UNVOICED PERSPECTIVE: BREAK OR BUILD WITH WORDS
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”- Benjamin Franklin
An unknown tool instrumental to the growth of a business, which most employers and employees fail to recognise, is spoken words. Many times, the words we speak might seem inconsequential to us to the point we fail to pay attention to what we say. We frequently underestimate the power of our words both to ourselves and to our colleagues at work.
In some corporate firms, a boss or senior staff uses the name-calling approach towards a junior staff to address an offense or a mistake. In addition, colleagues exchange hurtful words. “You must be blind not to have seen this mistake!” “Only idiots make lame moves like this,” “fool, leave my office”, there are endless examples that could be cited to show the unpleasant attitude displayed in the workplace. All these are termed ways of expressing oneself, in the process ignoring the other person’s feelings.
Some people brag about being vocal and therefore believe they have the right to lash out irrespective of who is involved. Never does it cross their minds to examine the weight of their words and the aftermath. In the end, there are a lot of many bruised emotions and disconnected people in the work environment.
When people are disconnected, there is a nosedive in productivity. It is important to note that words can either make or mar and even destroy professional relationships. No client would appreciate having abusive workers execute their job. This makes the work toxic and less efficient.
The opening quote made by one of the founding fathers of America, Benjamin Franklin, explicitly suggest how best to speak at every point in time regardless of how we feel. Benjamin Franklin obviously must have worked with all types of people with different characters. Yet in the midst of them, he learned a better way to handle human relationship. This is what we often refer as emotional intelligence.
Unlike Franklin, in our present time, many leaders of organisations have not quite understood how to relate excellently which has been a major flaw on their part. Knowing that the words you say to your team could either encourage or discourage them, more of them may become cautious with their choice of words.
Employees are not exempted. They too must learn to control their words and speak right. The organisation functions better when everyone has a knowledge of what is acceptable and what is not. Proper communication between people within the workspace should be included as part of the work ethics of any organisation. This way everyone shares the responsibility of building the company.
Written by Jennifer Chioma Amadi
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When we understand that words could either
