How you talk about the people you work with says a lot about how you think about the people you work with. How often have you heard someone say “my team” or “my boss”? How often have you heard someone say “my people” or “my employee”?
For a long time, I never gave any thought to this. It was my wife, Karen, who one day mentioned that a leader in her organization liked to use the term “my people,” and it bothered her. She joked that every time her leader used the “my people” term, immediately she would think of the line “let my people go,” of biblical origins.
We chuckled at first, but Karen really began to think about this. She pointed out that the word “my” can mean something that belongs to you. And she quite explicitly does not think she belongs to anyone. She says that the fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution assures this. So why do people at work make statements that infer they own you and others in the organization?
I suspect people talk in terms of “their” people out of a combination of self-aggrandizement and lack of thought. I also suspect that leaders that frequently use this terminology are not the best at building great teams.
As a senior leader, it’s your job to maximize the efficiency of the team you lead. According to Gayle Avery’s book titled Leadership for Sustainable Futures, the organization must value its people as a core asset of the firm and treat its people well. In his book, Leading Teams: Setting the Stage For Great Performances, Richard Hackman suggests that there are seven key execution skills that effective team leaders must have:
- Envisioning skill
- Inventive skill
- Negotiation skill
- Decision-making skill
- Teaching skill
- Interpersonal skill
- Implementation skill
I am certain interpersonal skill does not include treating the employees you work with as assets you own. Instead, treat them as core assets to be treasured. Next time, try to talk in terms of the people you work with, as opposed to the people that work for you or that you work for. In other words try to “let your people go.”
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Dr. Kevin Lynch is Leadership Executive-in-Residence at the Center for Values-Driven Leadership. As a practitioner, academic and consultant, Kevin specializes in assisting organizations that are experiencing rapid change, particularly with regard to strategic growth decisions, and the implementation of appropriate organizational infrastructure. Before joining the Center, Kevin was a senior executive in the real estate industry. He also is co-owner of a wilderness canoe outfitting business in Ely, Minnesota.
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