I’ve been in quite a few meetings recently where people are speaking in a passive voice, and saying things like “maybe someone could do this thing”. Naturally nobody does.
While it’s possible that some motivated person will step up anyway, human nature suggests that most people won’t. The specific psychological phenomenon that I’m talking about is an aspect of Social Proof. Since nobody obviously stepped up to help, everyone will assume they aren’t expected to either, and nothing gets done.
You might think that this will only be true for unimportant things, but that’s not true. In first aid training, I was taught to never say “somebody call 911”, because nobody will. Instead I was taught to point at someone and say “You! Call 911”.
If you want that action to happen, you need to snap people out of Social Proof. So the next time you hear people using very passive language in a meeting, call it out: “Who is going to help with that?” Make a decision and get it done. If we don’t then we’re just wasting everyone’s time.