Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say--And What You Don't

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Overall, I found "Leadership Is a Language" to be a compelling and enlightening read. Marquet's writing style is engaging and accessible, and his personal anecdotes and case studies bring the concepts to life.

Performance management is going through a renaissance,” Sandhir told Business News Daily. “The importance of that conversation and how it’s done [is changing]. It was typically one-sided, judging individuals based on numbers. But neuroscience research on how the brain reacts to conversations shows that [this communication style] can trigger a threat response.” Outward, not inward – requires focusing on others to avoid protective behaviors. Ask: “What could we do to better serve our customers?” or “What changes would the board want us to make here?” (p. 204). Saying “can’t” implies there’s an external force trying to keep you from an undesired action. When you use the word “don’t,” on the other hand, the power comes from inside you. Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful in driving human behavior than compliance with an outside force. Chunk it small, but do it all – means setting a specific time period for the upcoming redwork. Shorter bursts of redwork are effective learning experiences when uncertainty is high. As certainty increases, people can work in longer chunks of redwork. Planning to chunk redwork into small pieces also avoids attachment to decisions and the continuance of erroneous work (pp. 146-147). Into the Bluework: Collaborate. “Let the doers be the deciders” (p. 105). Asking open-ended questions, seeking minority and dissenting viewpoints, and voting before a discussion encourages collaboration and avoids coercion.

Focus on behavior, not characteristics – since people can control and improve behaviors (pp. 178-179). When I read a leadership development book I normally ask myself two questions. Firstly, how can I apply what I’ve learned from this book when embodying the Army Leadership Code behaviours? Secondly, how can I use what I’ve learned from this book to better support the principles of Mission Command? Leadership is Language delivers genuinely striking responses to these questions. It is in fact hard to see how a leader’s well-considered language does not directly compliment the two frameworks. It's unclear why nine minutes passed before this conversation finally took place. Either way, when it was activated, the blowout preventer did not operate properly and failed to seal the well. The subsequent investigation revealed problems with the assembly and maintenance of the device, including dead batteries and mis-wired coils. The delay in attempting to seal the well may have been a contributing factor to the disaster. With the well unsealed, the oil and gas mixture was able to flow rapidly to the platform, feeding the existing fire. Eleven people died. Over the next four hundred days, 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, making the Deepwater Horizon oil spill one of the worst environmental disasters in history. There is a rhythmic dance between bluework and redwork, between thinking and doing, between embracing variability and reducing variability, between improving and proving.

What if things had things gone differently for El Faro? Here is the story, retold as if Marquet’sNew Playbook had been in operation. Aboard the El Faro: Curiosity. The desire to learn more about how other people see, what they think, or what they propose as a course of action.Learners can now experience Harvard ManageMentor’s world-class content and work based learning design in the language they speak every day. But more importantly, as leaders across the globe are faced with management challenges, Harvard ManageMentor will connect learners with leadership lessons that help them apply learning on the job to drive impact and bring companies closer to our shared goal in any language: growth for our businesses. The key message here is: In the traditional approach to management, people are divided into two categories – deciders and doers. eat sweets. Turns out that telling yourself you don't eat sweets is more powerful. You'll end up eating fewer sweets with "don't" than "can't" because, by using the word "don't," the motivation comes from within. "Don't" identifies you as "a person who does not eat sweets." It allocates the power to you. Running meetings: Vote first then discuss. This stops the anchoring effect where attendees follow the leader. If you’re running your meeting properly and divergent thinking still isn’t happening, your responsibility as a leader is to go looking for it.

MOLDOVEANU, M. and NARAYANDAS, D. (2019) The future of leadership development. Harvard Business Review. Vol 97, No 2, March. pp40-48. Some of our core company values are ‘grit’ and ‘simplicity,’ [so] I use phrases without a lot of fluff to motivate team members – phrases like, ‘Let’s do this,’ ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’ and ‘We are laser-focused on XYZ,'” he said. But there’s no single magic phrase that will continuously inspire your team to achieve its best; motivational leadership comes from an authentic emotional connection with your team, explained James Rohrbach, president and chairman of language school Fluent City. The terms "leadership" and "management" are linked and used interchangeably because early leadership research focused on senior managers. Leadership is often defined as developing an initial vision and inspiring others to achieve it. Management involves translating the vision into reality by guiding team actions and behaviours. Both aspects play a role in achieving organisational objectives. The Connect Play creates a culture where people can be vulnerable, can dissent, and feel cared for.How to avoid the seven common sins of questioning, from binary questions (should we do A or B?) to self-affirming questions (B is the better option, right?) Successful leaders do not all exhibit the same behaviours. They may act differently in similar situations and have distinct personalities.

All communications, both internal and public messages, should reflect The Connect Play (pp. 268-269). When leaders admit they don’t know, they allow the team to admit that they don’t know. It also allows a team member to admit they do know. Another standout aspect of the book is its exploration of the role of questions in leadership communication. Marquet argues that asking the right questions can lead to better problem-solving, increased employee engagement, and a stronger sense of ownership. He introduces the concept of "intent-based leadership" and provides practical techniques for engaging employees in meaningful dialogue and decision-making. The Improve Play “links the mental activity we do during bluework to the desired outcome – improving redwork” (p. 189). The Improve Play requires an attitude geared toward learning and growth. Marquet lists four principles of The Improve Play:The most impactful leaders are the ones who think about how they will energize their people,” she said. “They know what makes their people feel confident and likewise what drains their energy. Rather than talking about plans or tactical objectives, they are able to link their employees’ current circumstances with some kind of opportunity or outcome that they will care about.” On the process, not on the person – because focusing on the process prevents defensiveness about past behaviors and personal characteristics. Ask: “What improvements could we make to the process?” (p. 205).