Banning so-called 'weasel words' like 'try' and 'if' is just a recipe for poor decisions and stupid mistakes.

Last week, Forbes Magazine announced a definitive list of words that you shouldn’t say at work. Now, I’ve generally become aware, through years of painful learning, that directing four-letter words at your boss isn’t particularly helpful. Other than that, though, I have always believed that most words are fairly useful, depending on their context.

Not according to Forbes. The magazine lists a number of words, including 'try' and 'if', and phrases such as 'I don’t know' and 'I’ll get back to you', that should instantly be hacked from our vocabulary.

The point of the article, written by a psychotherapist and business consultant, is to highlight ‘weasel’ words and make those of us who use them feel suitably ashamed and embarrassed. I suppose the ultimate aim is to replace such weasel words with bear words (that’s if a bear is the opposite of a weasel) so that we only ever say things such as 'yep', 'sure thing' and 'can do'.

I have to say, at first there’s a strange appeal to what’s being suggested. It creates a rush of adrenalin. It makes the chest pump out; the pulse race. My aggressive inner voice cheers and suddenly wants to stamp on all things weasel, like taking holiday, sick leave or worst and weasiliest of all, being indecisive. While we’re at it, now’s our chance to return to the great days of the eighties and do away with weasily things like work/life balance and well-being. Lunch is for weasels, to paraphrase the great Gordon Gekko.

But once the pulse rate returns to normal and the reality of the list dawns, it’s apparent that this is about as mindless as management advice can be. We are still in the thick of a global recession that was driven – in no small way – by unnecessary risk taking, narcissistic leadership and a lack of challenge to poor decisions. Surely by now we have learnt that saying 'yes, now what’s the question' or 'no problem' to every request is going to lead us into situations where we make stupid mistakes that not only waste money, but cost jobs and livelihoods. If the past few years have taught us one thing it is that integrity, trust and honesty in communication are not just desirable leadership qualities; they're absolute necessities.

Language is a subtle and powerful tool that has many shades of variation, deliberately. It is said to separate humans from all other animals. To take a scalpel (their advice) to essential words that convey uncertainty and the need to gather more facts before making a decision smacks of the worst macho b*llsh*t leadership stereotype (words chosen carefully) imaginable.

Stuart Duff is Head of Development at Pearn Kandola Business Psychologists.

Negotiation; establishing trust; getting off to a good start - three crucial skills for any leader...

In his first few days in office David Cameron has taught us several lessons in leadership: first in negotiating; second in establishing trust; and third the importance of getting off to a good start.

The initial exchanges in any negotiation invariably set the tone of what follows; the approach of one party will be matched by the other. If you start off with hostility and anger, then that will be the response that will be elicited from the other team. The Tory leader’s striking remark about a ‘big, open and comprehensive offer’ to the Liberal Democrats made it clear that his approach would be flexible and open-minded. This established that he was serious in reaching an agreement that would accommodate the Lib Dems’ views.

He has also shown how important it is to establish trust quickly. There are different types of trust: cognitive and affective. The former refers to having confidence in other peoples’ abilities - and by personally praising the competence of the Lib Dem cabinet members, he makes it quite clear that he sees them as highly credible individuals who are deserving of his, and our, respect. Cognitive trust can be established quite quickly, and it is important that this happens in the early stages of team formation. The Prime Minister has ensured that this is more likely to happen with the generous and authentic-sounding descriptions of his new colleagues. Deeper trust or affective trust is more emotional in nature and is based on a shared sense of values, motivation and commitment. When this occurs, when you know that your colleagues can be totally relied upon; then a real team is formed. Time will tell whether he can achieve this in the long run. But for now, he is making all the right moves.

The third thing he has done is to roll up his sleeves and be seen to be getting down to the job. He is visible, energetic and excited. In other words, he is telling us that the scale of the task doesn’t daunt him. Creating a positive first impression is always a good idea - numerous studies have shown that where two people have performed equally overall on a number of tasks, those that had the better start were rated as being better.

A highly effective beginning from the new Prime Minister and some useful lessons of leadership can be taken from it.

Professor Binna Kandola OBE
www.pearnkandola.com