5 min read

The Power of Clean Language in Business

Can you write a piece about the power of using Clean Language in business?

Um, yes. I can. But it’s not going to be easy. You see, for some, the impact of using Clean Questions might be powerful. But for others, it might be efficient. Or gentle. So its not just about the questions, it’s also about the way you use them.

OK, I get that. But you could still write something about Clean?

I could. I’d probably have to start off explaining what Clean Language is all about. Loads of people joke that it must be about avoiding swear words, and obviously we always get jokes about cleaning and mops and buckets and that sort of thing.

So, it’s not the best-named approach?

And there’s another dilemma. Is it an approach, a methodology, a technique, or something else?

You’re not really helping to sell your services here.

I know. We’ve often talked about how best to showcase what we do. I mean, the best way is to experience it, but most people want to know why and how it might be useful for them before having a go.

Let’s say I’ve got a problem with a couple of people in my team. One is always late or misses deadlines, which really irritates their colleague, who is super organised and on time. When I try and talk about it with them, they argue, and are either defensive or quite aggressive towards each other.

Sounds like a classic case of the Drama triangle. Ones in victim mode, and the other is persecuting, and if you’re not careful, you’ll get dragged into their drama and maybe try to rescue one or the other. What you could do is to use the Clean Language questions to get more information about how they each relate to deadlines. What you’ll probably find out is that for one, deadlines are like “It’s a Knock-Out. They’re walking on a slippery soapy foam surface, trying not to fall off, when suddenly a huge foam fist shoots out and blindsides them, knocking them off balance” Whilst for the other, deadlines are like the finish line in a hurdles race. They know it’s there, they can see it approaching, and they know they have to jump over a few more hurdles before they get there”. You could also add in your experience. For you, deadlines are like what?

It’s like a line in the sand.

What kind of line?

Well, sometimes, it can be quite thick and deep, and other times, it’s just like a scratch It depends on what the project is.

And is there anything else about the sand?

Yes. The sea can come in and cover up the line and then you didn’t even know it was there.

So you can see how all three of you have got quite different metaphors for deadlines.

Yes, and I can understand now why it’s difficult for the three of us to agree on how to achieve our deadlines. So where do we go from here?

Good question. You could get the three of you together and start asking each other questions to get more information, perhaps about what happens just before there’s a foam fist, or what happens when the sand washes the line away, maybe draw up what you know about yourselves and each other and think about possible ways of making it easier for each other. Without trying to change how each one of you works, but perhaps offering support. Or noticing when one of you is struggling. It must be really hard to reach the finish line when the hurdles keep changing place for example. And perhaps one of you could shout out when you see Foam Fist approaching.

Nice. Its kinda like you allow everyone to be different, and then work together to find a solution?

Yes. It’s one of the things I like best about Clean Language. Creating a space where everyone can be heard, whatever their opinion, because we get curious about them, rather than judgemental. We ask questions to work out how it is that they think that way, how it supports or restrains them, and if there’s anything they’d like to do differently.

And I guess you can do this for any topic?

Yep. We’ve been holding workshops on Imposter Syndrome, Menopause, Time management, Balance and Boundaries. Most recently, we did some work on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We got the group to explore what each of the words meant. We see them popping up all over LinkedIn and professional articles about Diversity in the workplace, so it was really interesting to find out that for most participants, the words meant something completely different. We talked about diversity in Nature, how there can be too much diversity, and the danger in creating Diversity without purpose. And the thing is, when people really start talking, they get interested in each other, start sharing experiences and there’s a desire for change which is coming from within, rather than being imposed from above. And that usually means that any changes are easier to implement and are more sustainable.

Which brings me back to the initial topic of the power of Clean Language, and I can see now that it could also be seen as gentle or efficient.

Or both! Clean Language originated from the work of David Grove. He was a therapist working in the 80’s with war veterans and victims of serious trauma. He realised that if they could describe their experience through a metaphor, it enabled them to reorganise their relationship with the original experience without having to relive it. The work has gone on to be used in many different fields, from Clean Language Interviewing in the Police Force and Academia, to work in Agile and Software development. But it retains a fundamental link to Grove whose mixed heritage of Māori and British military gave him that dual approach of methodology and intuition.

Fascinating stuff and we could talk about this for so much longer. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. And how should people contact you if they’re interested in finding out more?

You can book a discovery call here.