Leland Sandler's presentation on creating a culture of accountability and execution. Topics include the ladder of inference, stories vs facts, cause and effect, advocacy and inquiry.

1. A Culture of Accountability and Execution
Verizon Leadership Session

2. • We expect that by learning about behavioral tools you can better
figure out the lay of the land, relationships at work, your career, and
navigate them with more confidence.
• Specifically, we’ll cover briefly, what we can do as leaders to get
through them effectively
• We will introduce two tools that can help be more effective in the
most difficult situations
– Ladder of Inference – Participants will learn a new tool for considering
alternatives, having more thorough, fact-based dialogue and
conversations.
– Being “At Cause” – A “Way of Thinking Model” that enables heightened
input and problem solving.
Objectives/Outcomes

3. The Ladder of Inference
I take
ACTIONS
based on
my beliefs
I adopt
BELIEFS
about the world.
I draw
CONCLUSIONS
I make
ASSUMPTIONS
based on the
meanings I added
I select
DATA
from what I observe
OBSERVE
“data” and
experiences (as a
video tape recorder
might capture it)
Ladder of Inference
THE REFLEXIVE
LOOP
(Our beliefs affect
what data we select
next time)

4. • Read Silently – Pages 3 & 4
• Capture (mark)
– Questions
– Interesting Ideas
Reading

5. • Beliefs, Assumptions, and stories we carry about ourselves, other
people, situations, etc.
• ALL Mental Models, by definition, are flawed in some way
• Mental Models are “tacit”
• Key is to reveal your assumptions, beliefs, and data, and openly
discuss them
Mental Models: Our Assumptions & Beliefs

6. • A Fact is something that can be objectively verified by any person
• A Story, by contrast, is something we create to make sense of the
facts
– We have to make assumptions in order to survive; we don’t have the time to get
all the facts
– The problem is that we often tell our stories so fast that we mistake them for the
facts and then treat our stories as if they’re irrefutably true
• Presence, Awareness, and Inquiry can diminish our reactivity
– By simply being curious about our world, we move to self-observation
– We can use our reflective capacity to see the world in subtler, more empowering
ways
Stories vs. Facts

7. • Our self-generating beliefs are largely untested (often assumptions)
– Our beliefs are the truth
– The truth is obvious
– Our beliefs are based on real data
– The data we select is the real data
The Ladder of Inference

8. The Ladder of Inference
I take
ACTIONS
based on
my beliefs
I adopt
BELIEFS
about the world.
I draw
CONCLUSIONS
I make
ASSUMPTIONS
based on the
meanings I added
I select
DATA
from what I observe
OBSERVE
“data” and
experiences (as a
video tape recorder
might capture it)
Ladder of Inference
THE REFLEXIVE
LOOP
(Our beliefs affect
what data we select
next time)

9. • Step 1: Take out and review the “Key Issue” from your Pre-Work
• Step 2: Page 7 - The Right Hand Column (What Was Said)
– Now recall a frustrating conversation you had over this situation – or
imagine the conversation that you would have if you brought up the
problem.
– Follow-along with me on Page 8
– On Page 7 in the right-hand column, write out the dialogue that actually
occurred. Or write the dialogue you’re pretty sure would occur if you
were to raise the issue. The dialogue may go on for several pages.
Leave the left-hand column blank until you’re finished.
• Step 3: The Left-Hand Column (What You Were Thinking)
– Now in the left-hand column, write out what you were thinking and
feeling, but not saying.
The Left Column Exercise

10. • Step 4: Reflection
– On page 9, as you reflect on what you wrote in the left and right hand
columns, please answer the six questions
The Left Column Exercise

12. Cause and Effect: A Choice
• Blaming
• Victim
• Helpless
• Passive
• Pessimistic
• Fear- based
• Blaming
• Making Excuses
• CYA Behavior
• De-motivating
• Act on assumptions
• Reactive
• Avoid Risks
• Enrolling Others in Negativity
• Defensive
• Focused on the greater good
• Proactive
• Creative
• Removing Barriers
• Ownership of the Outcome
• Engaged
• Excited
• Resilient
• Positive focus
• Influential
• Inspirational
• Courageous
• Open to Other Points of View
• Focused on possibilities and
solutions

13. • Silently read on pages 11-13
• Capture (mark)
– Questions
– Interesting Ideas
Cause and Effect: A Reading

14. • FIRST is to accept you have a choice to move forward, to do
something positive/productive with whatever issue or difficulty you
are dealing with now in your work life.
– How can I chose to move forward? : In any situation, if you can stop,
ask that question of yourself and accept that no matter how much you
want to answer it with "well, actually, I can't"... you can (at least to some
degree). If you can accept accountability for what needs to happen, you
put yourself AT CAUSE and you immediately grant yourself the power
to change it.
• SECOND is to focus your mind on what you want, not on what you
don’t want or are afraid of:
– Focus on the Successful Outcome: A future result toward which
actions are directed.
Cause and Effect: Being “At Cause”

