The Parking Spot - Testing Assumptions

The Scenario

The email came from up above, one of my employees was parked in a visitor’s spot and they needed to move their car. After checking and ascertaining they weren’t in the visitors spot the matter was left. The next day, another email, this time the tone was more incredulous, stating that once again this employee has parked in a visitor’s spot. This time, I spoke with the employee, and they moved their car although there was still confusion as the park wasn’t labelled as a visitor’s spot. The next day, again the email came through. This person had once again parked in the visitor’s spot. 

It was at this point I decided to ask some questions. It turns out that where this employee has traditionally parked (and continued to do so) was in the process of being tested as visitor’s parks but not labelled. Somewhere the memo had been missed, but more importantly, it highlighted how two parties can have different assumptions that end up providing confusion rather than clarity. I include myself in this scenario.

Words like assumption and bias generally work as an umbrella, covering a range of topics without necessarily providing any insight. To move past this, we can look to Stephen Brookfield’s work on three key assumptions, and how they can influence our decision making and learning. Understanding these will help you in testing assumptions.

Testing Assumptions

Causal Assumptions

These are method assumptions, that if we take a certain action then we will get a particular result. If we consider the initial email, the sender potentially assumed that the email would serve as a reminder of the notice that was provided earlier in the year. Yet this assumption only works if the message has been retained by the people that are addressed in this. Another assumption in learning is that exposure to information will be sufficient for retention. The science shows that your brain needs to know that this is relevant and important for us to retain, therefore the way in which the message is presented must first tick these boxes. 

There was also another layer in the story - a sign was placed on the road to the parks that signalled the area beyond was accessible for certain people. For the employee that was parking in this space, they were driving past the sign. This wasn’t out of maliciousness or ill intent - it was out of the assumption that this didn’t apply to them, it wasn’t relevant (until it was). This can come from a similar methodic basis, if this sign applied to me then I would have had the relevant information to acknowledge this as such. I personally drove past this sign each morning, not considering that I was in fact an intended audience for it. 

Prescriptive Assumptions

These are the “shoulds” that exist in the world. Often, these are unwritten rules of what we should be doing, or how we should behave, but can also be considered in a more explicit sense. Prescriptive assumptions often cause tension, for instance, the employee should have been following the rules of where to park, therefore by not following the rules they are deliberately disobeying. The same expectation could be had of the email or any internal communications, that these should be clear in conveying the message as well as the expected action or response. The should creates an expectation, this expectation then needs to be tested to see if it holds in the reality and context of the situation. 

Paradigmatic Assumptions

These are core beliefs and views that we hold about the world. They are often foundational in the way that we interact and act and are usually the hardest to challenge and test. They exist so deeply within us we are often not even aware that they are there. In this situation, both parties would agree that “following rules is an important part of working in an organisation” and that “clear communication is necessary for an effective workplace”, both underlying assumptions that inform decision making. When one or either party unwittingly breaks one of these rules, they do so in ignorance, not out of deliberate intent. The challenge with this assumption is that we can strongly believe we are working to this, but be completely unaware that our actions are not aligned. 

A Critical Approach For Learning

Assumptions cause disparity in the understanding of a situation. This permeates to learning, where if our approach is untested, we can fall into similar traps and often repeat the same mistakes. It is easy to miss the memo and it is easy to drive past the sign assuming that it is not relevant or important to you.   I know personally that my goal setting in learning has been let down by causal assumptions, the expectation that “if I do this, I will get this result”. This can lead to a narrow minded approach, particularly when results vary and there is not the scope to pivot. 

The prescriptive aspects often align (or misalign) with “good practice”, without regard for the context or situation. When we engage in thinking such as “I should complete this qualification because it is good for career progression”, we take away our ability to evaluate this assumption and determine relevance. How many times have you found yourself engaging in something that is the “right thing to do” but “not the right thing for you”. 

Our core beliefs have an impact on others. When we impose these, we need to come from a place of awareness, where we have examined these and determined that these are indeed right for the context in which they are placed. Tension runs high when there is a mismatch, and people are very quick to point out where there are inconsistencies. Paradigmatic assumptions are the hardest to change, as they are embedded over time. A critical examination can not simply be reinforced by research that confirms, it must also be tested by research that contradicts or disproves. Understanding even when we have the same assumptions, a combination of layers can actually lead us down completely different paths and actions. 

Conclusion - Awareness or Assumption

The assumption trap is alive and kicking in all aspects of what we do. It is exhausting to examine every motivation and reason, but where we encounter situations that require further examination then we are compelled to do so. And when you identify the mismatch, pause and consider - what is the learning from this?

Michael.