Leaders in every industry need to be communicators. In the engineering world, it’s especially important since failures to communicate can derail expensive projects and potentially even cause physical harm to people. Learning to speak up will make you a better leader for your team as you will build stronger relationships and trust.
This is part 1 of a 3-part series on things that engineering leaders should say more often. In this article, we’ll go over four easy things that engineering leaders should say more often. In fact, the phrases in this article should be said multiple times per day. Part 2 covers 4 challenging things and part 3 covers 4 difficult things that engineering leaders should say more often.
The list below includes four things you can start saying right away without too much effort.You can start saying them today right after you finish reading this article. Despite the ease of saying them, these four things will go a long way to building rapport with your team.
Good Morning / Hi / Hey / Hello
It’s easy to get lost in your own thoughts while you’re walking through the office. When you get lost in your thoughts and don’t greet people, you miss out on an opportunity to connect and build relationships.
The simple act of greeting someone opens up many opportunities for connection and collaboration. As you’re walking in the door each morning, pouring a cup of coffee, and moving about the office, say hello to every person you can.
Sure, in a big office that could mean non-stop hellos. So maybe try a head nod to Joe and say hello to Sally today. Tomorrow, give Sally a wave and Joe a good morning.
My dad always told me to say hello to everyone you can each day – including the janitor. And, if at all possible, call them by name. You never know when simple hello will turn into a friendship or even a business opportunity.
Please
The key to a successful relationship is putting the needs of the other person ahead of your own. Saying please is a subtle and easy method of doing this. By saying please, you acknowledge that the other person is helping you with your needs. It doesn’t matter whether their assistance is minor or even if it’s their job, saying please shows respect and consideration for the efforts of another person.
Now, please is not a cure all and doesn’t help every situation. For example, “Would you please shut up?” With or without please, that request is not building a relationship. At least not the one you want.
Thank you
Paired with please, thank you builds an attitude of gratitude. While thank you is often the other bookend to please, it’s also a powerful word when used on its own.
Use thank you every time someone
- Compliments you – Don’t give a sheepish “thanks,” give a sincere “Thank you so much. I appreciate that.”
- Gives you feedback – Whether it is helpful, unfair, or unsolicited, just say, “Thank you.” With helpful advice, thank them to acknowledge something that could help you grow. With unfair criticism, thank them to nullify their power and prevent an argument that they might have been trying to start. Unsolicited advice could be either of the previous two.
- Helps you out – As with please, you acknowledge their efforts.
- Does their job – Yes, say thank you just because someone does their job. It’s part of the attitude of gratitude and it will help you build relationships with people.
Nice Job / Well done
Too often, we wait for someone to do something grand before paying them a compliment. However, daily compliments to your team build creativity and, when they are genuine and performance based, they build trust.
When you praise people, praise them for the effort that went into the project and not just the accomplishment itself.
While it sounds like good praise, praising someone on speed or intelligence can backfire in the long run. For example:
“Great job on that schematic! You always do them so fast.”
That sounds very nice. But if a future project is far more difficult than this one, the person could doubt themselves since the praise was centered around their ability to do it quickly. Instead try this:
“Great job on that schematic! I appreciate how much attention to detail you put into that.”
This praises the effort that went into the detail work, which reinforces the need for attention to detail in the project. Acknowledging the input of time, research, focus, or just general hard work goes a long way to encouraging more of the same in the future.
The Final Takeaway
The four above mentioned phrases are some of the most powerful tools you have for building relationships, trust, and a positive culture within your office. They are easy to say and are each considered a polite part of interacting with others.
Best of all, they cost you nothing but earn you a great deal in reputation, relationships, networking, and trust.
Also in this series:
- 4 Challenging Things Engineering Leaders Should Say
- 4 Difficult Things Engineering Leaders Should Say
Author: Tracy Thomason
Agile project manager by day, craft beer drinker by night, and avid reader anytime I can get 5 minutes alone with my Kindle.
More posts by Tracy
Featured “Hello” photo by Adam Solomon on Unsplash
“Thank You” photo by Morvanic Lee on Unsplash