Winning Wednesday: Mindset Lessons for Leaders

If you want to turn your team into high performers, the language you use matters.

In Jonah Berger's book Magic Words, he explains the type of words we can use to motivate behavior and action and the 6 ways we can do it.

The first way, and what you'll learn today, is how to activate agency and identity.

The way we do this is by:

• Turning actions into identities.
• Changing cant's to don'ts.

Turning Actions into Identities

Turning actions into identities is about asking people to become something rather than to do something.

For example, if you want an athlete to be a more effective communicator, you want to talk to them about "being a leader" and not "learning to lead." Or, if you have kids, you want to ask them to "be a helper" instead of "help out." Turning actions into identities firms up commitment and solidifies the behavior as part of who we are.

Change cant's to dont's.

Along the same lines, when we don't do something, we take a firm stance about who we are and what we tolerate. When we can't do something, it suggests either a lack of ability or want to, but not a conflict with values or standards.

Don'ts are stronger stances to take and, again, strengthen our commitment to who we are.

By crafting your language to support the development of a desired identity, you can motivate your performers to act how you want.