"We" do nothing
Have you ever attended a planning meeting, and when the meeting is over you leave feeling great about the meeting. The meeting went well, and as a group you chose what action to take. You walked out, happy, thinking "we're going to get a lot done!". A few days later, you look back at the meeting and start to wonder who is going to do what... and when. You remember that the meeting was good, but you can't seem to remember what you were supposed to do. Well then great! You didn't have any tasks or responsibilities assigned to you. Everyone else must be working on it.
Or, have you ever asked who is responsible for something, and the answer is a blank stare, or "oh, we do that". Maybe you've been asked who is doing something and you think, "we do that".
When "we" are all working on something, I've found that no one is actually doing anything most of the time. With the exception of incredibly responsible people who naturally take ownership, when "we're" working on something, it doesn't get done.
Even when you're married, your spouse says, "we should....." - and you agree. A week, or month later nothing is done. Again, "we" were working on it.
While working with a team is wonderful, and as a team things get done faster, it's important that "we" aren't the ones doing it. Each person has the responsibility to complete things.
When your spouse reminds you to pay a bill, and you say "we should pay that soon", beware of late fees. In order to make sure that bill gets paid, try something like "do you want to pay it, or should I?"
A month after your planning meeting, your boss asks you how it is going. You sit and think, "nowhere....". You say that you thought the other people were going it, throw them under the bus, or take completely blame - depending on how you tend to respond. This moment comes from the fact that "we" were working on it. If each person worked out of the meeting with tasks, then we do complete tasks and reach the goal.
