I can blame it on my mom. My love for words and their usage came from her. Mom was a wordsmith…from puns to creative turns of phrases. She won awards for her writing and always amazed us with her use of words.

Words DO matter. The way we use them when leading others has a significant impact. A recent LinkedIn blog highlighted this by discussing the difference between nice leaders and kind leaders. Which do you think is better?

The writer of the blog said we sometimes confuse being liked with being effective. The bottom line:

Nice leaders keep the peace. Kind leaders build the team.

For instance, nice leaders avoid confrontation to keep the peace. Kind leaders hold their team members accountable.

And nice leaders give compliments to be popular. Kind leaders celebrate genuine achievements.

Sometimes we need to carefully select our words to lead with confidence. Another LinkedIn blog suggested some changes in the phrases we often use.

Instead of saying “I’m not an expert, but…” we should say “From my experience, here is what I see.” And we can drop the phrase “I’ll do my best,” and use “You can count on me.”

Words. They mean something.

God’s Word points that out, too.

Paul told his friends in Ephesus, “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT).

Solomon painted a beautiful word picture on the value of our words. “Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body” (Proverbs 16:24 NLT).

And the Psalmist helps us focus on why words matter for the Christian leader.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 NLT

You are going to use words as you lead. Why not use the best words and phrases? And use them to please God.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Colossians 3:23 NLT

God’s best,