The Word 'JUST'

I know someone who has a TextExpander shortcut on her computer, so that when she types in the word ‘just’, it gets deleted automatically. Why would someone want to do this?

Case Study 1
Marc is being micromanaged by his boss. It has been going on for over two years. He decides to share this with a peer, in order to check his perception and possibly get a bit of empathy. The peer replies, “That’s ridiculous! You don’t deserve that. You just need to tell your boss that his leadership style of micromanagement doesn’t work for you, and that he should back off!”

Case Study 2
Jennifer’s colleague John went off on vacation without arranging for sufficient coverage of several key and continuing operational activities in supply chain. John is also the brother of the CEO. When John returned and saw that some key activities had slipped and customers were complaining, he blamed Jennifer and her team for the slip-ups, communicating this to his brother the CEO. Jennifer shared the situation with a friend, and the friend said “Well, you just need to tell the CEO that his brother John lied, and then explain the truth!”

Analysis

It is clear that the intention of the peer and friend is to support Marc and Jennifer respectively. Both throw out the logical thing to do: Tell the truth. Just. 

‘Just’, in both case studies, is used as an adverb, thus the implied meaning is ‘simply’; as in ‘just’ or ‘simply’ tell the truth. Yet, often ‘simply tell the truth’ is an oxymoron.

What might be the risks that Marc and Jennifer perceive that would require them to be courageous to just tell the truth? In other words, perceived risks can make telling the truth anything but simple.

Case Study 1
Marc’s financial situation is shaky, and he has a partner and three small children. He cannot afford to lose his job over a disagreement about micromanagement. He also lacks experience giving direct constructive feedback, and the few times he’s tried, it has not gone well.

Case Study 2
Jennifer realizes that if she just tells the truth, several scenarios could play out:

• The CEO could believe his brother John and accuse Jennifer of lying, risking Jennifer being fired
• The CEO and John could have a fight which could seriously disrupt productivity and lower the trust level on the senior team
• The CEO could accuse Jennifer of blaming others and not taking responsibility for her actions

The Caveat

Ultimately, both Marc and Jennifer need to feed and house themselves and their families, and a job permits this. As such, they may choose to accept the uncomfortable status quo, despite their revulsion towards company practice. There is nothing simple in making that choice.

Yet there is a caveat! Be mindful of the ‘fear monster’. It may be that Marc’s boss is overwhelmed and actually wants to wean himself off of micromanaging. And might not the CEO know his brother well enough not to be surprised that he lied, and as such, believe Jennifer?

Coaches, in particular, are there to support their coachees in discerning their situation. And flippantly saying just is a sure way to kill discernment. By implying that the solution is simple and (duuuuh) obvious, the coachee might:

• Feel stupid for not having thought of this ‘obvious’ solution
• Not find what is being suggested as easy to do as the coach says it is
• Find the comment denigrating or condescending
• Feel that the coach is not helping them to understand the nuances of the situation

I suggest that we coaches install an automatic ‘delete’ shortcut in our minds so that we never use the word ‘just’ in a coaching session! Whether a peer, friend, or a coach, rather than flippantly proposing a just ‘do this’ solution – support the other person so that they can coolly analyze the costs and benefits of the choices before them.