Comment by pdonis
6 years ago
> I know I have benefitted immensely when others have dropped a pearl of wisdom straight from their fresh perspective
Others who had worked with you extensively enough to have useful suggestions? Or random strangers off the street? I'm guessing it's the former, since you say:
> I think the key thing is to establish a supportive and collaborative environment where people feel safe enough to take a suggestion
But if all this is the case, the author of this article agonizing over what to say and how to say it makes no sense. If he has already worked with these people long enough to have established a "supportive and collaborative environment", then he already knows how to make a suggestion to them that (a) might actually be of value, and (b) will be taken in the spirit it's given. But then why is he writing an article asking for suggestions on how to do this?
In other words, while I agree with you that in the specific situation you describe, making suggestions from a fresh perspective can be helpful, the situation you describe can't be the situation the article is describing.
The author appears, to me, to be looking for a solution to a symptom of a problem rather than at the problem itself.
The original question posed is basically innocuous, and is only made a problem by the environment.
If one gets to the point of wondering how to offer help without setting off a spiral of despair and insecurity, there are deeper issues that need to be rooted out. I also claim, anecdotally, to have seen this sort of improvement happen and think it is generally a thing that is possible to do, and isn't some core part of the human condition (at least to the degree described in the article).