The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership

The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership by Richard Branson Page A

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Authors: Richard Branson
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American connotation – the results can be quite dangerous!
    LITTLE WORDS THAT GO A LONG WAY
    So having listed some of the words and phrases I recommend are best avoided, here are a few everyday words and phrases that I strongly suggest using as often as possible. The first consists of seven little words that I sincerely believe might constitute one of the most powerful sentences a business leader can utter: ‘I’m not sure – what do you think?’
    The upsides to popping this question every once in a while are almost innumerable. First of all, if you truly aren’t sure of your answer, admitting it will usually spare the other party from a lot of Sir Humphrey-like blather – or ‘blether’, as the Scots like to call it. I only know that because my wife Joan has on more than a few occasions said, ‘Oh come on, Richard, spare us the blether, will you.’ And when this comes from my lovely wife I usually do – quickly!
    There will, of course, be some bombastic ‘I’m in charge and I’ll make the decisions around here’ types that will see any admission of uncertainty on their part as an utterly unacceptable sign of weakness in front of their ‘underlings’. As far as I’m concerned, however, quite the opposite applies. When a leader displays the self-confidence to effectively say, ‘Hey, I can’t be expected to have all the answers, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject’, it not only has a very humanising effect, but it also tells the employees that their opinions are respected and considered to be of value. Even without the ‘I don’t know’, frequently asking simple little questions like, ‘So what do you think?’ or ‘Are we missing anything here?’ will yield all kinds of highly positive rewards. At school we always knew which teachers made a habit of asking questions and which would just drone on and on and on without asking one question per term. The same applies in the office – if your people know that their opinions may be sought at any moment they will pay much closer attention and also have to have an opinion at the ready.
    SPEAK AS YOU WOULD BE SPOKEN TO – PLEASE
    Now what I am about to say may not be something you’ve heard from anyone since your parents used to say it to you when you were growing up. Many of you did actually listen and learn from them and so this is not directed at you, but at the same time I’ll bet you’ll be the first to concur with my position here. I apologise if this comes across in any way as condescending but there are two tiny but hugely important words that tend to be grossly underused by a lot of people, and quite often the higher up the totem pole you go, the less you tend to hear the words ‘ please ’ and ‘thank you’ spoken.
    We were all brought up to say please and thank you. My mum and dad’s rule was a very simple, ‘No please, no get.’ So why do so many people seem to grow out of the habit? I don’t know if it’s some kind of a misbegotten status thing or if it’s just sheer bad manners, but I am frequently saddened at how many people just don’t seem to use these words any more. Perhaps today’s kids just aren’t being taught the social value of such things but as far as I’m concerned, whether in emails or face-to-face, you simply cannot overuse these two words. It’s not just a question of politeness, it’s about recognition and respect for your colleagues at every level. Just consider what a difference it makes leading off a conversation with, ‘Thank you so much for all your hard work on this report and . . . ’ as opposed to, ‘I got your report and . . . ’ In the same way a simple ‘please’ can make a world of difference. ‘I need this by Monday’ is much less likely to get you there than, ‘Can you please try and get this to me by Monday.’
    If you listen to experts like McKinsey & Co. on the subject of motivation and ‘employee recognition’, they are generally in agreement that, contrary

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