foundations of team leadership 5b-1 foundations of team leadership ladder of inference conclusions...
TRANSCRIPT
5b-1
Foundations of Team Leadership
Foundations of Team Leadership
Ladder of Inference
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
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FACTS/ DATA
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ACTIONS
5b-2
Foundations of Team Leadership
•The Ladder is a metaphor for how our mental models influence perception, judgment, and action
•“Climbing the ladder,” from data to conclusion, is an automatic, unconscious process
Ladder of Inference
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
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FACTS/ DATA
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ACTIONS
5b-3
Foundations of Team Leadership
How We Usually Climb The Ladder…
Unaware of Some of Our Mental Processes
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
We are so skilled that we jump to the top rungs of the ladder without knowing it...
• We tacitly filter some data and ignore other data
• We impose our own interpretations on these data
• We draw conclusions from interpreted data
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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5b-4
Foundations of Team Leadership
Assumptions are colored by filters:• Automatic• Inferred to be true
• Personal filters come from one’s background, experiences, & beliefs• (Culture-family-faith…)• These often come from Mental Models
• These filters are mostly unconscious
Filters
How We Usually Climb The Ladder…
5b-5
Foundations of Team Leadership
Blind about Ourselves
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
Our conclusions feel SO obvious to us • We see no need to retrace the steps we
took• Or explain how we reached our conclusions• Even if others reach different conclusions
We don’t realize that we are making interpretations because we do not think
about our thinking -...
Implications of the Ladder
5b-6
Foundations of Team Leadership
Johari Example
Johari
Steps in the Ladder of Inference
Filtered Meaning
XX Statement in the Johari
I listened with my filters …
I made an Assumption
I decided which statement was true
I raised my hand accordingly
Assumptions
Conclusion
Data
Action
5b-7
Foundations of Team Leadership
Climbing Our Inference Ladder
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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5b-8
Foundations of Team Leadership
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
Implications of the Ladder
From the Top of the Ladder
When people disagree, they often hurl conclusions at each other from the top of their respective ladders
• This makes it hard to resolve differences and to learn from one another
5b-9
Foundations of Team Leadership
Climbing the Inference Ladder
DATA
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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5b-10
Foundations of Team Leadership
Implications of the Ladder
Blind about Ourselves & Others
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
We see the different conclusions of others as obviously wrong
• And INVENT REASONS to explain why others say things that are so obviously WRONG
• Even if others reach different conclusions
• We do not often think to explain how we reached our own conclusions, because our conclusions seem so obvious to us
5e-11
Foundations of Team Leadership
Leadership andOrganizational Effectiveness
Bushfire Example of Inferences
Scenario #1o Action-Leaveo Conclusion- Safe to drive
away in caro Assumption-Car can
outpace fireo Data Selected- CAR
Scenario #2o Action-Stayo Conclusion- Unsafe to
drive awayo Assumption-Fire moves
faster than caro Data Selected- CAR
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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5b-12
Foundations of Team Leadership
SO WHAT?
Self Awareness As a Tool of Reflection
• Can be used to slow down thinking
• Make more obvious one’s assumptions
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
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FACTS/ DATA
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ACTIONS
5b-13
Foundations of Team Leadership
Lessons from the Ladder
Effective Conversations Are Enabled by Moving Up &
Down Our Ladders• If we are willing/able to climb
down one’s ladder
• And make an effort to review data together
• And to share with each other our reasoning and assumptions
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
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FACTS/ DATA
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ACTIONS
5b-14
Foundations of Team Leadership
Able to Come Down Our Inference Ladder
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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5b-15
Foundations of Team Leadership
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
Using the Ladder Positively
ONESELF• Pay attention to how your conclusions
are based on your inferences
• Explain to others the steps in your thinking, from the data you select and the meanings you paraphrase, to the conclusions you reach
• Ask others if they have other ways of interpreting the data or if they see gaps in your reasoning
5b-16
Foundations of Team Leadership
Source: Action Design/ Pegasus
Using the Ladder Positively
OTHERS• Assume that others may reach different
conclusions because they have their own ladder of inference with logic that makes sense to them
• Paraphrase (aloud) the meanings you hear in what others say
• Ask others to explain the steps in their thinking
3b-17
Exercise Format1. Review the details of the Ladder of Inference steps
2. Re-create on the exercise sheet’s ladder the steps you inferred in one of the Johari mystery card “read-out”
3. What assumptions did you make?
4. How did these lead you to the conclusions you made?
Analyzing Our Inference LaddersOpen FTLFoundations of Team Leadership
5b-18
Foundations of Team Leadership
Inference Ladder & Mental Models
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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DATA
3b-19
Inference Ladder Exercise
Open FTLFoundations of Team Leadership
CONCLUSIONS
ASSUMPTIONS
FACTS/ DATA
ACTION
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DATA