{"id":6557,"date":"2020-06-09T22:32:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T02:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/?p=6557"},"modified":"2020-06-09T22:32:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T02:32:44","slug":"assumptions-good-and-bad-for-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/assumptions-good-and-bad-for-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Assumptions Good And Bad For Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

I always hear about the horrors of assuming things. Everyone has heard the phrase about assuming makes an ass out of you and me. In general, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t disagree with that statement because we should always be as sure as possible about things in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n
\"assumed
assumed this would be good;
it was<\/b><\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Yet, we all assume every single day. We assume when we wake up that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to get out of bed. We assume when we take our shower that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not going to ingest water into our lungs. We assume while we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re driving to work, or wherever, that the drivers in front of us aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to stop suddenly and that the drivers coming up behind us are paying attention to our presence.
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\nWe assume that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the best worker in the office, and everyone else is a distant second. We assume that the food we eat is sustaining us at least as far as our next meal, and that good taste means it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bad for us, bad taste means it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good for us. We assume that our water is at least safe enough for us to drink. We assume that we can trust our friends to be there for us whenever we need them, and that not all of our co-workers are out to get us. <\/p>\n

We assume that our mothers and children love us, whether they tell us or not, that our spouses are true to us, and that waitresses who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen us time and time again for over five years, and know we always order the same exact thing each and every time, are going to remember that the next time we go there and treat us with courtesy and respect. Okay, that last one was a rant; sorry about that. lol<\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good reason to allow for some assumptions. If we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume some things, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be worried about everything all the time. For instance, I assume that there will be a tomorrow when I go to bed, whether it comes if I wake up or not. I assume that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll remember how to breathe because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something I do subconsciously. I assume that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always remember how to eat and swallow. <\/p>\n

I assume that when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m walking down the street and am paying some kind of attention that the money in my wallet is safe. I assume while I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m driving my car that the people who built it have taken precautions that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going to explode on me unless it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hit just right. I assume, because I live in the northeast, away from the coast, that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have many worries from hurricanes or wildfires, though we have our share of snow. <\/p>\n

I assume, because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m reasonably self reliant and have some bit of intellect, that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always be able to figure out the next step along the way so that I can survive and take care of my family. And I assume that each and every person who subscribes to my blog articles, my Twitter and LinkedIn feed, and sees that I've put out a new article reads it, studies it, and lives it, even if I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hear from almost anyone all that often.<\/p>\n

When it comes to other people though, the only assumption I make is that they're physically around, and that I need to always be vigilant in paying attention. I've lost my belief in the ultimate goodness of people; I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust them enough to not keep alert. This is the difference between being a good and effective leader and one who might have problems down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n
\"leadership\"
by Tumisu<\/a> from Pixabay<\/b><\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

As a leader, if you just assume that the people who work with you and for you are going to give you their all without follow up, goals, proper training, or paying attention to their needs, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to fail. History shows us that very few people, unless they work for themselves, are going to just give you everything they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got without incentives or assistance of some sort.<\/p>\n

Employees are not looking for friends or enemies at work; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for satisfaction. Satisfaction means something different to each one of them, just as it does to you and your friends. As a leader and employer, you can offer certain things to everyone, and then you might have to specialize for each individual later on.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume that people will work well if you pay them enough money; that wears out quick. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume people will easily roll with the changes if you have never allowed them to think outside of the box. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume that all employees will try to learn more on their own just because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to know the job they do. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume that, because you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re nice to them, that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always be nice to you and have your back. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t assume that, because they may be scared of you, that they might not be out to get you.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go back to those good reasons for assumptions now. Pretty much like anything else, if you use some assumptions you might have towards positive thinking actions and thoughts, you can benefit from those assumptions in ways you might not have conceived before. Here are three big assumptions you can be allowed to make:<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Assume that things are going to change. This is the most important assumption every person should have, whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in their professional or personal lives. Every day there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a new experience, a new product, a new challenge, a new problem, whether it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s occurred yet or not. <\/p>\n

Not only should you be ready for changes, but you should be thinking about ways to change, or at least stay ahead of the curve, even if everything seems to be going along fine. Think about products you purchase weekly. At some point, every single one of them throws on a sticker that says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153new and improved\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Sometimes we believe it, sometimes we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, but the point is that those companies that make the products know that they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just rest on their laurels and expect to crank out the same exact and singular thing in perpetuity. <\/p>\n\n\n
\"\"
<\/b><\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The same with your personal and work environments. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe that, without changes, your marriage will be the same in 20 years as on day one; just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen. You also can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe that you can train someone to do a job once and that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll actually be doing that same job the same exact way 4 or 5 years from now.<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Assume that every person you work with or who works for you has the capability to learn, wants to learn, and wants to be productive. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important because you never want anyone you work with to stagnate and not be ready for the change that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to come. You also don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to work with people who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ultimately have your businesses interests in mind. <\/p>\n

Always work on providing the tools and information they need to consistently learn new things about their jobs. Always be ready to ask them if they understand what it is they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing, because many aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to own up to it unless you do. Always make sure they understand their roles in the organization, as well as the productivity standards expected of them by the organization. And always make sure that the standards you set up are fair to everyone, so that everyone has a fair chance<\/a> to be whatever it is they can be.<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Assume that the other person\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dreams, aspirations, and goals are not the same as yours. Some employees have a vision of being more than just a regular employee; some of them may want your job or career. Some employees just want to come to work, get their money, and go home. Some employees come to work for the camaraderie, to escape the boredom that can come from being home all the time. Some employees really do want to give you their all because they crave the recognition and attention. <\/p>\n

But some employees are poison, could care less about you or the job or anyone else. They love misery because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re miserable, and they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to see anyone else being more, or having more, than themselves. This is where, after you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set up fair standards, you then need to dissect the different types of people you have, based on whatever criteria you determine you want to use.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to assume that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve made some points here that will be agreed and disagreed with. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to assume I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m okay with that also.
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I always hear about the horrors of assuming things. Everyone has heard the phrase about assuming makes an ass out of you and me. In general, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t disagree with that statement because we should always be as sure as possible about things in our lives. assumed this would be good; it was Yet, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1551,174,30],"class_list":["post-6557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","tag-assumptions","tag-fairness","tag-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ttmitchellconsulting.com\/Mitchblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}