A Key Phrase that Negatively Impacts Morale and Decreases Creativity
There is a sneaky phrase that can wreak havoc on your company and it’s not “You’re fired.” The phrase is subtle, yet pervasive. In my experience, supervisors, project managers, team leaders and employees alike have tricked themselves into thinking that it is a way to share ideas, brainstorm activities and motivate team members. In fact, the opposite is true. This phrase negatively impacts employee morale and smashes creativity.
The unhelpful phrase is, “We should be (insert activity here).”
What the phrase is actually conveying is that a project/program/activity that could benefit the organization is NOT being done.
In other words, “we should be” recognizes the lack of work and is a detriment to the team because it does not recognize all of the hard (and stellar) work that is currently being done.
Mini Case Study: The Project Leader That Would "Should" On The Team
A key project leader at an organization that I was familiar with used “we should be” consistently. The organization was top ranked in their field, the products and intellectual property they released were superb, yet once a great product had been released, the project leader habitually pointed out to his team, “We should be doing X” or “We should be doing Y.”
After several projects, team members were confused and felt that their hard work was not meeting expectations and they might even be “failing.” They were confused because their product launches were successful and received stellar publicity. However, since the project lead’s feedback almost always pointed to other items they “should” be doing, the team perceived that the project lead would find fault or lack in anything they accomplished. Clearly, the team’s morale had been negatively affected.
To course correct, an astute team member informed the project lead that the “we should be” feedback was affecting the team negatively. The project lead was completely surprised as they had no awareness that this was their consistent (and expected) feedback. Further, the project lead had no idea how demotivating these comments were. As a result of the confidential interchange, the project lead changed their remarks immediately and, after a few product launch debriefs without the phrase “we should be” filling the conversation, the team morale bounced back.
Alternatives To "We Should Be"
The phrase “we should be” is prevalent in our work culture and is, in almost all instances, unhelpful. Oftentimes, it is more productive to consider the desired outcome in order to determine what really needs to be stated.
Example: “We should be launching a new product next quarter.” Instead, here are two alternative ways of making this statement:
“We could launch a new product next quarter.” (This is feedback that provides an opportunity for brainstorming and discussing future activities.)
“I want/would like to launch a new product next quarter.” (This can be a phrase to state what is envisioned for the future or to state a goal.)
By substituting one word, the entire sentiment of a sentence changes and the message is also received differently by the audience.
The phrase “we should be” is draining and demotivating whereas the alternatives “we could” or “I want/would like to” are more energizing and state a vision for the future. It is the role of leaders to show team members a vision and earn their trust, which then creates an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish.
Is Your Team Energized?
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