There's an interesting distinction to be made between Guess, Ask, and Tell cultures. – Guess culture: Doesn't name needs. There's an expectation that people gu

There's an interesting distinction to be made between Guess, Ask, and Tell cultures. – Guess culture: Doesn't name needs. There's an expectation that people guess each other's needs from clues/context/intuition. – Ask culture: Names needs as an ask. – Tell culture: Names needs. No specific kind of response is required or expected. These aren't normative categories, but I think in any workplace, being collectively aware that these different styles exist and that communication will be improved by each person knowing their own styles and the styles of others can improve things. – Guessers can work to name their needs. – Askers can learn to interpret Guessers and gently help them articulate their needs, and likewise can gently ask questions of Tellers to determine their asks. – Tellers can likewise learn to interpret Guessers and gently help them articulate their needs, and for Tellers, invite questions about their asks. A LessWrong post, with another take on the subject: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rEBXN3x6kXgD4pLxs/tell-culture https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rEBXN3x6kXgD4pLxs/tell-cultu...