Oxford Dictionary:

[Assumption] = something that you accept as true without question or proof:

• • People tend to make assumptions about you when you have a disability.
  • These calculations are based on the assumption that prices will continue to rise.

I watched the Norwegian Christmas Series: A Storm for Christmas where Kaja – a little girl – talks to a charming Santa about her parents, who are always fighting:
„Their f* assumptions are the reason for the fights they have every day“ (sth. like this). Hello there! A little girl recognizing something we as humans are so good at. For quite some time I try to find out more about my assumptions. Whenever I catch myself doing this, it’s a great opportunity to question it and to stay curious.

Yesterday I brought this exercise

Assumptions – The Silent Saboteurs Of Problem-Solving  from Andra’s Teamflow Substack

to the Facilitator Lab, a monthly MeetUp series, organized by Tobias Mayer and Noel Warren. It is a great place with like-minded souls and a safe space for practitioners.

We did the first 2 rounds. I shared the words on the screen and the people had 1 minute time to think alone. And then they wrote their answers in the chat of the call. We debriefed every round properly and came to the result: Wow, great idea! We felt good and got a heads-up to our own assumptions. That we need to read with more attention to details and how our brain is trying to trick us. It was a powerful and simple exercise. Everyone had the impression, to have learned something useful.

Then, after round 3 which is a bit harder to come up with a solution, the atmosphere changed. Now some people could shine, they felt like a smartass while others felt like an idiot or annoyed. Suddenly there was a lot of competition in the room. We had a very long discussion about round 3 and if there is a good reason to use it and what these bad feelings could cause and if it might damage everything we learned before.

Conclusion:

• I will use this exercise/game –> round 1 and round 2. (it can be used as an icebreaker before any type of workshop, retro, planning)
• Closing question 1: Personal Actions?
• Closing question 2: Discussing our assumptions in the team
• It will become part of the „prime directive“

 

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