C216 words · Proficient

The Workplace vocabulary — C2

Workplace vocabulary for office politics and difficult meetings, covering how someone might stonewall, grandstand or micromanage, and workplace habits like red tape.

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Words in this set

convene
/kənˈvin/
To formally call people together for a meeting, or to gather in that way.
Example: The committee will convene again on Monday morning.
quorum
/ˈkwɔrəm/
The smallest turnout of members that must be present before a group can make valid decisions.
Example: We cannot vote today because we lack a quorum.
tangent
/ˈtændʒənt/
A side topic that pulls a discussion away from what it was meant to cover.
Example: We went off on a tangent about parking again.
railroad
/ˈreɪlˌroʊd/
To push a decision through before anyone has time to object.
Example: Don't let him railroad the committee into signing today.
grandstand
/ˈɡrændˌstænd/
To behave or speak in a way designed to impress people, rather than to be genuinely useful.
Example: He seemed more interested in grandstanding than solving the problem.
stonewall
/ˈstoʊnˌwɔl/
To purposely delay or block a discussion by refusing to answer questions or cooperate.
Example: Management stonewalled every question about the layoffs.
pigeonhole
/ˈpɪdʒənˌhoʊl/
One of a set of small open compartments on a wall where each person's internal post is left.
Example: There is a parcel in your pigeonhole downstairs.
paper trail
The chain of documents left behind that proves what was done and by whom.
Example: Every payment leaves a paper trail the auditors can follow.
agile
/ˈædʒəl/
A flexible way of working, especially in project management, based on teamwork and short cycles of work.
Example: The team adopted an agile approach to manage the redesign.
siloed
Kept separate and not sharing information with other parts of an organisation.
Example: Departments felt increasingly siloed after the reorganisation.
bureaucratic
/ˌbjʊrəˈkrætɪk/
Involving complicated official rules and processes that can seem slow or unnecessary.
Example: Getting new software approved is a bureaucratic nightmare here.
red tape
Official rules and processes that seem unnecessary and cause long delays.
Example: Endless red tape delayed the office move by months.
micromanage
/ˌmaɪkroʊˈmænɪdʒ/
To control or watch every small detail of someone's work too closely.
Example: Her new boss tends to micromanage everything she does.
groupthink
The tendency for a group to make poor decisions because everyone agrees without question, to avoid conflict.
Example: The team fell into groupthink and missed the obvious risks.
synergy
/ˈsɪnərdʒi/
The extra effectiveness produced when people or things work together, rather than separately.
Example: Merging the two teams created real synergy.
reprimand
/ˈrɛprəˌmænd/
A formal telling off from somebody in authority for doing something wrong.
Example: He received a written reprimand for missing the audit.