Making Assumptions…. where does it get you?

Ah…. One of my favorite topics.  How many times a day do we make assumptions?

And sometimes, I’ll admit, we are ‘bang on’, accurate and correct.  And we feel oh so pumped up because our assumption turned out to be true… and we were right… and that feels good.

And so we develop a pattern of making assumptions.  After all, we’re right most of time… right?

But where does making assumptions actually get you?

Well, it can get you to a place of limited thinking… of creating difficult situations for yourself and others… of coming across as needing to be right.

What’s another way to be, rather than making assumptions?  I’d say it could be ‘allowing curiosity’.

And the door opens towards curiosity through the act of asking questions.  Hey, they don’t have to be super smart, detailed questions that you have to know the subject matter of before asking.  They can be as simple as  “Can you tell me more? ”, “Would you share with me how you came to that conclusion?” “What’s unique about this solution?”

So next time you are embarking on a conversation, whether it be with one person or a group of your direct reports, your supervisor, or in your personal life, try coming at it with a mindset that allows curiosity.  And witness the different place it might get you!