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Weak Words and Weak Requests from Leaders
Strong language builds stronger teams.
Jun 09, 2025
∙ Paid
Weak Words
A former boss of mine presented this concept of weak words to me, and to this day, I cannot shake it. They are words like think, try, and may. When I use these words, my inner voice tries to correct me. Weak words are too cautious and not direct enough. They do not project confidence.
Here are some examples:
“I think option A is best.”
“I may have to address her tardiness at some point.”
“Boss, I’ll try to get this performance objective into the 90% category.”
These sentences, as they are written, leave successful outcomes to chance. I’ve heard versions of them often. I’ve even used a few myself. But I’ve seen the results, and they are as weak as the sentences themselves. People may not take a leader seriously using these words, or when used by a subordinate, a leader may not gain confidence that something will be done or that a subordinate is committed to the task.
Weak Requests
Weak requests are those that are weightless. People may not take them seriously or even consider them at all.
Here is the most common one:
“Let’s give this problem some thought so we can fix it.”
This really doesn’t direct anything or anyone. What does give some thought really mean? A subordinate isn’t on the hook for anything with this directive. There are no deliverables by a certain date or specific things to “think” about.
Let’s put some muscle behind your requests. Try these instead:
