To hate this phrase a manager at work is using

[ellemenopee]

Cross pollination.

He's started saying it and writing it all the time. For example, 'it is important team A and team B are coming together at this stage to cross fertilise/pollinate knowledge and learning'.

It feels like manager buzz word jargon having gone wrong. I hate it. Feels inappropriate in a work context.

AIBU?

YABU. One of the beauties of (English) language is that we can use words metaphorically. Its not just limited to managerial speech. Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, etc. all use such in their writings. To cross pollinate in this context sounds like the concept of seeding ideas by communicating between departments. A great idea, and great use of very simple English to represent it.

Yes - management bullshit. He could just say 'share ideas / learnings'

I have a new manager who keeps saying the numbers are 'crunchy' - I have no idea what he is talking about

Yeah it’s a bad one. It’s “reach out” that does my head in. Ever since I saw that meme that said “no one should reach out unless they are in the four tops” , I just hear the song in my head whenever someone says it or writes it 😂

I’m just glad u ‘reached out’ about this…

I think of Depeche Mode

@Bluntness100

Yeah it’s a bad one. It’s “reach out” that does my head in. Ever since I saw that meme that said “no one should reach out unless they are in the four tops” , I just hear the song in my head whenever someone says it or writes it 😂

I'm glad it's not just me! Whenever I hear it, I have the Four Tops on ear worm all day.

What's wrong with speak to, get in touch with, contact, ffs?

Good grief... what a fucking idiot. Surely 'share' would be perfectly reasonable in the context you've given.

@TillyTopper - good story

@WeatherwaxOn

When people do this it makes me think of Gus in 'Drop the Dead Donkey' and I instinctively start trotting out some of his catchphrases.

Still my favourite show.

Over the years I have slipped in “I think we have a slight togetherness shortfall here” into meetings where people are falling out and talking bollocks - it’s only been spotted as a DTDD quote once!

Management speak is a very good indication of people who are 1) dicks, and 2) terrible at their jobs and cover it up with jargon.

This doesn't even make sense unless they are hoping for some sort of hybrid outcome.
Surely a sharing of ideas or interdepartmental working would be a better phrase. We use the term 'cross college' to show various departments working together but cross pollination just doesn't work in any setting.
As for fertilisation, I would say this is almost sexist/harrasment.

My old boss was always exhorting us to ' Step up to the plate'. After one meeting I asked her, all innocently , what the phrase meant . An embarrassed silence followed - then she recovered and said ' well , get your finger out!' , rather grumpily it must be said. I think it's from baseball ?

Ask him exactly who he thinks should be impregnating whom.

'Blue sky thinking' seems popular too- please give me more!!! I really love examples of wanker manager speech!!!! Amd that it's dispersed through management in all different industries makes me giggle.

The twat I once worked for was very fond of "across the piece". We used to play meeting bingo with all his management speak, but as it was so obvious he was going to use that one we introduced a variant where we placed cake-based bets on how many times he was going to say it in any given meeting. I think his record was nine times.

Ask him if he has trained in agriculture before working in your industry.

Start throwing weird phrases back as a team, like "I think it's time we sprinkled the weed killer on the weak points in this discussion", or "it's time to manure the crops and reap the rewards", we need to "scarecrow" that idea.

I doubt he even realises he's doing it to be honest. I pick up sayings all of the time and can't help but use them.

I am enjoying the replies to this thread. Some have genuinely made me snigger.

It is refreshing how many of you instantly think he is a dick from this phrase alone. He absolutely is a dick, I am not sure anyone at work can work with him or likes him besides his boss. He has a habit of CCing the world and his wife onto his email trails too. Often, another (more senior) manager will reply in a curt manner to shut the nonsense down, but this guy seems immune to the put downs!

@Beveren

The twat I once worked for was very fond of "across the piece". We used to play meeting bingo with all his management speak, but as it was so obvious he was going to use that one we introduced a variant where we placed cake-based bets on how many times he was going to say it in any given meeting. I think his record was nine times.

@Beveren I suspect this should have been 'across the piste.' I only know because it was the favourite phrase of one of our senior managers and it was then adopted and repeated by every other manager across the service, to the extent that you'd think we spend all bloody day skiing!!

The current phrase is 'close of play.' As though we're all enjoying ourselves with a cosy round of cricket...

That’s not the issue here, I think. We all know that professions have their own jargon, but often that is very specific realities, objects, tasks, etc whereas in managerial-speak jargon is used to replace quite often straightforward concepts and at times the jargon actually obfuscates the intended meaning.
“Cascade” for example: means in management speak to circulate to those you manage or those on your team. But: are you meant to just forward the email/info or to actually contextualise the information and ask something else from your team in response to the information being cascaded? It’s happened for a few times that it was the latter that was intended!
Cross-pollination: it happens in nature by chance or by design, but usually with the intervention of a third party (human or animal). So when you talk of cross-pollination between teams: do you expect an independent person to act as a go-between or do you want Teams to talk between them to come up with something new? That’s not cross-pollination!

Not as bad as someone prefacing everything they say with the word 'so'.
So irritating.

Haven't RTFT but will.

OP are you a bee?

Urgh

The best one is hit the ground running which basically is code for you won’t get any training

I though stepping up to the plate, meant taking your turn and not hiding.
The cross pollination thing, be quick and say, I wonder what the baby will look like!

My pet hate is when I’m asked to ‘reach out’. In other words contact someone

I bought my line manager a bullshit buzzer as a secret Santa present. He liked it but unfortunately did not take into senior management team meetings with him.