“Check it out,” said my husband as we zipped out of a parking space past a gaggle of cars.

“What!!?” (I always miss these things).

“That window sticker, didn’t you see it? Who Rescued Who?”

If you don’t own a dog, or more accurately, aren’t a member that exclusive little club that has RESCUED a dog, the humor might not be obvious. There happens to be a category of people that wear this badge of honor; we are extremely proud to say that we don’t just OWN a dog; or LOVE a dog; we SAVED a dog from a horrible fate. And believe me, we think that makes us pretty darn special.

Meanwhile, we utterly missed how that creature actually saved US from a dull, joyless, cuddle-deprived existence.

The humor … is all about perspective.

While Googling where to purchase the window sticker, I got to thinking about employees. Let me preface this by saying I know you are a nice person. You don’t mean it. But sometimes, your perspective needs a neck adjustment. Let me explain.

Consider what a typical BOSS might say about an employee. Now, juxtapose this standard comment with what that very same EMPLOYEE would sure say to a friend about same event.

A few examples:

YOU, AS BOSS: “I gave him a promotion.”

EMPLOYEE: “He finally realized I had EARNED that promotion.”

YOU, AS BOSS: “We gave her that award for sales person of the month.”

EMPLOYEE: “I made top sales person of the month.”

YOU, AS BOSS: “I told them they did a great job on the project.”

EMPLOYEE: “We did a killer job on that project and the boss finally said something positive.”

YOU, AS BOSS: “I put a team together and solved the problem.

EMPLOYEE: “We saved his …, (rhymes with grass).

And so on…

Perspective. It’s the difference between being the boss who is smart and the one who is admired. It’s the difference between being the boss who does the right thing and the one who everybody wants to work for. If you don’t use language that communicates an employees perspective you simply sound like you’re taking too much credit.

Give it some thought. How could you say it…well…differently?

“He earned a promotion,” or “they saved my….”…now THAT demonstrates humility and a sense of humor. Language choice is all about perspective. Those choices say a lot- about who you are as a leader.