LADDER  of  INFERENCE

Climbing  a  Different  Kind  of  Ladder1

Presented  by

Sylvia  Gaffney,  Ph.D.

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✓ Improve  communica>on  ✓ Reach  agreement  or  

advance  resolu>on  ✓ Arrive  at  new  possibili>es  ✓ Learn  from  another’s  

perspec>ve  ✓ Allow  for  mul>ple  voices  ✓ Understand  resistance  to  

change  ✓ Surface  outdated  

assump>ons  ✓ Understand  the  logic  

behind  recommenda>ons

Why  the  Ladder?ü Facilitate  conflict  solu>ons    ü Improve  team  interac>on  ü Open  for  diverse  opinions  ü Prevent  overreac>on    ü Understand  your  

immediate  response  to  a  situa>on  

ü Uncover  own  &  other  biases  

ü Unearth  reasoning  &  origin  of    your  assump>ons  

ü Surface  and  test  your  thinking  before  you  discuss  a  topic

Frequently  Climb  in  Organiza>ons

✦    Unconscious      ✦    Automa-c    ✦    Inaccurate  or  incomplete  info

Has  everything  to  do  with  jumping  to  conclusions

Has  li<le  to  do  with  moving  up  in  status  or  posi-on

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Opera>ng  on  Auto  Pilot

Good  for  breathing,  diges-ng  food,  word  processing  &  driving

Not  so  good  when  ac-ng  or  speaking  without  thinking  

Automa-c  Reasoning  Processes  ✦ Our  brains  are  absorbing  tons  of  data

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Mental  Models

✦ Lens  we  use  to  see  the  world  ✦ Saves  -me  based  on  past  

experiences  ✦ Able  to  quickly  make  sense  

and  categorize    ✦ Important  because  they  

unconsciously  influence  what  we  see  and  how  we  act

Unconscious  &  deeply  held  images  or  pictures  of  how  the  world  works  for  us

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Ladder  as  a  Good  Metaphor

Ladder  is  a  useful  piece  of  equipment  that  allows  us  to  climb  UP  and  DOWN  –  and,  easily  access  places  we  wouldn’t  reach  without  it  

Ladder  is  grounded  and  when  used  in  a  safe  environment  does  the  job  it’s  needed  and  intended  to  do

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Meaning  of  Inference

Draw  conclusions  from  facts  we  already  know  and  have  in  our  head  

✓ Hear  the  tone  ✓ See  the  body  language  ✓ Consider  the  culture  ✓ Know  the  expecta>ons  

Given  this.  .  .  then  that  .  .  .  

Using  CLUES  to  figure  something  out

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Basic  Concept  of  the  Ladder  

✦ Guides  us  in  making  sense  of  our  own  thinking  ✦ Guides  us  to  be<er  understanding  of  the  thinking  of  others

Helps  us  bring  our  thinking  to  conscious  awareness  as  we  are  constantly  bombarded  with  massive  amounts  of  info

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Communica>on  Considera>ons

“The  single  biggest  problem  in  communica=on  is  the  

illusion  that  it  has  taken  place.”    George  Bernard  Shaw

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Different  Interpreta>ons  and  Responses  are  Evident

✦  Past  experiences  ✦  Beliefs  ✦  Level  of  awareness  ✦  Mo-vators  ✦  Social  iden-ty  ✦  Personal  iden-ty

Determines  what  we  see,  hear,  how  we  behave,  AND,  what  we  select  to  pay  a<en-on  to  next

THINK:  car,  dog,  house,  tree,  power,  quality,  valued,  diverse

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Jargon  and  Acronyms

Company  specific  lingo  &  language  –  works  as  a  shortcut  in  communica-ng  

Ambiguous  ‘blinking’  words  –  causes  confusion  because  of  many  possible  or  different  interpreta-ons

✦ Conscious  of  language    

✦ Confirm  shared  meanings  

✦ Consider  person  and  context

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Emo>onally  Charged  Triggers

✦ Topics  ✦ Words  ✦ Phrases  ✦ People  ✦ Events  ✦ Situa-ons  ✦ and  more…  

What  causes  you  to  move  rapidly  up  the  ladder  without  ever  checking  your  thinking  process?

✓ Take  >me  to  pause  &  reflect  

✓ Surface  the  triggers  

✓ Be  aware  of  their  poten>al  to  derail  your  thinking  &  behavior

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Automa>c  –  Unconscious  –  Rapid  

Data  =  Anything  that  can  be  observed,  read,  heard  or  experienced

Lots  happening  in    a  well  laid-­‐  out  sequence  from  the  point  of  observing  data  to  when  we  actually  take  ac;on

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Ladder  of  Inference

Observe  Data

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Observe  Data

Ladder  of  Inference

Observe  from  a  pool  of  all  available  Data

Screen  Data

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Screen  Data

Ladder  of  Inference

Observe  from  a  pool  of  all  available  Data

Screen  Data

Select  Filtered  Data

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Select  

Ladder  of  Inference

Observe  from  a  pool  of  all  available  Data

Screen  Data

Select  Filtered  Data

Add  Meaning

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Add  Meaning

Ladder  of  Inference

Observe  from  a  pool  of  all  available  Data

Screen  Data

Take  Ac>on

Select  Filtered  Data

Add  Meaning

Make  Assump>ons,  Draw  Conclusions  &  Adopt  Beliefs

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We  Don’t  Even  No>ce

“The  range  of  what  we  think  and  do  is  limited  by  what  we  fail  to  no=ce.

 And,  because  we  fail  to  no=ce  that  we  fail  to  no=ce  -­‐  there  is  liEle  we  can  do  to  change...  un=l

we  no=ce  how  failing  to  no=ce  shapes  our  thoughts  and  deeds.”    R.D.  Laing

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For  More  Informa>on

OPTIMIZE  Central  sylvia@gaffney.com  www.gaffney.com

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Sylvia  provides  custom-­‐designed  consul-ng  services  in  organiza-onal  effec-veness  and  change  managements  assistance  to  companies  on  a  na-onal  and  interna-onal  basis.  Her  work  helps  companies  integrate  their  business  planning  through  a  systems  perspec-ve.  She  facilitates  processes  to  improve  team  building  and  blending,  leadership  development,  intergenera-onal  challenges,  cultural  change  issues,  resilience,  strategic  reten-on,  and  strategic  staffing.    Sylvia  owns  and  operates  Gaffney  Corporate  Strategies  and  Op;mize  Central.

Presented  by  

Sylvia  Gaffney,  Ph.D.