When the obvious is wrong
Ever send an e-mail or leave a voicemail and not get a return message? Then did you write that person off as a total bum because they failed to respond? If so, you just leapt to the top of the ladder of inference.
Chris Argyris, business theorist and Harvard University professor, developed the model. Peter Senge popularized it in the "The Fifth Discipline."
The ladder of inference is a thought-process model. It begins with the data that we observe and/or experience and ends with the actions we take based on how we interpreted the initial data.
Ladder of inference
The base of the ladder of inference is the actual data or experience: just the objective facts of what happened.
The first rung up the ladder is the data on which we choose to focus. (This is the phenomenon that results when the four people who saw an accident offer four different stories of what happened.) Rung number two is affixing meaning to what we've experienced or observed.
The next step is creating assumptions. We then draw conclusions, followed by developing new beliefs or affirming old ones. Last comes our actions: what we do based on our beliefs.
The ladder in action
Three days ago you left a voicemail for Susie asking her to call you. You haven't heard from Susie. You figure that she's ignoring you and assume that she isn't interested in what you have to say.
You conclude that there's no point in doing business with her, believing that people who want to work with you will be prompt. You act by crossing Susie off your freelancer list.
Obvious, yet incorrect
The ladder of inference is quite easy to climb! We take data, and apply our personal filters (beliefs, values, past experiences, etc.) to make sense of what's happening. What we have to remember is that this is a one-person climb.
While the conclusion we reached seems blindingly obvious to us, there was just one set of data points -- our own. And our personal filters along the climb up the ladder of inference may have led us to an incorrect assumption.
To assure that you're reaching the right conclusions:
--Test the observable data. Could there be something wrong with my phone or Susie's? Did I call the right number? Could Susie be out of the office and have forgotten to change her voicemail message? Might I have hit the wrong message delivery number?
--Gather more data. A follow-up phone call or e-mail to Susie: "I see you haven't returned my call and wanted to check in to see if everything is OK." Ask others if they know where Susie might be.
--Challenge your assumptions. Why would Susie not want to do business with me after that great introductory meeting we had? Could I be overreacting? Are there extenuating circumstances on her part?
Spending the little extra time it takes to question your assumptions along the way can alleviate lots of embarrassment and incorrect assumptions at the top of the ladder of inference.
Jane Perdue is the principal/CEO for the Braithwaite Innovation Group. You can reach her through her company's website, braithwaiteinnovationgroup.com.The Job Coaches are experienced volunteers from the Center for Women's Job Counseling Program. Ask them a question by calling 763-7333 or e-mailing info@c4women.org. If you would like further assistance, make a counseling appointment; a donation of $35 is requested.
