“Because I’m the boss. That’s why.”-This is something parents say to misbehaving children, and your employees are definitely not children. Treating them as such will earn you only resentment, not respect.

“You need to do better.” -Few things in life are as confusing or frustrating as vague feedback. Expecting employees to just “figure things out on their own” is unrealistic and unfair. You can't expect employees to improve if you don’t give them specific, constructive feedback about their performance.

“I’ll just do it myself.”-You hired your employees to do a job, so you should be able to trust them to do it. If you don’t let your employees do the work they were hired to do, they’ll start to think, “Why even bother?” and stop putting in effort. Delegate, be clear about timelines and deadlines, and if in doubt, ask more questions.

“That’s how it’s always been done.” -If you aren’t open to trying new methods and strategies, you can't expect to grow your business. When employees are encouraged to try new things, pursue new ideas and think outside the box, they become more engaged in their work and are happier and more motivated to produce good work.

"Failure is not an option." -When your employees fear the possibility of failure, it inhibits them from trying new things and pursuing new ideas - and it prevents your small business from innovating. A better motivator? Tell your employees it’s okay to make mistakes, so long as they learn from those mistakes and grow.

Information provided by Career Builder