I recently listened to the first episode of "Dropping Names … and Other Things," a podcast hosted by Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner. Their first guest was LeVar Burton, their longtime friend and fellow cast member from "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Frakes played Commander William Riker, Spiner played Data and Burton played Geordi La Forge. Their connection began on the set, but the warmth of the conversation came from friendships built through years of working closely together and sustained through later productions, conventions and decades of shared experiences.

At one point, the conversation turned to practices they had observed and adopted from others. Burton told Frakes that he had borrowed a simple phrase Frakes uses while directing:

“Action, please.”

Most people recognize the customary command on a production set: “Action!”

It is clear, direct, and universally understood. Frakes adds one word.

Please.

The instruction carries the same authority. The additional word communicates courtesy to the actors, camera operators, stage crew and everyone else responsible for bringing the scene to life.

Authority and respect can occupy the same sentence.

What People Choose to Remember

Burton’s observation stayed with me because the phrase may have felt ordinary to Frakes.

He may never have viewed “Action, please” as a formal leadership practice. It may simply reflect how he treats people while directing.

Burton noticed it, remembered it and carried it into his own work.

Leaders invest considerable energy in the messages they intend to communicate. We prepare presentations, explain priorities, introduce operating principles and articulate organizational values.

Meanwhile, people are learning from moments we may barely notice.

They remember how a leader responded when a target was missed. They notice whether a concern was welcomed or dismissed. They watch who receives recognition when a project succeeds and who carries responsibility when it does not.

Sometimes they remember a single word.

Leaders influence others through repeated patterns of language and behavior. The people around them decide which moments matter, what those moments mean and which practices are worth carrying forward.

We do not get to control that interpretation.

A Lesson I Needed to Hear

Years ago, a vice president of operations told me I used the word “I” too much.

Honestly, I did not see it until he said it.

Once he pointed it out, I began to hear how often I placed myself at the center of the story, even when the work had been shared. He encouraged me to use “we” and “us” more deliberately.

The feedback was hard to hear because it was accurate.

He served as a mirror. I needed someone with enough trust, respect, or perhaps just enough boldness to tell me directly what I could not see for myself.

His point was partly about inclusion. Language signals who belongs in the effort and who contributed to the result.

Recognition can easily collect around the person with the title, the microphone or the opportunity to tell the story. Leaders may not consciously intend to claim the work, but repeated use of “I” can still leave others feeling unseen or pushed to the edges.

Humility shows up in how leaders speak about success.

Leaders need to be willing to say:

“I made the decision.”
“I was wrong.”
“I am accountable.”

Leaders should own their decisions and be generous with credit.

Use “I” to accept responsibility. Use “we” to distribute credit and build capability.

The lesson reaches beyond pronouns. It speaks to how leaders understand their role and make room for others.

We all need people who can help us see what we cannot see from where we stand. They bring different experiences, vantage points and ears for how our language lands.

Leaders have to make that candor possible.

People are more likely to speak honestly when direct feedback is welcomed rather than punished. The leader usually has to move first by showing humility, listening without becoming defensive, and acting on what was heard.

What We Hope People Carry Forward

Some of my most memorable professional experiences have occurred on shop floors with teams solving difficult problems.

That is one reason president-led kaizen events can be so powerful.

A machine operator may feel intimidated speaking with a company president or CEO in a conference room. The dynamic changes when they are working side by side during a setup-time reduction event.

They may clean the same machine, organize the same tools, observe the same changeover steps and test a new sequence together.

Culture becomes visible when the president and the operator are cleaning the same machine.

The title has not disappeared, but shared work lowers a barrier. The president is modeling curiosity, humility, teamwork and respect through visible behavior.

The operator is also seeing what leadership looks like up close.

That is one of the purposes of kaizen. We bring people together to solve a problem, teach a way of thinking, practice new behaviors and build capability through experience.

Some of that learning is deliberate. We may teach observation, experimentation, standard work or problem-solving directly.

Other lessons travel more quietly.

Someone notices that the president asks questions before offering an answer. Someone remembers that a failed experiment was treated as information rather than embarrassment. Someone sees a leader thank the person who exposed a problem. Someone watches credit being shared with the team.

Those moments may become part of how that person leads later.

In that sense, Burton adopting “Action, please” resembles part of what we hope happens through kaizen. A behavior is modeled, observed and carried into another setting.

A president may begin a kaizen event by saying, “We are here to learn together.” Employees will hear the words. They will also watch what follows.

Does the president ask questions and listen? Does the leader participate fully in the work? Does respect remain visible when an experiment fails or pressure rises?

Language shapes the message. Behavior gives it credibility.

Leadership involves planting seeds. Some are planted deliberately through teaching, coaching and shared practice. Others take root from ordinary words and behaviors we barely remember.

We may never know which ones will grow.

Listen to What You Are Modeling

It is worth listening to ourselves during an ordinary week.

When something goes wrong, what does your language communicate about accountability?

When something goes well, who receives the credit?

When pressure increases, do your words and behavior continue to communicate respect?

Leaders set a tone through formal messages, strategic priorities and organizational systems. They also set it through an offhand comment, a pronoun chosen during an all-employee meeting, a reaction to bad news or a day spent cleaning a machine alongside the team.

Jonathan Frakes may have said “Action, please” hundreds of times without viewing it as anything unusual.

LeVar Burton remembered it and carried the phrase into his own directing.

Leaders do not get to decide which moment becomes part of someone else’s model for leadership.

We can try to make more of those moments worth remembering.

Action, please.