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Senior Leaders Writing Down Assumptions
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Posted by: Jeffrey Mitchell
Posted on: Wednesday, 26th July 2000, 12:00 AM.
Thanks for your question, Bob. I've got a couple of suggestions. Let me know if any/all are helpful.
My general suggestion is to set the right context for the technique. Make sure leaders know how they will benefit individually and as a group by consciously working with their assumptions. The article in the Manager's Spotlight points out the benefits to curiosity and collaboration.
Below I'll offer more specific suggestions on how to apply the Unfreezing Assumptions technique.
The two concerns you mentioned
1. "...don't want to appear condescending"
2. "...don't want to waste their time"
are helpful as general criteria for working with senior leaders.
Suggestion #1
My first specific suggestion is really a reminder of something you already know. As the facilitator, you have to lead the group consistently with your not condescending/not wasting time criteria *and* you have a responsibility to ensure the team members aren't condescending or time wasters.
I suggest you position documenting assumptions as a way to speed the group's work together (the postivie framing of helping them not waste each other's time).
Suggestion #2
If the goal is efficiency, then, target the area(s) where individual assumptions are most likely to bog down the meeting. At Proteus, we have a workshop called "Bridging the Gap" that applies the Unfreezing Assumptions technique to working successfully across distances. In it, we outline the 3 most common areas where assumptions get in the way of productive work. They are assumptions about "situation" (i.e., the work environment), "output" (i.e., work product versus work activities) and "relationship" (i.e., the norms of how we work together). There are other topic areas, but these tend to be universal.
Suggestion #3
Like most people, senior leaders don't like going to meetings where they're expected to share their biases and misguided beliefs (things documenting assumptions can reveal). I suggest the documenting of assumptions be done prior to the meeting -- individually. And, in addition to focusing the leaders on an area pertinent to the content of the actual meeting, position the assumption documenting as a way to surface questions they should ask the group. Thus, instead of going to a meeting where they "out" their assumptions, they come to the meeting prepared with smart, thought-provoking questions.
We did exactly this for our most recent all-company meeting at Proteus. Here's an excerpt from our
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