15. • THIRD is to begin with the assumption that you are AT CAUSE: that
you can decide what to think, what to picture inside, and what to
focus your mind on (the story you will tell yourself) - and that when
you do this, your brain will figure out how to make whatever you
focus on happen.
– I know I will be successful, now what exactly am I going to do; what
is the very Next Action?
Cause and Effect: Being “At Cause”

16. • Take out your Pre-Work – Page 15
• Example of how to complete Page 16
• Complete Page 16
• Get into groups of 3 and share your results
Choosing to Be At Cause

17. • Page 17
• Setting clear, specific, mutually understood expectations (Areas
might include: Specific goals; rigor in a process or processes;
leadership behaviors; how they manage a project or manage their
direct reports)
– What specifically are you asking the person to do
– What does “good” look like
– If appropriate, share an example of how they are today vs. what “good
looks like
– Give thought to providing training, instruction, if needed
– Ask them to tell you what they think they have heard from you
Coaching and Managing Being at Cause

18. • Coaching and Managing
– You need to then give them regular, specific feedback/ observations
over the weeks on how they are doing
– You need to be available to them, to coach, give guidance, answer
questions; and set the expectation that if they don't understand or know
how to do something, that they will ask (either you or someone else who
knows)
• Holding People Accountable/Recognition/Making Adjustments (Per
your style)
– When they are progressing in the "expectation" you should
acknowledge this
– When they are not progressing, you need to first understand why not
(inquiry); then make adjustments, changes, take actions, etc.
Coaching and Managing Being at Cause

19. • Advocacy key:
– Slowing down our thinking processes to become more aware of our
mental models
– Share our thinking: our assumptions and beliefs
• Inquiry:
– Being open to understanding the thinking of others
– Understanding their thinking: their assumptions and beliefs
Advocacy and Inquiry

20. Tools for Advocacy
TOOLS FOR IMPROVED ADVOCACY:
A. Make your thinking process visible (walk up the ladder of inference slowly,
including your assumptions.)
WHAT TO DO WHAT TO SAY
State your assumptions, and describe the
data/facts that led to them.
"Here's what I think, and here's how I got
there."
B. Publicly test your conclusions and assumptions.
WHAT TO DO WHAT TO SAY
Encourage others to explore your model,
your assumptions, and your data.
"What do you think about what I just
said?" or "Do you see any flaws in my
reasoning?" or "What can you add?"
Page 10

21. Tools for Inquiry
TOOLS FOR IMPROVED INQUIRY:
A. Ask others to make their thinking process visible.
WHAT TO DO WHAT TO SAY
With those who are open to challenge, gently
walk others down the ladder of inference and
find out what data they are operating from.
"Can you help me understand your
thinking here?” “What leads you to
conclude that?" "What data do you have
for that?" "What causes you to say that?"
B. Check your understanding of what they said. Compare your assumptions to theirs.
WHAT TO DO WHAT TO SAY
Test what they say by asking for broader
contexts, or for examples.
"Am I correct that you're saying…?""How
would your proposal affect…?" "Is this
similar to…?" "Can you describe a typical
example…?"

22. • Page 18
• When you want to engage others, its first about Them - NOT You.
Avoid the following traps:
– Acting as if the individual is (or should be) just like us
– Always telling them what to do
– Corralling People (controlling the conversation so no one else gets to
give real input)
– Solving their problems for them instead of building their competence
Leadership and Coaching Role Play

23. • Leadership Coaching is a balance of Inquiry and Advocacy
– Through inquiry, you will help to uncover useful information. Through
advocacy, you will directly influence thinking. Together, inquiry and
advocacy deepen the team's confidence and ability to take action.
• Inquiry: A process for understanding the another individual's point of view by
exploring his/her thoughts, feelings and reasoning.
• Advocacy: A process for influencing others’ thinking and behavior by stating
one's opinions and suggestions, sharing your thought process, and outlining
the rationale for each.
– At any particular moment, a leader may simply listen attentively, reflect
on what is being said, facilitate deeper inquiry, provide specific direction,
or guide an individual through the thought process by asking questions
and providing perspective.
Leadership and Coaching Role Play

24. • Fully listen to what the individual has to say, even if you disagree
with what is being said. Stay in Inquiry and go deeper
– Open yourself up to receiving what the individual has to say without
argument or defense or solutions
– Respond instead with clarifying questions and reflection of what is being
said
– Listen in the full sense
– Listen for what is not being said
• When appropriate, move to Advocacy
– Share your opinion or point of view, and your reasons
– Share your thinking (what got you to this point)
– Ask for understanding and response
Leadership and Coaching Role Play

25. • Today we’ve learned about tools that help you better understand
what may be getting in the way of your effectiveness as a leader and
manager
• Specifically we’ve discussed the power of
– “Being At Cause;” How embracing this principle brings you far more
capacity to create the events and circumstances and positive solutions
– Having more effective conversations and interactions by taking the time
to validate your assumptions; and taking the time to present your
thinking, assumptions, and data
Summary

26. – The Sandler Group: sandlergroup.net/
– Leland Sandler Website: lelandsandler.com
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lelandsandler
– Facebook: http://facebook.com/thesandlergroup
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lelandsandler
– Google+: https://plus.google.com/+LelandSandlerExecutiveAdvisor
Resources and Links