Before You Make Assumptions, Check Your Step
I once worked for a boss who looked past me when I spoke and rarely acknowledged my comments. To me, that’s a sure sign someone’s not listening.
His behavior led me to conclude that he was inconsiderate and self-important. As a result, I believed he was someone who was not to be trusted. So I avoided him.
And then one day, he surprised me. He asked me about some details I had shared with him several months earlier.
It turns out that I was wrong about him. He wasn’t ignoring me. He just listened differently.
According to Harvard Business School Professor Emeritus Chris Argyris, this isn’t unusual. We get people wrong all the time. He attributes this to a “Ladder of Inference” we apply to determine how we will act in response to people and circumstances.
My favorite explanation of the Ladder of Inference is this five-minute animated TED video.
Here’s the basic sequence of how it goes, from beginning to end.
- Observation. We process the world and people around us.
- Selection. We decide what is relevant for consideration.
- Assumption. We interpret based on our perspective.
- Conclusion. We make judgments.
- Belief. We adopt a point of view.
- Action. We respond to people and situations.
My misinterpretation of my boss’s behavior is a good example of how this plays out. But the Ladder of Inference isn’t reserved to negative assumptions. Here’s another example:
One of my clients noticed in an important meeting (Observation) that another leader was getting positive feedback from his ideas (Selection). She figured that he was smart and strategic (Assumption). So she has determined that he is a highly effective leader (Conclusion). She developed the perspective that he should be admired and followed (Belief). She now makes extra effort with this person and often defers to his perspectives (Action).
Is he, in fact, consistently smart and strategic?
Maybe.
Our beliefs may cause us to act inappropriately with people and circumstances. We avoid someone we shouldn’t. We revere someone without noticing their performance gaps. We fail to connect with someone who should be our ally.
The good news is that you and I have the capacity to discern our thoughts. We can do this at all levels of the Ladder of Inference, but the moments of truth really occur at the Selection/Assumption steps. It’s here that we can challenge ourselves to make sure that we’re broadening our selection and making appropriate interpretations. We can ask ourselves (or others): Is this an accurate assumption?
Don’t overestimate your ability to be a good judge of character. Most of the time, we’re simply not fully accurate because we initially apply our personal bias and perspective. When we work to establish accuracy, though, we make well-informed and well-understood judgments. This leads to healthy beliefs. And this brings about action that is productive and relevant.
Where might you be tripping up the Ladder of Inference? And how will you become more discerning of your own thoughts?
Thanks Matt! It is interesting to see how quickly we breeze through the Ladder of Inference, especially when we are filled with fear and anxiety. The first question that pops into my mind is – what if we don’t judge or assume, at all?’ Is that even possible? In the book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz’s 3rd agreement is ‘Don’t Make Assumptions’. in his book Blink, Malcom Gladwell made a case for how we can change our split second biases, and why it is critical that we do so as individuals and as a society.
I talked with a police officer about the assumptions he makes. A very relevant topic we are hearing so much about in the news today. He believes if he doesn’t assume to some extent, it could cost him his life.
Maybe that is the real question. How much does assuming cost us and how much value does it add to our lives?
In Rising Strong, Brene Brown asks others around her, “o you feel everyone is doing the best they can?’ It is very interesting reading the answers she heard. The answer that is branded is my mind is from her husband, a Pediatrician. He said, “I don’t know. But, I do know, that when I assume others are doing the best they can, it is easier for me to move on and find the solution we are looking for.”
Thanks Matt!
Thank you, Michelle! You bring up a fascinating perspective about the role for assumptions when we are in perceived danger or urgency. Perhaps with practice we can challenge our assumptions more quickly to build faster reactions. Also by reviewing past assumptions we’ve made, we can course correct any unhelpful beliefs we’ve established. Thank you again!