The Ladder of Assumptions

What kind of preparation do you do for important work-related conversations? What kind of thoughts
do you have during a crucial dialogue?  What approach do you take when you follow-up on a
conversation?

Many of us will brainstorm points we need to cover so we don’t forget.

Maybe if it’s a particularly sensitive topic we’ll carefully craft wording so we don’t say something the
wrong way. We might be thinking about steps we can take to communicate effectively.

These are all beneficial techniques.

I want to outline another tool that will help you prepare a little differently.
The Ladder of Assumptions, also called the Ladder of Inference, is a fascinating tool that helps us
understand our thinking – so we can better interact – and thus succeed.

Now, just like climbing a ladder in real life, we’re going to start at the bottom and work our way to the
top. Each rung is a different point in the process.

The rungs on the ladder of assumptions

OBSERVE
The first step involves our senses. Inherently we scan our environments and pick up what can be
seen and heard. It’s possible we might also notice other sensory information like smell or touch.
We are likely not consciously aware of most of the things we’re observing (this is when people talk
about “I just had a feeling about it” or “I had a sixth sense about it…”).

FILTER
As we subconsciously absorb information about what we experience, our brain moves to the next
step and begins taking more notice of certain elements. It’s human nature that we notice some things
more than others.

MEANING
As we process this selected information, we move to the next step and start to apply some meaning
to it. The way in which we do this is based on culture, experience, and past beliefs.
It could be influenced by the culture of a community, our own heritage, or the corporate culture. Or, it
could be applied from our personal norms and values.

ASSUMPTIONS
Next, we start making assumptions based on the meaning we’ve ascribed to the information we
selected. At this stage, our assumptions are based on our own view of things and applied to others.
CONCLUSIONS
After making assumptions we move up the ladder to drawing conclusions about the environment or
situation, the world around us.
Depending on the context, this could mean we’re reaching decisions or passing judgments about
coworkers, bosses, the team we’re working with on a particular project or the company.

BELIEFS
We adopt beliefs based on conclusions we draw, thinking them to be true (even if there is no
empirical evidence!), and these beliefs inform how we think. Our beliefs guide our actions.

ACTIONS
We reach the top of the ladder now as we take action based on our beliefs. What we believe could
pertain to our organization, people around us, or even the world.

Takeaways from the ladder

You can probably see how the Ladder of Assumptions could be a good thing. Our ability to use our
senses to quickly assess the environment and people around us and use that information to draw
conclusions could protect us from harm.

Going with our guts is often wise. However, the Ladder of Assumptions happens all the time and
consequently could be less reliable if we’ve misinterpreted first impressions or made false
assumptions. Let’s delve into this a bit more.

Subconscious versus conscious

It’s worth noting that the first few steps of the Ladder of Assumptions occur at a subconscious level.
We’re not deciding to evaluate what’s around us based on our senses, it just happens – viscerally,
instinctively.

Think about walking into a crowded presentation room and what you might observe: Your senses
might pick up on the bright natural light pouring in through windows, that people are stopped at a
registration table to the left-hand side of you, and there’s a song you like playing in the background.

However, what you select out of that barrage of information might be the registration table  – while
you’re not consciously aware of the light and the sound. You might grow in awareness, moving from
the subconscious to the conscious. For example, you might catch yourself humming along to music
and then notice that it’s one of your favorite songs!

As our mind continues through the next steps of adding meaning, making assumptions, and drawing
conclusions, many of us continue moving up the ladder subconsciously.

I want you to think about that: If we’re not really thinking about this, you’re not questioning yourself.
Without awareness, there isn’t any guarantee of critical thinking.
What if the data your mind noticed wasn’t the most relevant? What if the meaning you’ve applied isn’t
accurate or your assumptions were way off?

Now consider the impact of those missteps as you draw conclusions and adopt beliefs that aren’t
grounded on facts and evidence.

Kind of alarming, isn’t it? But this is precisely why we study the ladder, so that we can try to improve
our awareness. Because we’re running up that ladder all day long.

Reflective loop
A key component about us running up this ladder is that it’s not a one-time, one-way trip. Once we
reach the point of making beliefs, those beliefs will then start to guide us – whether they’re right or
wrong – and that guidance will begin to affect what we notice and the meaning we give it. This is
called the reflective loop.

For example, you might notice that large trucks on the highway kick up gravel more than other cars.
Then next time you’re driving on the highway you might decide to avoid following a large truck and
avoid having your windshield chipped or smashed.

But let’s consider beliefs one might adopt about people based on looks, background, gender, or race.
It’s entirely possible a belief might cause you to notice something in someone else and confirm the
conclusions reached in the past. In this case, what we observe is self-fulfilling pre-conceived notions.

Action loop
As we move up and down the ladder our own actions can have an impact on what’s happening
around us. Let’s think about that: The actions we take based on our right or wrong beliefs can affect
the world around us. This is what we call the action loop and it, too, happens alarmingly often.

So when we approach the top of the ladder (which can happen in moments, many times a day, in any
number of different situations we find ourselves in) and we form beliefs, we take actions – sometimes
consciously and sometimes not (think about body language that you may not be intending).

What we do is observed by those around us and this could cause them to react  – because they, too,
are picking up on observations, adding their own meaning, making conclusions, etc.

Racism is a more extreme scenario, but it illustrates the action loop quite well. Consider someone
who selects certain observations her mind picks up about a given race; she applies meaning, makes
assumptions, and draws conclusions, causing her to adopt beliefs about that entire race of people.

Each time she meets someone from this racial group, her mind is more attuned to pick up data that
she already thinks fits the stereotypes that she believes, which then confirms her beliefs. This is the
reflective loop.
As she rapidly travels up the ladder and back down the reflective loop, she is going to start to
act– consciously, and not consciously. Perhaps she avoids coworkers from that racial group, who
notice. They react, responding differently based on their observations meanings, assumptions, and
conclusions based on her and her race.

At the same time, their reactions then give her another opportunity to select more data that reaffirms
her initial, ill-informed beliefs.

In the action loop, the actions of one cause responses from others, which generates new actions and
generates more data. And, well, you can see how this can spiral out of control in a mind-numbing few
moments, sometimes without us even realizing we’re doing it.

So now imagine this in a less troubling situation than racism – you and your team members forming
beliefs about each other, and acting on them. Or, think about your boss forming beliefs about you,
perhaps based on inaccurate assumptions, misguided beliefs, and acting on them.

Walking the ladder in the workplace

Let’s take what we’ve learned about the ladder and apply it to a common workplace scenario.

Imagine that you’re interviewing for a junior analyst position and you’re about to meet a candidate
who looks great on paper. He has gone to the best schools, achieved top grades, and has excellent
references from peers in your industry where he had internships.

At the observation level, the meeting room is warm and there’s a hum as the HVAC blows warm air.
There’s a lingering smell of coffee from an earlier meeting. The candidate walks in, sharply dressed,
with expensive shoes and well-coiffed hair and calm, pleasant demeanor. He’s obviously from a
certain cultural group. At this point you’re beginning to select certain details and apply meaning.

You reach out to shake hands with the candidate, who averts his gaze. His handshake isn’t just
weak, it’s mild. You might be consciously or not consciously thinking someone who averts his gaze
has something to hide or low self-esteem and you feel even more uneasy with the limp handshake.

You might assume that someone with such mannerisms can’t be a hotshot analyst or has some
hesitation about the work with your company. You might draw conclusions, perhaps that his
credentials and references are somehow inflated – perhaps you’re biased against this cultural group
and you adopt beliefs that he’s benefited from affirmative action hiring in some way.

At this point, you might be feeling less enthusiastic about the interview. You sit down and check your
phone for the time. You’re just going to go through the questions from HR and see how he responds.

