Please Don’t Say It!

 “Let’s try and think out of the box.”

How many of you have been subject to this torturous phrase since you began your respective careers? I can only speak for myself that if I had a dollar each time some higher up uttered this shopworn axiom, I’d be living either in Palm Beach or Beverly Hills and not working.  

Trust me, that’s not an exaggeration.

“That being said…”

Another line that ushers in regular dyspepsia during boardroom meetings.

Although more often heard throughout the C-suites in corporate America I’m sure the leaders at CPA firms are hardly immune to dispensing the all-too-frequent workplace catchphrases – you know the ones that prompt the rank and file to roll their eyes or engage in that creative game known as “boardroom bull…t bingo!”

I came across an article recently that analyzed the emotional intelligence (or EQ) of senior level executives (I’m confident firm owners would fall into this category as well) and how their words affect not only their performance (and not coincidentally, salary) but their direct reports as well.

Unfortunately, I’ve had too many supervisors during my career that brought little or no value to me or anyone else under their purview, but excelled in delivering Knute Rockne type inspirational speeches littered with clichés and Pollyanna.

Do any of these sound painfully familiar?

“Let me circle back with you.”

“Great idea. Let’s do a deep dive.”

“This will be a game changer.”

Shall I go on?

Okay.

“We need to shift the paradigm.”

“Why don’t you run with it?”

From the start of my working career, I, like everyone else, has had direct reports who ranged from great to horrendous. Regardless of my personal feelings toward many of them, I can honestly admit that I learned something from most of them (notice I refrained from using “takeaway”). By my calculations, there have been exactly five during that span who brought absolutely nothing to the management or mentoring table. And it cannot be a coincidence that all five excelled in employing many of the above-mentioned nauseating slogans. Their EQ so to speak would hardly register a blip on even the most sensitive seismograph.

So take note the next time you try rallying the troops. And if I hear anyone say “Trust me this is the Uber of…” I’ll give my two weeks’ notice.