Tweet

How to avoid the platitudes and simple solutions

Written by: Andrew Neitlich

Article Overview: This article discusses why much advice that Executive Coaches spew is filled with cliches and platitudes, and how to avoid this problem.

How to avoid the platitudes and simple solutions

Wonderful! The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article called, “Not communicating with Your boss? Count your blessings.”

The wisdom in this article offers a fantastic criticism of much advice that some executive coaches spew. For instance:

- Asking “How can I help?” can be a good thing to do, but can also offend certain people by implying they need help.

- Paraphrasing what people say to show you are listening can make you sound like an idiot and offend others (who may not appreciate being paraphrased).

- Some problems between people can’t be solved by 5-step formulas or action plans.

- Open communication can backfire with easily threatened managers, or managers with borderline personalities.

- Don’t confuse communication problems with much more serious relationship problems. The latter requires much more nuanced understanding and actions.

- Don’t confuse talking with doing. Results speak the loudest.

- Sometimes no communication is much better than communication — even if, for instance, a boss asks for open communication and feedback. (The article gives the example of a boss who asked a manager for feedback about why his direct reports seemed fearful of him. When she explained why people reacted the way they did to him, he almost fired her).

At the Institute for Business Growth, we do our best to avoid platitudes (the article notes one article on communication that advises, “Listen to gain understanding”) and instead focus on real-life situations in all of their complexity. The best coaches avoid lazy advice, and have the depth of experience required to help their clients succeed in challenging, politically charged, and often dysfunctional environments.

Related Articles
  Lose the Jargon: “What do you do?”
  What have I learned in 6 months of management? Part 1
  3 Simple Reasons that Will Help You Sell More
  Powerful Presentations: The Genius of Plain Language
  3 Simple Tips for Writing Your “About Page”

Article Tags: blessings, boss, business growth, communication problems, complexity, environments, executive coaches, life situations, open communication, personalities, platitudes, relationship problems, serious relationship, wall street, wall street journal, wisdom



Related Forum Posts
What to avoid when cold calling? - Cold calling is the nemesis of all sales people. What words to avoid, what not to do when cold calling? I will start first: avoid the word "maybe". When you're cold calling, your best chance of success is to be self assured, confident, and 100% well versed in what you are selling. If you're using the word 'maybe' in your sales scripts, you run the risk of sounding wishy washy. It either is or isn't. Pick one. Another word: "hope" When you tell your client you're 'hoping' for something, you're not sure, are you? If you're not sure, then why should they be? Never let a prospect hear that you're not 100% behind your product, your company or your service, or it's entirely likely you will lose the sale. So, what other words should we avoid?
Is Your Idea Worth Developing? - There are 2 simple, cheap and easy ways to help you find out if you actually got something. There are: 1. Ask your friends and family what they think of the invention. 2. Search for similar inventions on the Internet to see if they have succeeded and to what degree. If you can not find any similar inventions on the Internet then you can hire a professional. This will give you some idea of how your invention could turn out and possibly help you avoid failure. Any contributions people are willing to share are welcome!
Hi Folks!!! - This is to introduce myself as the Marketing Manager of iridium interactive ltd. I came across this forum while browsing and wanted to become a member of it. To give you a brief of the company, iridium interactive (ii) specializes in offering unique user centric e-business solutions varying from Strategy, Design, Technology & Marketing. ii with its presence in three continents, has been in the forefront in integrating strategy, design and technology to build unique, robust user centric e-business solutions. ii is an idea commune manifested by a group of futurists, business strategists, creative minds, technowizs, cyber marketers & web brand builders that work in harmony to deliver innovative interactive solutions. Our team has worked on a variety of disciplines for a multitude of clients drawn from various industries. Let us have a nice time together in this forum. I suppose we will all have a good time together.
Business or Personal Coachin - I have 4 year round business clients who come to me with business, accounting, promotional etc questions. I ask the probing questions and help them find the answers. I don't simply ask questions because they are paying to tap into my experiences and suggestions. Many times, sharing a positive or negative experience is a great way to illustrate possibilities and it allows them to see something that worked and then mold their own solutions. THis is something I also do in my business and promotional books. Ask questions that make people think, but I also offer solutions, examples and ideas to give them a place to start -- although I encourage them to create their own original way to solve the problem. Shri
Re: Search Engine Friendly Coding - According to my experience, You should avoid flash and java script while making a website for online business promotion. These type of coding also increases website loading time so avoid it. You can also use external CSS "Cascading Style sheet" for placing images on website it will reduce website loading time.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Intro to Search Engine Optimization

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.