"Always" & "Never" Called (A Guide to Spotting Workplace Exaggerations)

CLASSIC LINES WE’VE HEARD:
🎭 “𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘓𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘚 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺!” (Translation: “I don’t want to learn something new”)
🎭 “𝘕𝘖𝘉𝘖𝘋𝘠 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴!” (Said right before someone quotes the report)
🎭 “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘕𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!” (Said often about good ideas)
𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘’𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗:
🎭 “𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘓𝘞𝘈𝘠𝘚 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺!” (Translation: “I don’t want to learn something new”)
🎭 “𝘕𝘖𝘉𝘖𝘋𝘠 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴!” (Said right before someone quotes the report)
🎭 “𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘕𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦!” (Said often about good ideas)
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦: Your coworkers aren’t fortune tellers… even if they sound like them.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀
• They 𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 before it starts
• They 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 “𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀” without evidence
• They 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 (even when they’re wrong)
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺
1️⃣ 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗺𝗯: “Wait, really? Has there ever been an exception?”
2️⃣ 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰: “Which clients don’t like this? All of them?”
3️⃣ 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝘁: “What would it look like if it DID work?”
𝗘𝗫𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗨𝗣𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘:
🚫 “Young employees just don’t want to work hard!”
✅ “Which behaviors are you seeing? Is it everyone or just some?”
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗨𝗽
✔️ When decisions are being made based on vibes, not data
✔️ When “the way things are” is holding you back
✔️ When you want to really understand what someone is saying
𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗨𝗦: The more you question generalizations, the more people will think before they make them.
POLL: “What’s your workplace’s go-to generalization?”
[ ] “Leadership won’t go for that.”
[ ] “Our clients would never…”
[ ] “That’s not possible.”
[ ] “We don’t have time!”

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