The reflective loop here finds you always watching people from this cultural group for signs of low
enthusiasm based on weak handshakes and an averted gaze. The action loop occurring would be
that your attitude shifts after the handshake and checking your phone make this candidate feel like
you’ve already decided against him.
He might lose motivation, believing now that he has a slim chance to impress you and his reaction to
your actions are thus self-fulfilling.

The problem is that for some cultures, averting the gaze and a gentle handshake is a sign of respect.
The impressions and assumptions and conclusions drawn are all ill-informed simply because the
signs of respect were misinterpreted.

Now, imagine if you had applied the ladder as you prepared for the interview. If we can focus and
become more conscious at a lower level of the ladder, we’ll become more aware well before we’re
drawing conclusions and engaged in actions.

The challenge
We’ve given you a lot of heavy information in the blog today, but we have found this exercise to be
career changing – and even life changing – for some of our clients.

As you prepare for a discussion, engage in a conversation, or reflect before you follow-up with
someone, try to be mindful of the steps we’ve covered with the Ladder of Assumptions.

Consider questions related to the process like: What were you thinking about X situation when you
decided to do Y? What have you previously thought about this person that led you there?

This ladder exercise is one of the most popular in our leadership workshops and it always blows the
minds of participants as they realize they’ve made assumptions about staff, peers, and bosses that
might have been wrong and how that may have affected their beliefs and their actions.

It’s not unusual to recognize that they were driven to say or do something that was based on
their own beliefs or background and how that has likely caused the other person to respond.

Becoming aware of how the action loop has affected their behaviour toward staff or peers or a boss is
a common “A-HA” moment in our workshop on Essential Conversations.
 Why making assumptions can be damaging your team

Making assumptions can be a problem for anyone but particularly for a leader in the workplace.

When we assume things about ourselves, other people or circumstances, it can cause:
 Division, possibly to the point of creating a toxic work culture
 Hard feelings, which foster discontent and complacency
 Loss of motivation, feeling there’s no point
 Team breakdown, preventing dialogue and innovation
 Decreased productivity (preventing forward movement)
 Retention issues (great employees might leave!)

We’ve talked before about the Ladder of Assumptions (also known as the Ladder of Inference) here
at Coach’s Questions and how making assumptions can undermine the potential for your team to
succeed. It’s a tool that our executive leadership coaches often use with clients that helps us
understand how we think — particularly if we’re misinterpreting things or making assumptions.

But how do leaders know what kind of assumptions are being made?

When you consider your work and your team, think about some of the most common assumptions we
encounter in the workplace. These might include things like:
“We’ve always done things this way and it’s worked just fine.”
“Don’t even bother suggesting that. They’ll never listen.”
“Leadership doesn’t get what we do. They’re looking out for themselves.”
“They say that, but they don’t mean it. Nothing ever really changes.”
“Some people can’t be trusted. Gossip and workplace drama are a given.”
“Don’t admit to mistakes or ask questions because it’ll count against you.”
“You’ve got to watch out for yourself. No one else will watch out for your interests.”
“I haven’t heard any issues. If there were concerns, people would raise them.”

In each of these examples, making assumptions is limiting thinking and hampering creativity. Making
these kinds of assumptions is going to limit what a team can accomplish because they hinder how
well team members work together.

Often the assumptions we make are based on past experience but not necessarily even past
experience with that person. They are based on stories we tell ourselves about the world around us.

The thing is, we usually make assumptions based on our own view of the world.

The heart of the problem is often that our assumptions inform the question, “Why are they doing what
they’re doing?” We can see what others do and hear what others say but we can never truly know
what’s going on in their heads to motivate what they’re doing or saying. Our assumptions attempt to
 fill in that gap but, of course, the assumptions (aka the stories we’re telling ourselves) are based on
OUR experience in the world, not the other person’s.

Have you noticed that when you’re having a bad day people seem more irritating? Perhaps more
needy? Perhaps less hard-working? That’s not because there’s a conspiracy, but rather because
your bad day is casting a shadow over how you see the world — you assume things are not going to
go well with people, you assume people’s intentions aren’t good, etc.

