Assumptions and Middle Way Management

In my last post, I discussed how taking action can positively impact your Middle Way Management™ practice. Here, I discuss how you can turn assumptions from a destructive to a constructive force to make your practice more vibrant and definitely more interesting.

When you assume, you make an...
Let's face it, you cannot navigate your busy management day without making assumptions. In fact, they're a fundamental part of our daily lives. As you fall asleep at night, you assume your alarm will function and wake you up in time to get ready for work in the morning. On your commute in, you assume you will arrive at work at about the same time as always. You could spend a significant amount of your day slicing and dicing your assumptions out of every millisecond of your life. In the end, you would realize that 99.9% of your assumptions are based upon experience and, being empirically-based, they help you far more than they hinder you. Or do they?

While assumptions are a natural heuristic for we of the big brain, they can also act as an inhibitor of everything necessary to make you successful in the workplace. At the heart of every assumption lies a value-based observation. By this, I mean every assumption you make is rooted in your values, your attitude, and the view you take of the world. Some people see the glass as half empty and others see it as half full. Your view of the glass (i.e., situation) will largely determine your assumptions. If you always believe your efforts are going to fail, your boss will not support you in a decision, your team members will revolt - they certainly will! You have the power to create your world in your own image.

Being Conscious - at the Quantum Level You've probably heard by now of the recent observation of the Higgs Boson, a building block of matter that is theorized to give it mass and one that describes the weak force, among other things. As new observations continue to reinforce theoretical quantum concepts, older ideas such as entanglement and the role of human consciousness in shaping reality are becoming more widely understood and accepted. Entanglement is the idea that two particles once made aware of each other are forever linked so that a change in one will affect the other - no matter the distance of separation. Einstein (and others) have referred to this as "spooky action at a distance."Whenever you interact with a team member, you are forever entangled.

Along with entanglement, the role of human consciousness in shaping quantum-level outcomes has been documented in several experiments. This means that quantum constituents are zipping around as particles until we observe them and "collapse the wave" so that they do, indeed, appear to be a wave. This, more than any other aspect of quantum mechanics, is important to Middle Way Managers™ because it tells us we can take an active part in creating a reality that reflects our conscious intent. Have you ever had a day where nothing went right? Sorry to say you created the events that accumulated into your crappy day. By expecting the worst, you got it. Likewise, when you've expected something to turn to your advantage and it did, you had a hand it creating that reality, as well.

It's All About Intent
Have you ever managed a person who could not seem to do anything right? Eventually, you either reduce their responsibilities or let them go if things get bad enough. I submit that you took part in that person behaving in disappointing ways simply by allowing your assumptions (that they would fail) to direct expected outcomes (they failed). If you've ever been on the receiving end of such unhelpful management, you know how frustrating and humiliating such an experience can be. I once had a boss who took to calling me "Bonehead" every time he addressed me. I'll let you guess how my performance was affected by his assumptions and negative intent.

Attitude is one thing, believing you can affect reality at the quantum level is quite another. So, I have a challenge for you: If you have someone on your team who is constantly underperforming, give that person your conscious attention and expect them to perform at a stellar level. Give them your positive intent and make the assumption that they will outperform everyone else on the team. Visualize them succeeding and how it makes them feel - and you need not let them know you are doing it. I guarantee you will reduce the team member's suffering (your prime Middle Way Management objective) and you will benefit the organization by fostering a contributing, successful team member. As you work through this experiment, drop me a line to let me know how it goes for you.

In my next post, I will discuss how you can transform your organization's "culture of no" to one of not just yes, but "Hell, Yes!"

Now go, and manage with compassion! Onward! Darin

Copyright © 2009-2013, Darin R. Molnar, PhD. All rights reserved.