.
Thanks Tim. So glad you added this. Push without being pushy is a powerful leadership quality.
I would add “hear” to your list.
Thanks Sam. Hearing comes before talking.
Help – Never be afraid to ask for it and always be available to give it
Thanks Mark. Yes, give it and receive it.
I would add the word love to the list. True leaders will understand the meaning of love in its proper context. I don’t quite recall the book we were given by the president of a corporation I once worked for, but it helped us to learn what it means to love those we work with. In a different context I love the expression, “Do what you love, love what you do and you’ll never work another day for the rest of your life.”
Thanks Redge. Great work. Perhaps the most important one.
PRAY – This truly helps me stay focused and keeps my attitude in check. This really helps clear any fog or uncertainty. I’m amazed when I pray I see things that I didn’t see moments before!!
Thanks Kevin. Nice add.
Well done. Your writing style is crisp and to the point. Poetry, not prose.
I strive for that gift. Any tips on how you do it?
I learned a lot during my 3 1/2 years in the army as an infantry lieutenant. In Vietnam I commanded a rifle platoon, then the battalion heavy mortar platoon. One of the words I often used was let’s. I wanted the men to know that we were in this together, and we were a team. Interestingly, when the battalion commander called me in to take over the mortar platoon, I had to leave my rifle platoon, against my will. These guys took up a collection and purchased a plaque that was inscribed “Good luck to you, sir.”