Reading this episode made me pause and reflect on something I’ve been noticing in my own employment workshops. When I give instructions for a group activity, everyone usually nods in agreement—but a few minutes into the exercise, questions begin to surface.
That’s when it becomes clear that while everyone heard the instructions, not everyone interpreted them the same way. What this episode gave me was not only awareness, but a practical improvement: before starting an activity, I will now ask participants to repeat the instructions back or clarify what the task means to them. I believe this change will create shared understanding and improves the entire exercise.
I can't wait to implement this during this week's employment workshops!
These are great words, Jerry, that often hold different meanings for different people in different situations. Thinking back to my corporate days, there are two other expressions that fell into that category. “Shared responsibility“ and “collaboration.”
Yes, and here's the deeper pattern: almost ALL words work this way. Ambiguity is the default setting for language, and the more important the word, the more meanings it quietly carries.
We tend to think only a few tricky terms cause drift. The reality is that every word arrives flexible enough for each person to hear their own version. That flexibility is a feature until the stakes go up — then it becomes the most expensive bug in the room.
"Shared responsibility" and "collaboration" are two of the most expensive ones. I'd bet they funded entire rework cycles in your corporate days.
Reading this episode made me pause and reflect on something I’ve been noticing in my own employment workshops. When I give instructions for a group activity, everyone usually nods in agreement—but a few minutes into the exercise, questions begin to surface.
That’s when it becomes clear that while everyone heard the instructions, not everyone interpreted them the same way. What this episode gave me was not only awareness, but a practical improvement: before starting an activity, I will now ask participants to repeat the instructions back or clarify what the task means to them. I believe this change will create shared understanding and improves the entire exercise.
I can't wait to implement this during this week's employment workshops!
These are great words, Jerry, that often hold different meanings for different people in different situations. Thinking back to my corporate days, there are two other expressions that fell into that category. “Shared responsibility“ and “collaboration.”
Yes, and here's the deeper pattern: almost ALL words work this way. Ambiguity is the default setting for language, and the more important the word, the more meanings it quietly carries.
We tend to think only a few tricky terms cause drift. The reality is that every word arrives flexible enough for each person to hear their own version. That flexibility is a feature until the stakes go up — then it becomes the most expensive bug in the room.
"Shared responsibility" and "collaboration" are two of the most expensive ones. I'd bet they funded entire rework cycles in your corporate days.
Indeed they did!