Do you ever catch yourself saying I, me, or my when addressing your team? 

Granted, there are times when it is appropriate, like when giving praise, or even necessary, like when accepting responsibility. For example, “I would like to recognize Mary for her outstanding work with Mr. and Mrs. Jones yesterday. She was a wonderful representation of our team values, especially hospitality.” Or, “I apologize that my decision to rush the job resulted in us not catching the typo in the copy before it went to press.”

But I am talking about the other 90% of the time here.

It is easy to dismiss and minimize the importance of saying we, us, and our and fall into a habit of saying I, me, and my. Not only does saying I, me, and my feed our egos, but it can often feel to those at the top of the organization like they are doing more of the work simply because they have power to make more of the decisions.

Self-aware and humble leaders, however, recognize that the real work of an organization is done by the team and not readily attributable to a single person. Great leaders also recognize that I, me, and my puts the spotlight on themselves and diminishes the inherent value and engagement of their team members.

Being a leader often sucks because it requires giving away all of the credit, when things go well, and taking all of the responsibility, when things turn out poorly.

In order to put the spotlight where it will have the greatest impact great leaders make a concerted effort to say we, us, and our.

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.