The extra-Ordinary Leader with Dolly Waddell
The extra-Ordinary Leader is a show that takes a collaborative approach to uncover what it means to be a leader in the 21st century.
Through a series of open and honest conversations with a selection of top business leaders and leadership coaches, Dolly Waddell takes us on a journey to unravel the complex world of leadership in the 21st century.
The extra-Ordinary Leader with Dolly Waddell
Dolly In My Pocket Ep8: The Chicken or the Egg: Language as Your Leadership WD-40
If you want a high-performing team, you cannot ignore the language you use.
In this episode of Dolly in My Pocket, I unpack Tactic 8 from my book extra-Ordinary Leaders and explore the link between language and performance. Do our words shape our behaviour, or does our behaviour shape our words? More importantly: is the language you use helping your team move, or quietly creating friction?
I look at:
→ Why familiar phrases like “meeting” and “we just need to communicate better” aren’t specific enough for modern leadership
→ How precise language transforms focus, pace and clarity
→ Simple shifts you can make today to improve one-to-ones, collaboration and decision-making
→ Why high-performing teams need a shared vocabulary for behaviour
→ Tools that help create that shared language: Insights, DISC, Myers-Briggs, Giant and more
Think of language as WD-40 for your leadership. When you design it deliberately, every part of your organisation moves more smoothly.
If this episode resonates and you want deeper, practical tactics to use with your team, you can find extra-Ordinary Leaders here:
https://www.dollywaddell.com/store/p/the-extra-ordinary-leader
And if you’d like support applying these ideas inside your organisation, you can get in touch with me via dollywaddell.com.
Listen, share, and let me know which language shifts you’re taking into your week.