Everyone makes assumptions. We can't help it – our brains are wired to fill in the gaps, to make sense of the incomplete picture before us.
Something happens, and boom! Our mind races to explain it. Or we peer into the foggy future, and despite our lack of psychic abilities, we start predicting what's coming.
Assumptions, left unchecked, can wreak havoc on teams and derail even the most promising work to solve crucial customer problems.
---The Assumption Trap---
Great leaders and high-performing teams aren't immune to assumptions. The difference? They've mastered the art of spotting and addressing them head-on. When an assumption rears its head, they don't let it slide. Instead, they shine a spotlight on it and dissect it together.
---The Assumption-Busting Mindset---
Assumptions are sneaky. They can masquerade as facts and lead us down treacherous paths.
As a leader, your job is to cultivate an assumption-busting mindset within your team:
- Stay Vigilant: Train yourself and your team to recognize when statements are based on assumptions rather than facts.
- Question Everything: Foster an environment where it's encouraged to question assumptions.
- Seek Evidence: Always ask for proof. If it doesn't exist, figure out how to get it.
- Consider Consequences: Evaluate the potential risks of acting on unverified assumptions.
- Design and Run Rapid Experiments: Test your critical assumptions with real-world data.
- Encourage Openness: Create a culture where admitting uncertainty is seen as a strength, not a weakness.
Remember, assumptions are often the starting point of innovation. The danger lies in letting them go unchallenged.
By mastering the art of identifying and testing critical assumptions, you'll lead your team to mitigate risk and make decisions based on reality, evidence, and not wishful thinking.
It's not about masking the riskiest assumptions – it's about bringing them into the light where they can be exposed, examined, tested, and (in)validated to alert the team whether they are going down the right path to delivering value.
That's how great leaders and high-performing teams turn potential pitfalls into stepping stones for success.
Written by: Pam Krengel