Language is everything!

I've been working with a group of "Middle managers" for the past six months on leadership and management development. One of the areas we have been focusing on is performance management, specifically setting performance expectations, reviewing performance, and conducting performance appraisals. It has become apparent how important language continues to be a critical component of being an effective manager/leaders, and particularly when setting expectations or assigning tasks. One of the mangers gave an example of how he asked an employee to complete a particular task. He asked the employee, "In your spare time would you type this letter?" How might the employee interpret this request? How clear are the expectations? Whether you are setting specific performance expectations or assigning a task, language is critical to achieve desired outcomes/results.