We’ve all been in situations where we’re facing a difficult task or tight deadline and a well-intentioned manager or colleague says something like the following:

“You can do this.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great.”

“I’m confident you can do the job.”

“You’ll get through this.”

“Don’t worry, I know you’ll do just fine.”

When we hear the words and see their smile, we know we’re supposed to feel encouraged, and yet often we’re left with a hollow feeling and doubts about the sincerity of the speaker. This is not to say that positive affirmations have no value. They do. They provide a level of reassurance and comfort. Where they ring hollow or fall flat is when they are not backed up with logic to support the assertion. And that’s where we come to the word that makes all the difference. It’s really quite simple. The word I’m referring to is, “because.”

When Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, walked the floor of the plant during the depth of the recession, she said, “We’re going to get through this. I know we’re going to come out OK.”Then she went on to add, “because… we have an agile corporate strategy that will allow us to respond quickly to emerging markets.” The message moved from cheerleading to inspiring when she backed-up encouragement with reasons.

The figure below shows a simple formula for constructing an inspirational message for the workplace.

So the next time you want to provide encouragement and inspiration to a colleague, don’t forget to add “because” and a sincere reason supporting your encouraging words.

“You can do this…because you’ve been preparing diligently.”

“I’m sure you’ll be great…because I’ve done this before and I know you’ve got what it takes.”

“You’ll get through this…because we will make the changes necessary to clear your way.”

It’s also important to remember that messages alone are not enough to create a truly inspiring workplace. Words must be reinforced by a pattern of inspirational behaviors implemented consistently over time. To learn more about the behaviors that inspiring leaders use to motivate their teams to higher levels of performance, read The Inspiring Leader book, or attend the Zenger Folkman Inspiring Leader Workshop.

Camille Price – Director of Product Development

Attend a session of The Inspiring Leader Workshop! See dates and locations at the Zenger Folkman Events Page