Your Story Isn't My Story: How to Understand Why No One Understands

Amazing how two people can see the same thing and conclude something entirely different.  And THAT has a serious impact on an organization's ability to drive change, in your ability to sell an idea, and a team's ability to coalesce around a vision.

A simple illustration.  Recently, in the middle of the night, there was a significant explosion and fire at a small electrical substation at the end of the street (no one was injured, no property damage).  My spouse reported the next morning hearing several trucks in the alley, which I had completely slept through.  However, via my main source of news (Facebook), I learned of the explosion and fire from a neighbor's post.  Roused from sleep by the noise and lights (which lit up the night sky), his first thought was, "Asteroid!"  How silly, right?

In speaking with other neighbors, it was instructive to learn that they had drawn other conclusions from the noise/lights that woke them suddenly, everything from "tornado!" (and then rolling off the bed onto the floor) to "this is the end!"  Still not my favorite response though...

In our senior innovation leadership development programs, we work to help create more awareness of how different people will hear or see the same thing, but come to completely different conclusions based on the data they're paying attention to and their interpretation of it.

Classic example: stock analysts who punish a company for not growing enough by driving their stock price lower because it didn't meet their expectation.  The company may still be improving sales and profits, yet it's not what the analysts hoped for, so...oh well, sell!  Meanwhile, within the company, employees may have been psyched that they hit their numbers.

The human mind is nimble and quick, and because of that, within an instant, we can observe data, select data, interpret data, and then draw conclusions based on our assumptions, context and values.  If you've been studying astronomy, concluding that the explosion was caused by an asteroid makes sense.  And if you've lived in the Midwest for a long time, "tornado!" is completely understandable.

This instantaneous leap from "what we see" to "what we conclude" can cause misunderstandings for leaders who don't take the time to make sure that what they say and what they believe is communicated effectively.

Bottom line: people draw conclusions and take action not based on what you say, but what they believe.  So make sure to help them make the appropriate conclusions.

Oh, and my favorite response to the flashing lights and loud noises? Aliens!  Which is why in our neighborhood, we're all looking at each other a little more carefully these days, searching for evidence of a visit to the mother ship.

Choose your response carefully.  And make sure others are on the same page.

(Photos credit: Dave Huntley)

Comments

[Sean Brady]

Bob, you may be interested in a phenomenon called the Rashomon Effect named for Akira Kurasawa's masterpiece Rashomon. In the film, four individuals witness an horrific crime. Each then recounts the story with absolute honesty but in mutually contradictory ways. I recently blogged about how to avoid the hazards of the the Rashomon Effect in team decision making: http://www.prismdecision.com/the-rashomon-effect

[Bob Eckert]

If you're interested in exploring this subject more experientially, along with its impact on your ability to be creative and lead innovation, I'll be conducting a workshop called "Mastering Mental Clutter" at the Creative Problem Solving Institute at the end of June. Learn about the conference at www.cpsiconference.com and about the specific workshop here: http://tinyurl.com/37rzhgw