Words Matter

In October 2020, I had the privilege of hearing Tim Wise, a prolific author and expert in the field of race relations, speak at the City of Tallahassee’s annual race relations summit.  One of the first things he said seem profound to me and applicable under many circumstances.  He said:

“The words you use inform the strategies you choose.”

Mr. Wise kept referring back to this phrase in the context of improving racial and cultural communication and understanding. The phrase also applies equally well to employee relations, customer relations, oversight board relations, and others. 

If you are considering applying for Baldrige-based performance recognition, this phrase must be rigorously applied to your Organization Profile.  How you choose to categorize and label your customers (patrons, followers, rate-payers, etc.) will influence how you choose to listen to and communicate with them.  The same is true of your employees (staff, team, workers, professionals, artisan, etc.).  How you describe your strategic advantages will influence how you leverage them.  How you label your challenges will reflect how you tackle them.

As you document the current state of your organization, always keep in mind:

“The words you use inform the strategies you choose.”

And the Leadership, Strategic Planning, Performance Improvement, and work systems you develop will be much better because of it.