Moving Down the Ladder: Using Powerful Questions to Help Clients Challenge their Assumptions and Improve Decisions
The amount and speed with which we receive information has almost become overwhelming. Couple that with the increased pressure to act more quickly, and many leaders find themselves with less and less time to think through a problem. Without analysis space, I am finding an increasing number of the leaders I work with are making more reactionary decisions, which are not always the most sound.
The Ladder of Inference is a powerful tool leaders can use to identify their thinking process in order to challenge the premise of decisions, thereby increasing the probability of a solid decision. The Ladder of Inference was created by organizational psychologist Chris Argyris in the mid-1970s and became well known when it appeared in Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization.
The Ladder identifies seven steps, or rungs, we climb to make decisions. We start with observable data and experiences. From there, we use our established filters to select the data from the first rung that we will carry with us higher up the ladder. From that data, we begin to interpret our selected data by adding meaning or perceptions. These can be personal meanings or perceptions based on a cultural tradition or societal norms. From our meanings, we make assumptions and draw conclusions that form the basis of the beliefs we adopt of the world. We then act based on those beliefs. Frequently, we move up the ladder in seconds.
The process is made even more precarious by the creation of what Argyris refers to as our reflexive loop. Over time, the beliefs we have created, whether accurate or not, become the filter through which we select our data from all the facts. Without any reflective time, this locks us into a loop of only selecting information that supports our already held beliefs, which can be dangerously myopic.
There are several scenarios when using the Ladder could be valuable, such as:
- Reviewing an action and course correct
- Choosing a path of action when several options exist
- Exploring all possible courses of action
- Unpacking beliefs about the world that are no longer serving a client
- Challenging assumptions
- Identifying blind spots or information gaps
- Identifying unconscious biases
Combining the Ladder of Inference with powerful questions creates a “light switch moment,” prompting the brain to contemplate behavior instead of just allowing behavior to occur. Once this interruption of automatic response occurs, the questions open up a powerful discussion where thinking is challenged with the intention of improving decision making. Just as we move up the ladder quickly, once there is a willingness to pause and reflect on the decision-making process, the speed with which they descend our ladders can be just as quick.
Where to Start?
Meet Your Client Where They Are
If they are not aware of the tool, introduce it as a means of context. Then ask, “Where are you on the ladder?”
Use Powerful Questions to Unpack the Situation
Use these or similar questions as a starting point for the discussion:
- Taking Action – Tell me more about the action you took? What were the costs of the action you described? What were the benefits? What led you to take that action?
- Adopting Beliefs – What beliefs led you to make your decision? How are these beliefs serving you? What beliefs would serve you better?
- Forming Conclusions – What conclusions did you draw and why? Tell me more about how you came to form those conclusions.
- Making Assumptions – What assumptions are you making about the situation? What are you pretending not to see?
- Adding Meaning and Interpretation – What meaning did you layer on the information you had? What impact do your previously held beliefs about the situation/person impact how you interpreted the facts? How else could you interpret the facts you selected?
- Selecting “Data” – What facts are you basing your decision on? What other facts would be important to consider? What aren’t you including in your decision making?
- Observing Reality – How do you know this information is accurate?
Move to Action
Now that they have explored the different aspects of their decision making, it is time for your clients to move to action—taking their insights and moving towards a more robust decision with confidence.
Using this tool with clients supports them to take a more reflective approach to decisions in a world where time for reflection has become a luxury.
©Fiamma Coaching and Consulting/Rosa Edinga
Great article! Thank you for sharing Rosa. Love and Light.
Ty
Thanks so much for taking the time to write a comment Ty – and so glad you enjoyed the read!
Thanks for the great article! Super useful and well explained!
Eva
I’m currently following a Conscious Business Coaching course designed in part by Fred Kofman, and he talks about mental models that are created over time and influence our decisions. He references the Ladder of Inference model which drew me to your article here. Thanks for sharing the steps and the questions we can use as coaches to help our client unpack and challenge their thinking.