Watch your big assumption at work before you test it

For a week or two, only notice when the assumption steers you and look for evidence that it is not always true.

Por qué funciona

Big assumptions are held as fact, so they shape what you see: you attend to evidence that fits them and miss evidence that does not. In their 2001 article Kegan and Lahey ask people first to notice and record what does and does not happen because they hold the assumption, specifically without trying to change anything, and then to look actively for experiences that cast doubt on it. Observation comes first so the assumption becomes something you watch rather than something you see through.

Cómo hacerlo

1. Write your big assumption as an if-then sentence: "If I…, then…"
2. For one to two weeks, each time you catch it steering a choice, note the moment, what you did, and what you did not do because of it. Do not try to act differently.
3. In the same notes, record anything that does not fit the assumption — a time the feared outcome did not happen, or someone who does the thing without the consequence.
4. At the end, read the notes and ask where the assumption costs you most.

Evidencia

These are steps 1 and 2 of the five-step process in Kegan and Lahey’s 2001 HBR article: "notice and record current behavior" without making changes, then "look for contrary evidence", because big assumptions lead people to "systematically (but unconsciously) attend to certain data and avoid or ignore other data." Helsing, Howell, Kegan and Lahey (2008) trace one educational leader’s development through a program built on this work in a case study. (anecdotal)

Single-case and consulting evidence. The observation step has not been tested separately from the rest of the process.

Fuentes

• Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2001). The Real Reason People Won’t Change. Harvard Business Review, 79(10), 84–92.
• Helsing, D., Howell, A., Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. (2008). Putting the "Development" in Professional Development: Understanding and Overturning Educational Leaders' Immunities to Change. Harvard Educational Review, 78(3), 437–465.

Error común

Jumping to action. Kegan and Lahey note that observation-first is frustrating for high achievers, and skipping it tends to turn the work back into another round of trying harder.