The futility of “We should…”

Have you ever had a conversation with someone and they continued to say “We should do x…?”  Whether in the workplace or at home, the blaming power of “we should” needs to be stopped. 

“We should” is an opportunity to either complain or share an idea without actually doing anything. For example:

• We should invite people over more often.

• We should implement a recognition system.

• We should stop spending money.

• We should recognize employees.

The problem with these statements is that they put the onus on others.  I recently had a conversation where a person used seven “we should” statements in the span of 45 minutes.  The person did not take any accountability for how to implement these ideas, and more often than not, the statements came across as complaints that we weren’t doing them yet.

If you decide to use “we should”, you must also include an idea about how to implement the “should.”  If you don’t have an idea, then change your statement to “I should.”  This puts the accountability on you to come up with a plan.  If you want others to provide ideas, then ask them with statements such as “I would like to implement a recognition system. What do you think?”

It’s a simple way to get buy-in, without putting the burden on someone else to help you achieve your goal.