Of course, occasionally our assumptions help us out — we’ve learned from past experience with
Sally that she’s very interested in her own career and not interested in helping teammates. IF that
has proven true in action, then our assumptions were correct — and it’s helpful to have that as ONE
thing that might inform our assumptions. But that thought, that assumption, that way of thinking builds
a bit of a pathway in our brain and it makes it easier for other assumptions to follow the same path —
soon, when we’re tired, or having a bad day, we start making that assumption about someone else.
We start thinking their own selfish self-interest is what’s driving them to do something.

Keep in mind, this holds true for everyone around you, too. Your peers are making false assumptions
about you based on their current view of the world, plus your staff are doing it with you and with each
other. And, occasionally, other people voice their assumptions and opinions that then go on to inform
our assumptions and opinions.

As a result, you might be watching Joe in marketing carefully because a peer told you he’s impulsive,
loves drama and could be a problem — and you’re set to depend on Manjot in accounting because
everyone “knows” she’s a rising star who multitasks like no one else can.
Consider the way assumptions could colour your view of Joe or Manjot leaving early for a family
situation:

Joe – “Did he really have to dash out now? He likes to exaggerate things for attention.”
Manjot – “How does she manage it all? There must be a real challenge at home for her to leave early
like that.”

I know this all sounds daunting and perhaps insurmountable. It’s sometimes difficult to change your
mind about someone once you’ve made an assumption, but it’s not impossible. It can be helpful to try
to keep an open mind and take other opinions into consideration but not as absolute truth.  Most
importantly, it’s essential to remind yourself that you’re making assumptions all the time, and to notice
them before acting on them.

As leaders, we can strive to:

 Notice the self-talk, the assumptions, we’re telling ourselves about why someone is saying or doing
something and ask ourselves if it might be incorrect this time.
 We can reframe the thought with positive intent (‘what if he’s got a big problem at home and is really
struggling?’).
 Occasionally ask people what their motivation was. Not, “ugh, why did you do that?” but rather, “I
wanted to check in — you left really early yesterday, what was happening?”
 Strive to be impartial because when people share opinions, they might be biased, have ulterior
motives or be making their own assumptions – consider them as one source and only one.
 Try to find more than one opinion about someone. Understand that different personalities react in
different ways, so some “issues” might actually arise from miscommunication and misunderstandings
(there are different tools for understanding yourself and others and at Padraig, we use the Everything
DiSC Assessments with our clients. In particular, if you find yourself making assumptions or excuses
for people when things are in conflict, you might want to consider our Productive Conflict course.)

Making assumptions is problematic because it creates negativity and conflict (or minimizes and
reduces problem behaviors) — and minimizing problems or escalating conflict that goes unchecked
can damage your team.

How can we, as leaders, identify and challenge the assumptions that are interfering with how our
team members work together?

We have to check in with our teams and encourage some reflection about assumptions, perhaps
using the Ladder of Assumptions tool.

At your next team meeting, try sharing an example of an assumption that you’ve made that has
limited your own thinking. Then ask your team members to brainstorm, identify and share some
common assumptions. You might want to start by brainstorming assumptions about clients and
customers (since they’re not in the room with you) and then move to encourage thinking about what
assumptions we make about each other on this team or with others in the organization.

Lead the discussion by asking things like, “How does this assumption affect our beliefs? How does it
affect our actions?” Be curious and listen. Then challenge by asking: “How can we challenge this
assumption going forward? How can we commit to challenging our own thinking?” Be sure to follow
up at the next meeting to check in on everyone’s progress and continue to revisit assumptions at
future team meetings.

When we recognize the kinds of assumptions that hamper how we and our teams perform, we can
actively challenge them and be more intentional about how we choose to act.

Coach’s Questions:
When was the last time you stepped back to think about how assumptions influence you and your
team? What assumptions can you identify right now that are problematic? What steps can you take to
mitigate how assumptions damage your team?