I did a short post on LinkedIn on this topic a few days ago but thought it warranted a bit more depth, so here it is for this week’s blog!
When we think of ladders, we think about climbing up them (or maybe not walking under them!) Even the metaphorical ones - career ladders, housing ladders, or the game of snakes and ladders, the general premise is we want to go up them to greater heights, chances of success / winning the game.
But not this one - the ‘ladder of inference’ (or as I like to say, interference!) which came up in a discussion with someone just recently. OK, so I got the name wrong, but I kind of like it and I’m sticking with it, because actually it is interfering – with our thinking, interpretation, conclusions and actions.
The ladder of inference
The ladder of inference is the concept of Dr Chris Argyris, the main point being we give meaning to things, and this influences our actions. Makes perfect sense, but when you see the idea through the form of the ladder, and how we can jump up it and end up a long way from reality, it’s pretty eye-opening!
Using the image of the ladder steps above, you could see how the scenario below could pan out:
1. You see your boss looking serious and concerned coming out of a meeting, they walk past you without a word and shut their door.
2. You notice the meeting didn’t last the full time it was allocated.
3. You feel worried that bad news has been given to your boss.
4. It is likely to concern your team, perhaps they are going to have to downsize?
5. You conclude your role might be at risk.
6. You worry that your performance is not up to scratch.
7. You decide that over the weekend you had better brush up your CV so you are ready for the inevitable conversation coming next week...
That’s quite a crude example to make the point, but you can see how easy it is for your mind to race away - in fact the sneaky bit is that we often don’t always recognise the individual steps, we can leap from the known part to our new assumption-based reality very quickly!
Have you noticed that this is something you have done in the past or may even be experiencing now?!
It’s a very human thing to do, after all, we don’t like unknowns. The problem is, we tend to plug the gaps with ‘possible knowns’ (e.g assumptions presenting themselves as something we know!) The phone call we didn’t get when we expected it (they don’t like me after all), the role we didn’t get offered (I went for one out of my league), the date we went on which was a disaster (I’m not going to find someone like this, no more match-making for me!)... chances are we’ve taken a good few steps up that ladder!
Being more aware of this ladder, we can try to check in with where we might be on it and stop ourselves from racing straight to the top. Instead, we might need to focus on the knowns and even take a step back down it. Often times, the part we know is actually quite small. Take the example above - the boss left a meeting that finished early, looking serious. There are so many reasons why this could be, and even the 'looking serious and concerned' part is actually pretty subjective.
If climbing this particular ladder is something you recognise you often do, or can find yourself prone to doing and you’d like some support to keep grounded instead (excuse the pun!), please do get in touch, I’d love to see if I can help: kathryn@kbmindfulcoaching.com
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