Leaders Chose Words Carefully

LEADERSHIP Series: Choosing Words Carefully

Proverbs 15:23 (NLT) Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

Ecclesiastes 10:12 Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

Effective leader choose words to that make followers feel valued.

Choosing the right word, spoken at the right time, in the right manner can make all the difference in your leading. Sam Walton is quoted as saying, "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."

The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Words do hurt. Silence with loud body language can hurt – but the word spoken is powerful. Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. Textbooks, seminars and higher education can well prepare the mind for leadership: it is only God who can prepare the heart.

Wise (Godly) leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words: words that encourage and do not destroy; communication that motivates and inspires followers; words that correct without demeaning the hearer; and replies appropriate to the occasion.

Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there. It ends there.

Discussion Guide

Sam Walton is quoted as saying, "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." If you are leading a team, an organization or a business, what do you do in practical ways to use words to motivate and help your followers?

James 1:26 (AMP) 26If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person's religious service is worthless (futile, barren).

Discuss: parse this verse and comment on why James put the religious posture in juxtaposition to the tongue.

How does that Ecclesiastes verse add to the understanding of the Proverbs verse?


Copyright ©2009 by P. Griffith Lindell