S
ophisticated
Women...
Have Their Feet Firmly Grounded
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By Nicole Greer, PPCC Founder and Principle Coach at Vibrant Coaching
ithout you even knowing it, you jump to conclusions. This robs you of opportunities. Our “get’er done” world creates pressure to act and act NOW. The Sophie Woman understands that a sense of urgency serves us well but, only when we have come to our senses with our feet firmly grounded.
mental models get the best of me. It happened in about 5 seconds flat. However, as a Sophie Woman, I came to my senses. I had just been exposed to The Ladder of Inference in my master’s degree program at Queens University. I tested the Model.
Coming to our senses is recognizing that there is a process for thinking that provides a solid foundation for our reaction to life. Harvard Professor Chris Argyris, offers a metaphor that compares our thinking to navigating the rungs of a ladder. His model is, The Ladder of Inference. An inference is defined as: a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning. The problem with our process for coming to our inferences (conclusions) is that we seldom slow down to see all… AND, I repeat ALL the information readily available to us. Rarely, do we stop to ask a powerful question. And dare I say it, we’re judgmental. Our jumping to conclusions is based on our beliefs, assumptions, and “mental models” about life.
The first rung of the ladder is to gingerly take hold of the ladder, slow down and with all senses observe the data. I went to LinkedIn and looked up Abdallah’s profile. He is a coach, a Toastmaster, and an organizational development leader.
Instead, we are well served to base our conclusions on facts and data. Let me tell you about Abdallah. Abdallah found me through LinkedIn, a social media site for professionals. When Abdallah, from Saudi Arabia, searched LinkedIn looking for a speaking coach with a Toastmasters background, he found me. He emailed me. What do you think happened next? I saw an unfamiliar name. It was an Arabic name. It was a man. I concluded, “This is spam.” All my Christian, southern, and female “mental models” of the way things “should be” bubbled up. Immediately, I thought this email was: not legitimate, unsafe, and weird. Without even really THINKING, I let my accumulated years of personal and cultural
pg 8 | Sophie Woman’s Magazine | April 2016
The Ladder of Inference Model
The second rung of the ladder is to carefully go one step higher and with all senses and select data that sorts out the facts. Abdallah works for Saudi Telecom doing leadership development. He has over 500 connections with people from all over the world many with whom I am connected. The third rung of the ladder is to gain stability in thinking and with all senses adding meaning to what is seen. Abdallah’s e-mail requested information about my coaching. This is just like any other prospect. He stated, he was a Toastmaster in Saudi Arabia. He would be in Charlotte to attend the International Coaching Federation Conference. He wanted to be coached in preparation for the Toastmasters International Speech Contest held in Washington, DC later this year. Personally and culturally, Abdallah and I have similar goals, beliefs, and hopes. The fourth rung of the ladder is to make assumptions on the meanings gathered with all senses. I chose to assume that Abdallah and I have a lot in common. I assumed that I could broaden my mental models by engaging with somebody, who on the surface, is different. The fifth rung of the ladder is to draw conclusions. I concluded, I can help him. The sixth rung of the ladder is to adopt a belief about the situation. I believed, if he wins the contest, I win.