Business English Vocabulary · Lesson 17

Sound Like a Leader When Managing Your Team

From delegating and building rapport to setting boundaries: the phrases senior professionals use to lead, motivate and manage a team – clear, precise and easy for everyone to understand.

ARead: advice for a new manager

Read the conversation. The phrases in bold are for exercise B. The underlined phrases are useful phrases for asking people to do things, for exercise C.

A mentoring session

Tom was promoted to team manager a month ago. Helena, an experienced Operations Director, is his mentor.

HelenaOperations DirectorSo, Tom, how’s your first month as a manager going?

TomTeam ManagerHonestly? Exhausting. I’m still doing most of the work myself.

HelenaThat’s the most common mistake. You need to delegate – give tasks to your team instead of doing everything yourself. Think about each person’s strengths, and match the task to the person.

TomBut how do I ask without sounding bossy? Until last month, they were my colleagues.

HelenaKeep it simple and polite. “Would you mind preparing the slides for Thursday?” or “Could you take a look at this report before I send it?” If something belongs to another team: “Could you pass this on to Finance?” And when your boss asks for something that one of your team can do, just say, “I can get Anna to do that.”

TomThat’s helpful. What about motivation? Some people just do the minimum.

HelenaA good manager knows how to get the best out of each person – to help them perform at their highest level. And it starts with you. If you want them to work hard, you have to lead by example – or, as people also say, set a good example. If you leave at four every day, so will they.

TomMakes sense.

HelenaOver time, your job is to instil a strong work ethic in the team, so that it slowly becomes part of how they think. And to foster an environment where people feel safe to share ideas, so that creativity can grow.

TomAnd the personal side? I’d like people to like me.

HelenaBeing liked isn’t the goal, but you should build a strong rapport with each person – a good, trusting relationship. Get to know them, and take an interest in their lives outside work. And don’t forget to praise staff when they do well. People remember it.

TomWhat if someone takes advantage of that?

HelenaThat’s why you also need to set boundaries: make it clear what is acceptable and what isn’t. And when someone crosses the line and does something clearly unacceptable, you have to follow through on what you said. If you say there will be consequences, there must be consequences. Otherwise, nobody will take your rules seriously.

Bold = key words (exercise B)Underlined = asking people to do things (exercise C)

BKey words from the conversation

Based on the conversation, choose the phrase that matches each definition. Then complete the example sentence. You may need to change the form of the phrase.

To do something that is clearly unacceptable

“Criticising his work was fine, but shouting at him in front of the team .”
To give tasks or responsibility to someone else, usually someone in your team

“Good leaders know which tasks to and which to keep.”
To encourage something, such as a culture or an idea, to develop

“Open-plan offices are supposed to collaboration.”
To do what you said you would do

“If you promise the team a bonus, you have to it.”
To show people how to behave by doing it yourself

“If you want your team to be punctual, you have to .”
To tell employees that they have done well

“Managers who regularly tend to have more motivated teams.”
To develop a good, trusting relationship with someone

“It’s important to with new clients early on.”
To help someone perform as well as they possibly can

“She really knows how to her team.”
To gradually put an idea, a value or an attitude into people’s minds

“Our new coach has a winning mentality in the whole team.”
To make it clear what behaviour is acceptable and what isn’t

“If you work from home, you need to – for example, no emails after 7pm.”

CWhat would you say?

You are a manager. Which phrase would you use in each situation?

DSay it better

Each sentence below is correct, but it sounds simple. Rewrite it using a phrase from this lesson, then compare your version with the model answer.

“I give a lot of my tasks to people in my team.”

Use: delegate

Show model answer
“I delegate a lot of my work to my team.”
“She helps every person in her team to do their best work.”

Use: get the best out of

Show model answer
“She really gets the best out of her team.”
“He never does what he promises to do.”

Use: follow through on

Show model answer
“He never follows through on his promises.”
“That comment was not acceptable.”

Use: line

Show model answer
“I’m afraid that comment crossed the line.”
“We want to create a workplace where people share their ideas.”

Use: foster

Show model answer
“We want to foster a culture where people feel free to share ideas.”
“A good manager has a good relationship with each person in the team.”

Use: rapport

Show model answer
“A good manager builds a strong rapport with each member of the team.”

EKey words in a new context

A finance director is writing about the best manager she ever had. Complete the article with the phrases from the box. You may need to change the form of some of the words.

Word box

get the best out of
delegate
lead by example
instil
build a strong rapport
praise
foster
set boundaries
cross the line
follow through on
Would you mind
Could you take a look at

Leadership blogWhat I learned from the best manager I ever had

Early in my career, I worked for a manager called Ruth. Twenty years later, I still use almost everything she taught me.

First, Ruth knew how to people. She noticed what each of us was good at and gave us work that matched it. She was also brilliant at : she never tried to do everything herself, so she always had time to think.

She . She was the first in the office every morning, and she never asked us to do anything she wasn’t willing to do herself. Slowly, she the same work ethic in all of us.

Ruth also worked hard to with each person in the team. She knew our children’s names and our favourite football teams. She us in public and criticised us in private, and she a culture in which people felt safe to admit their mistakes.

But she was no pushover. From the first day, she : we knew exactly what was acceptable and what wasn’t. Once, a senior colleague by shouting at a junior analyst in front of the whole team. Ruth had always said she would not accept that kind of behaviour, and she it: he was moved to another department the same week.

Even her requests were models of good leadership. She never said “Do this.” She said, “ checking these figures for me?” or “ this before I send it?” Small things – but people remember them.

Use it well

Three things professionals often get wrong when they talk about leadership.

Instil or foster?

Instil a value or an attitude in people:

She instilled a sense of pride in the team.

Foster a culture, an environment or a relationship:

We want to foster innovation.

Setting an example

Lead by example and set a good example mean the same. You can also set a bad example:

Arriving late sets a bad example to the team.

Use to or for after it: set an example to / for the team.

Asking politely: the grammar

Would you mind + -ing (not to):

Would you mind checking this?

I can get + person + to + verb:

I can get Anna to send it today.

Glossary

All the phrases from this lesson.

Leading people

to delegateto give tasks or responsibility to someone else in your team
to get the best out ofto help someone perform as well as they possibly can
to lead by example / to set a good exampleto show people how to behave by doing it yourself
to instilto gradually put a value or an attitude into people’s minds
to fosterto encourage a culture or an idea to develop
to build a strong rapportto develop a good, trusting relationship
to praise staffto tell employees that they have done well
to set boundariesto make clear what behaviour is acceptable and what isn’t
to cross the lineto do something that is clearly unacceptable
to follow through onto do what you said you would do

Asking people to do things

Would you mind…?asking politely for a task to be done
Could you take a look at…?asking someone to review something
Could you pass this on to…?asking someone to send something to another person
I can get … to do that.saying that someone in your team will do it