According to author Daniel Pink, Former U.S. Labour Secretary, Robert B. Reich, would use a “pronoun test” when he visited an organisation to find out how engaged the employees he spoke to were.

Reich concluded that an employee who uses “we”  rather than “they” feels more integrated within the company, identifies him or herself more with the company, and takes more ownership in the company.

How about you?  Do you think of yourself as part of your company or do you distance yourself from “them”.   What does this mean for your commitment and motivation?

Maybe you identify more strongly  with your company when things are going well, but, if you feel let down or frustrated your mental model changes and your employer becomes “they”.

Try listening to yourself and your colleagues today and see what the pronoun test tells you.

“What you resist persists”  – Carl Jung