The Secret Life Of Pronouns: What Our Words Say... -
One Tuesday afternoon, a panicked executive named Julian sat across from him. Julian’s company was hemorrhaging talent, and he couldn't understand why. He handed Aris a stack of internal memos and transcripts from recent board meetings.
The most chilling discovery, however, lay in the emails of the Chief Financial Officer. The CFO’s writing was devoid of the word "I." It was all passive voice and third-party references. The funds were allocated. The decision was made. The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say...
Fix the culture, Julian pleaded. Tell me who is lying and who is leaving. One Tuesday afternoon, a panicked executive named Julian
People who are being deceptive often distance themselves from their actions, Aris explained. They stop inhabiting their own sentences. He’s not just hiding the money, Julian. He’s hiding himself from the narrative. The most chilling discovery, however, lay in the
The results were startling. In the memos from the departing managers, the use of the word I had spiked by forty percent in the final months. Aris knew that an increase in first-person singular pronouns often signaled personal distress, isolation, or a sense of being under threat. These weren't people who felt like part of a team; they were people in survival mode, retreating into the fortress of themselves. Then, Aris looked at Julian’s own speeches.