The language leaders use shapes culture, often without people – including leaders themselves – knowing it.
I once worked for a Fortune 500 food company. I kept hearing that bad ideas were called “McCrackins”.
When I asked what that meant, I was told that a decade before they tried to launch a snack called McCrackin and it failed. Now, any time anyone wanted to shoot down an idea, they called it a McCrackin. It actually was a problem for their culture because just the use of that word would stifle an idea before it was fully explored.
Research shows how this works. Stanford researchers gave participants the same crime statistics for a fictional city. One group was told crime was a “beast” attacking the community. The other was told it was a “virus” spreading through it.
People who heard “beast” favored stronger enforcement and more police. Those who heard “virus” preferred social reform. The data was the same. A single word led the groups toward different recommendations.
Few participants recognized the influence. Most credited the statistics when asked what drove their views. Only a very small percentage named the metaphor that had guided their thinking.
By some estimates, one out of every 25 words we use in ordinary conversation functions as a metaphor. Most pass unnoticed while influencing how we think.
A different word can produce a different conclusion even when people never recognize what changed.
Leadership language can open doors
Describe an initiative as a “turnaround,” and employees prepare for reductions. Describe the same effort as a “rebuild,” and they may look for new ways to innovate stale work processes.
The work may be the same. The label changes how people approach the effort.
When Satya Nadella became CEO of a stalled Microsoft in 2014, for example, he began with language. Drawing on psychologist Carol Dweck’s growth-mindset research, he asked the company to replace a “know-it-all” culture with a “learn-it-all” culture.
Nadella used the phrase repeatedly and incorporated it into manager evaluations. Curiosity became a behavior the company rewarded. Saying “I don’t know” no longer carried the same career risk. It opened doors to a new culture of continuous learning and innovation.
You don’t need an executive order to exercise this kind of influence. It appears in the terms you use in emails, all-hands meetings, and job titles.
Here’s how to use the influence of language with intention:
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- Review your default language. Examine the labels your team applies to other employees and customers. Those terms are already influencing behavior. Ditch the ones that don’t serve your goals.
- Name the desired mindset. Select a brief phrase for behaviors you want to build. Keep using it until your people begin saying it without prompting.
- Support words with evidence. Before promoting a new name, make sure the experience behind it is real. A visible gap will reduce trust since language much match reality.
When you give a name to something, your words influence how other people see themselves, their work, and the organization.
So, watch what you say. People are listening to every word.
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