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Coffee or tea

I used to annoy my friends when I was visiting them and they were asking "would you like to have some coffee or tea" by answering simply "yes". While technically adequate (after all, you can also answer no to that question and it would be perfectly fine) the answer doesn't really give what the questioner was after. Even if I honestly just was looking for some hot beverages and didn't care which one it was.

 

I try not to do this anymore. At least not to my friends. But as a manager, if my subordinates come to me with similar questions I'm tempted to give them the yes answer. I don't have time to dig deeper into options and evaluate which one would be the better choice. I trust them to do such evaluation beforehand and only bringing the best option for my approval.

Of course part of being a good manager os being supportive and giving constructive feedback. Better approach is to establish their expertise by asking which option they would choose (and why).

Btw. it's always coffee if you have to ask. But if you prefer tea that's also fine, just don't offer me the choices in that case ;)