Speaking in Honeyed Tones to Inspire Your Employees

By Dr.Madeline Frank

Have you heard the expression by Benjamin Franklin, "Tart words make no friends; a spoonful of honey will catch more flies than a gallon of vinegar"? Well it's true! When you want to work with others you need to be diplomatic. It's like the song Mary Poppins sings "A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down."

In my families Construction and Management Company, I have had the privilege of working with some of the finest contractors for roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, carpentry, and other construction personnel for over 20 years.

In working with every individual it is best to remain positive, polite and courteous. In other words speak in honeyed tones. In one of the buildings I am responsible for I noticed water leaking down through the downstairs ceiling. I called the plumber, air conditioning specialist and the roofer to look at the problem.

I checked upstairs under the sinks and by the toilet and shower and did not feel or see any leaks. The plumber looked at the problem and even though it was nowhere near the problem he decided to put a new seal on the toilet. I thanked him, paid his bill but knew that did not solve the problem.

I measured from the wall downstairs to where the actual leak was, a measurement of 5 ½ feet and then went upstairs and measured from the wall, where the toilet sits to 5 ½ feet to where the air conditioning unit sits in the back of the closet. The air conditioning specialist verified that the condensation line was backed up and needed a wet/dry vacuum to blow out and clean out the condensation line which runs usually outside the house by the fan of the air conditioning unit outside. After cutting off the air conditioning we attaching the wet/dry vacuum hose to the condensation line and cleaned it out for about an hour and half. Then we ran upstairs to put water through the line to see if everything was moving smoothly through the outside condensation line. In the spring we will run bleach through the line to remove all bacteria from the line.

I thanked the air conditioning specialist and paid the bill. The roofer came and checked the roof and mentioned some shingle repairs and caulking that was needed around the vents on the roof. The roofer agreed with the air conditioning specialist’s findings and promised to repair the roof shingles and calking soon.


What are the three things you can do to have your co-workers, employees, and sub-contractors wanting to work with you?

1) Speak to them in honeyed tones with courtesy and respect and praise excellent work when they do it reminding them that they are problem solvers.

2) Encourage them to become leaders who accept responsibility for their actions and when they are wrong they will immediately correct their mistakes. Always correct someone in a non-condemning manner quietly not in public.

3) Encourage them to be problem solvers who are leaders and take action to find the solutions to their problems.

Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, sought after speaker, business owner, teacher, researcher, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations "Tune Up their Businesses". Her innovative observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your businesses successful. She writes a monthly newsletter "Madeline's Monthly Article & Musical Tips" and a monthly radio show "Madeline's One Minute Musical Radio Show". She has just published her new book "Leadership On A Shoestring Budget".

If you need a speaker contact Madeline at: mfrankviola@gmail.com

http://madelinefrank.com/