As a kid, we all remember being told by a parent or teacher, “Don’t assume!” Like when you told your teacher that you assumed the snowstorm was really going to happen, so you didn’t finish that book report. Or you assumed there would be water somewhere along the trail on your weekend backpacking trip in Virginia (this one happened to me!). These are illustrations of faulty assumptions, but assumptions can be important for a leader. If you are a leader or manager, here are seven assumptions worth making, starting now.
1. Assume people are not as together as they appear.
I often forget that beneath the positive exterior, almost every person is struggling with something. Finances. Relationships. Health. Anxiety. Depression. There is almost always a “something” behind the curtain. I was reminded of this when walking behind the curtain of the large platform at my church. In front of the curtain, everything looks awesome. But behind the curtain, there are all sorts of things like wiring, electronic boxes, old displays and even an unsettling mannequin. When we assume that every person is as they first appear, we will likely regret it later.
2. Assume you missed something.
The more successful you are, the more common it is to think you are correct. Whether you are writing an important report or assessing a critical situation, assume you missed something. Have others double check it for you. Here at The Center Consulting Group, we call this redundancy. There have been a few times when, because we did not practice this, we missed something that led to a lot of stress and frustration. If we had assumed something was missed, we would have taken the time to prevent the mistake rather than having to fix it afterwards.
3. Assume everything is not being said.
Especially as a leader, you can and should assume that people are not telling you what they really feel. For example, if they are frustrated or angry, they will often soften it when talking to you about it. If you assume everything is being said, you could miss the intensity of how they actually feel. Or, if you assume a customer or client is “shooting straight” with you, you could be mistaken since people avoid dealing with conflict more than a kid avoids eating peas.
4. Assume you have blind spots.
When I was a kid, my friend’s father loved to play the lottery. He would come home with a stack of tickets, and we would help him scratch off the silver coating to see what was underneath. All of us have at least a few things buried underneath our public persona that shape our behavior. These are called blind spots, and they can only be seen when someone scratches off the cover to help us see what, until then, has been covered. And some of these blind spots can be very damaging to a leader’s life and credibility if not addressed.
5. Assume you are not as good or as smart as you think.
Expertise is a great thing. Academic credentials. Proven record of successes. Strong affirmation from others. Who does not like the feelings that come with success? But success can also be deadly since it can produce over-confidence and sometimes arrogance. While some people can accept an insult more readily than a compliment, leaders sometimes have a tendency to use affirmation from one group as a means of discounting criticism from others. Humility can serve as a reminder that we are not as smart as we often think we are.
6. Assume other team members care and can add value.
There is a phrase in the military called “battlefield aloofness” which refers to the gap that sometimes exists between troops on the frontline and the leadership that is far removed. While some leaders can see a bigger picture, they often forget that they do not know everything – that those closest to the customer or client can see things that they cannot see. As leaders, we would be wise to assume that our team members know things that we do not know and see things that we do not see. In short, they can and often desire to add value to the team and the mission.
7. Assume God cares.
When (not if) life gets hard, it is normal to have some serious doubt regarding God’s care and interest in our lives. We assume God isn’t concerned with us and our needs. If this describes you, you are not alone. But consider changing your assumption to – God does care, even if it doesn’t feel that way. Rabbi Dr. Reeve Robert Brenner surveyed a number of holocaust survivors and found that the evil experience of the holocaust in their lives had little negative impact on the spiritual beliefs of many of them. They embraced the assumption that God cares.
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Jay Desko is the CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.
