Why I’m Reconsidering Using the Word “Just” 

How a simple word can quietly undermine creativity, clarity, and contribution.

Recently, I’ve been paying attention to a word that shows up a lot in conversations with clients and colleagues: Just.

“You just need to realign the roadmap.”
“Can’t we just roll out the new process?”
“They just need to communicate better.”

It’s everywhere. And for a while, I didn’t think much of it. But the more I listen, the more I realize how often just slips in as a shortcut—a way to make something sound simpler, faster, or more obvious than it actually is.

And that’s where it starts to create problems.

When we use phrases like “just shift the roadmap” or “just a quick rollout,” we unintentionally erase the real complexity someone is holding.

“Just” Can Flatten Complexity

Most of the work I’m involved in, especially operational and organizational transformation, is not simple. It looks like it should be, especially from a distance. But behind every clean process or aligned strategy is a lot of mental effort, cross-functional navigation, and unseen labor.

When we use phrases like “just shift the roadmap” or “just a quick rollout,” we unintentionally erase the real complexity someone is holding. We might be trying to speed things up or encourage action, but instead, we risk sounding dismissive, even if we don’t mean to.

Why “Just” Can Quietly Undermine the Work

Just bypasses exploration. It skips over the why. It shuts down the deeper questions that often lead to better decisions.

And that’s especially risky when you’re trying to enable autonomy or grow leadership in others. If someone is wrestling with a problem, and we frame the solution as obvious or basic, we might unintentionally communicate, “This shouldn’t be hard for you.”

Not only is it unhelpful, it can quietly undermine confidence.

A Better Move: Ask Instead of Assuming

What I’ve started doing—and encouraging others to do—is pause when I hear just. I ask:

• “What’s the lift here from your perspective?”
• “What might be behind this that’s not immediately visible?”
• “What else is in play that we should be aware of?”

These aren’t complicated questions, but they shift the dynamic. They open the door for people to share what they’re really navigating, whether it’s technical complexity, emotional bandwidth, or system constraints that haven’t been acknowledged.

Leadership Means Making Room for the Real Work

Dropping just from your language isn’t about being overly careful with words. It’s about being intentional with your leadership. It signals that you’re listening, that you trust the people doing the work, and that you respect the complexity they’re holding, even when it looks simple from the outside.

Because when we reduce transformation to “just another initiative,” we don’t speed up the work—we disconnect from it. And that’s when momentum stalls. When we stop minimizing what matters, we create the conditions for real progress.