The ladder of inference is an important tool in understanding how we think and helping others understand why we think what we do. When working with others, this is an important capability. This brief video explains how to use the ladder to develop your leadership capability.

1. 1
Climbing
a
Different
Kind
of
Ladder
LADDER
of
INFERENCE
Presented
by
Sylvia
Gaffney,
Ph.D.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

2. 2
Climbing
a
Different
Kind
of
Ladder
LADDER
of
INFERENCE
In
collabora:on
with
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

3. 3
Why
the
Ladder?
✓ Improve
communica:on  Facilitate
conflict
solu:ons
✓ Reach
agreement
or
 Improve
team
interac:on
advance
resolu:on  Open
for
diverse
opinions
✓ Arrive
at
new
possibili:es  Prevent
overreac:on
✓ Learn
from
another’s
 Understand
your
perspec:ve immediate
response
to
a
✓ Allow
for
mul:ple
voices situa:on
✓ Understand
resistance
to
 Uncover
own
&
other
change biases
✓ Surface
outdated
 Unearth
reasoning
&
origin
assump:ons of
your
assump:ons
 Surface
and
test
your
✓ Understand
the
logic
thinking
before
you
discuss
behind
recommenda:ons
a
topic
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

4. 4
Frequently
Climb
in
Organiza:ons
Has
li<le
to
do
with
moving
up
in
status
or
posi-on
Has
everything
to
do
with
jumping
to
conclusions
✦
Unconscious
✦
Automa-c
✦
Inaccurate
or
incomplete
info
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

5. 5
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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

6. 6
Mental
Models
Unconscious
&
deeply
held
images
or
pictures
of
how
the
world
works
for
us
✦ 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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

7. 7
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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

8. 8
Meaning
of
Inference
Using
CLUES
to
figure
something
out
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
.
.
.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

9. 9
Basic
Concept
of
the
Ladder
Helps
us
bring
our
thinking
to
conscious
awareness
as
we
are
constantly
bombarded
with
massive
amounts
of
info
✦ Guides
us
in
making
sense
of
our
own
thinking
✦ Guides
us
to
be<er
understanding
of
the
thinking
of
others
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

10. 10
Communica:on
Considera:ons
“The
single
biggest
problem
in
communica=on
is
the
illusion
that
it
has
taken
place.”
George
Bernard
Shaw
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

11. 11
Different
Interpreta:ons
and
Responses
are
Evident
THINK:
car,
dog,
house,
tree,
Determines
what
we
see,
hear,
how
we
behave,
power,
quality,
AND,
what
we
select
to
pay
a<en-on
to
next valued,
diverse
✦
Past
experiences
✦
Beliefs
✦
Level
of
awareness
✦
Mo-vators
✦
Social
iden-ty
✦
Personal
iden-ty
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

12. 12
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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

13. 13
Emo:onally
Charged
Triggers
What
causes
you
to
move
rapidly
✦ Topics
✦ Words
up
the
ladder
without
ever
✦ Phrases
checking
your
thinking
process? ✦ People
✦ Events
✓ Take
:me
to
pause
&
reflect ✦ Situa-ons
✓ Surface
the
triggers ✦ and
more…
✓ Be
aware
of
their
poten:al
to
derail
your
thinking
&
behavior
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

14. 14
Automa:c
–
Unconscious
–
Rapid
Lots
happening
in
a
well
laid-­‐
out
sequence
from
the
point
of
observing
data
to
when
we
Data
=
Anything
that
actually
take
ac;on
can
be
observed,
read,
heard
or
experienced
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

15. 15
Ladder
of
Inference
Observe
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

16. 16
Ladder
of
Inference
Screen
Data
Observe
from
a
pool
of
all
available
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

17. 17
Ladder
of
Inference
Select
Filtered
Data
Screen
Data
Observe
from
a
pool
of
all
available
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

18. 18
Ladder
of
Inference
Add
Meaning
Select
Filtered
Data
Screen
Data
Observe
from
a
pool
of
all
available
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

19. 19
Ladder
of
Inference
Make
Assump:ons,
Draw
Conclusions
&
Adopt
Beliefs
Add
Meaning
Select
Filtered
Data
Screen
Data
Observe
from
a
pool
of
all
available
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

20. 20
Ladder
of
Inference
Take
Ac:on
Make
Assump:ons,
Draw
Conclusions
&
Adopt
Beliefs
Add
Meaning
Select
Filtered
Data
Screen
Data
Observe
from
a
pool
of
all
available
Data
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

21. 21
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
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

22. 22
For
More
Informa:on
Presented
by
In
collabora*on
with
Sylvia
Gaffney,
Ph.D.
OPTIMIZE
Central
info@ico-­‐consul-ng.com
sylvia@gaffney.com
www.ico-­‐consul-ng.com
www.gaffney.com
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

23. 23
For
More
Informa:on
Presented
by
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
Sylvia
Gaffney,
Ph.D. improve
team
building
and
blending,
leadership
development,
intergenera-onal
OPTIMIZE
Central challenges,
cultural
change
issues,
sylvia@gaffney.com resilience,
strategic
reten-on,
and
strategic
staffing.
Sylvia
owns
and
operates
Gaffney
www.gaffney.com Corporate
Strategies
and
Op;mize
Central.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011