Flawed assumptions are a common cause of negative politicking in organisations. Making assumptions is a natural process and we would not be human without it. Yet, when it comes to influencing people, this may not help us to be at our most effective. Failure to test assumptions can cause significant delays in the realisation of your goal. If you are assuming someone will oppose you, go and ask them! If they confirm your suspicion, at least you can start the debate or negotiation. You may find that your assumption was wrong.
Equally dangerous to your goal is assuming that someone will support you. Only by discussing the goal with them can you test this out. Doing this proactively will help you to uncover additional work you need to do or, at the very least, will reinforce their agreement.
Take action on this secret…
- List five assumptions you are making about your influencing goal.
- Which of these would have the most impact on your goal?
- Which are the most important to test out?
- What can you do to test these?
- When will you test them out?
- Look for more assumptions that are critical to success — and test them too!
And remember, assumptions are the breeding ground of dispute and conflict; act now to minimise the disruption and/or delay of your success.
