The leader’s voice is loud. Not because his or her decibel levels are awkwardly higher than normal, but because their voice loudly resonates in the psyche of those they oversee. At some point, the leader will find himself or herself trying to remember what words were said or what words were not said that left an individual is such a disheveled mess. On a few occasions, this has happened to me. What I thought was a regular meeting or a water cooler conversation, resulted in a post-meeting meeting with an individual who felt hurt, down, or like they were about to be let go because of something I said. Or something I didn’t say. I apologized for the miscommunication and tried to correct the interpretation of my words.
Authority adds weight to your words. A magnification factor occurs to the words of leaders. It is a power that can be used for good or bad. If you choose to be direct with an individual, your words will be taken more directly than you planned. If you choose to be encouraging, your words will be internalized to a greater level than you ever anticipated. There is a time to be direct and a time to be encouraging. Just be conscientious of the weight your words carry. What words you choose and how you use them is part of the God-given responsibility handed to you as a leader.
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