Being The Best Kind Of Leader

Transcription

1 PFComm.com Being The Best Kind Of Leader Critical Conversations

2 Hierarchy of Skills Results Accountability Commitment Team Control Mastering Conflict Developing Safety / Trust Breaking Down the Shark Story See / Hear (facts) Story (assumptions) Feel (emotion) Act (do) Input Process Output How do we manufacture this? Our stories are usually wrong Our discussions are NOT usually about facts Our feelings are not isolated from our needs 2

3 Finding the Facts Communicating Content = Facts We are in an ASQ Webinar My coworker is avoiding me The competition cheats One should always believe family Last night, Bob cleaned the basement It s smart marry someone with money Ordinary Bias I disappoint others, I am unlovable Things always work out for the best Actor-Observer bias Anchoring bias Confirmation bias When dealing with biases Point out the underlying principle or the generalization Look at evidence that describes the specific case 3

4 What Hurts Results Defensiveness Arrogance Threats Insincerity Competition Deception True Listening After you ask SHUT UP and Listen. You NEED to BE genuinely interested. Listening seems HARD because we SAY we are listening when we are really THINKING about something else. 4

5 Relationships You Have to Know The Score Tentativeness Humility Empathy Simplicity & Sincerity Curiosity Openness Respect Engagement Approaches to Problem Solving (Garvin & Roberto) Characteristic Advocacy Inquiry Concept of Decision Making A contest Collaborative problem solving Purpose of discussion Persuasion and lobbying Testing and evaluating Participant s role Spokespeople Critical thinkers Patterns of behavior Strive to persuade others Defend your position Downplay weaknesses Present balanced arguments Remain open to alternatives Accept constructive criticism Minority Views Discouraged or dismissed Cultivated and valued Outcome Winners and losers Collective ownership 5

6 Work Conversations What is the current state? Sales are down. Our competition is stealing our customers right out from under us. What is good vs. bad (or right vs. wrong)? Our product is the best in the industry. The competition is nowhere near as good! Our company s continued survival is more important than the environment. What do we mean? Our customers are unsophisticated and the competition is taking advantage of them How should we change? We need to concentrate more on costs. Asking for Evidence Claim Fact Definition Value Policy Stock Issues What does the claim mean? What are the criteria? (How do we know?) Have we met it? (What is the test?) Is the interpretation relevant? Is the interpretation fair? How do we choose among competing characterizations? What does the claim mean? Which value should be used to evaluate the subject? What standards are used to measure competing values? Have those standards been met? What is the problem? How big is the problem? What is causing the problem? What should be done to correct the problem? How well does the proposal solve the problem? Will the action create other benefits or harm? 6

7 Statement. Problem? Issue! Response. Analyze Logic Fact How would we know? Do we pass that test? Definition / Quality Relevant? Fair? How do we choose between competing values? Policy Problem? Impact and Consequence? Solution fix the problem? Solution cause new problems? Statement Claim Issues (Questioning Claims) Inference (Connection of Response to Evidence) Response Example, Cause, Sign, Analogy, Narrative, Form Fact Definition Quality Policy Credibility Competence, Access Objective Data Examples, Statistics, Objects, Testimony Social Consensus Common Knowledge, Shared value judgments, Previously established conclusions, Stipulations Stock Issues Template, not a formula Are different for each type of claim Fact (Interfaith marriages usually fail) What does the claim mean? What are the criteria? (how do we know?) Have we met it? (what is the test?) Definition (Capital Punishment is murder) Is the interpretation relevant? Is the interpretation fair? How do we choose among competing characterizations? 7

8 Stock Issues Value (Eating meat is better than eating vegetables) What does the claim mean? Which value should be used to evaluate the subject? What standards are used to measure competing values? Have those standards been met? Policy (The U.S. needs a national missile defense system) What is the problem? How big is the problem? What is causing the problem? What should be done to correct the problem? How well does the proposal solve the problem? Will the action create other benefits or harm? Evidence Serves to answer the question what makes you say that? Primary and Secondary; Expert and Layperson If evidence is contested, the dispute must be resolved before we continue May require a separate argument Judgments of the quality of evidence are affected by Agreement or disagreement with the claim Speaker s delivery Source (and the judgment of the person using the evidence) Evidence is most influential when the audience is unfamiliar with the material and the goal is sustained attitude change over time 8

9 Evidence Three Types Credibility, Data, Consensus Credibility Competence Trustworthiness Good Will Dynamism Eyewitness access to information Background and Training A good track record Tests Is the person an authority on this subject? Is there a clear basis by which the person reached this position? Does the person have bias or a vested interest? Do credible sources disagree? Evidence Three Types Credibility, Data, Consensus Objective Data Examples Brief Mention vs. Developed Example (state of the union) Generalizations follow from examples Statistics Raw numbers Probability statements Outcomes of experiments Objects & Testimony Tests Are examples representative? From a large enough range? Random? Is the sample size large enough? Are there counterexamples? Are the statistics properly prepared? Are the objects and testimony authentic? 9

10 Evidence Three Types Credibility, Data, Consensus Social Consensus Common Knowledge Shared value judgments Previously established conclusions Stipulations Tests Have these been agreed to? Are they truly shared? Evidence When is Evidence Sufficient? When it leads to a conclusion with certainty When it leads to a conclusion that has the force of probability A position that is demonstrably more reasonable Different than asserting reasonableness Otherwise, it must be considered insufficient 10

11 Evidence - Six Levels of Strength (low to high) 1. Assertion (in my opinion ) 2. Common Knowledge or Stipulation 3. Lay Opinion (if a reasoned conclusion) 4. Expert Opinion or Consensus of Lay Opinion 5. An Empirical Study or Consensus of Expert Opinion 6. Consensus of Studies Inference Think of Inference as a way of evaluating how the speaker connects the evidence to the claim Claim Our new product will be successful Test Marketing / Focus Groups People will feel they HAVE to have it Products like this are typically well received It s just like our old one and IT sells well We have always been successful Our only competitor is going out of business, leaving us alone in the market. Logically, we can t miss! 11

12 Inference Example Warrant: The example represents the population in the characteristic under discussion Use: Generalization Making a general statement based on examples (the brown-eyed people I know are mainly republicrats.) Use: Classification: - Derive a specific application from a general principal (you have brown eyes - must be a republicrat.) Test & Fallacies Hasty generalization too few examples or cases, and generalizing that to be representative of the whole class Overwhelming exception too few exceptions to overturn a well-formed generalization Biased sample not selected per the appropriate selection rules (see evidence ) Misleading vividness hasty generalization that appeals to the senses. Special Pleading an interpretation of the facts that indicates that the usual logic is somehow inappropriate and this case is somehow special (justifiable homicide) Inference Cause (assign responsibility, predict events, relate means to ends, explain paradox) Warrant: One thing has influence on another Use: Why did the favored candidate lose? Use: River overruns its banks after a heavy rain Use: Students that study get better grades Use: Why is it that today there are more forms of media, but less communication? Tests & Fallacies How Possibly? and Why Necessarily? Mills Rules Target an output characteristic. Hold all contributing factors constant, except for one. If the output changes, the factor you changed is the cause. Temporality something occurs after (or with) something else and is said to be caused by it Multiple or Common Causes? Cause and Effect reversed? Confused with Correlation? Regression something changed, therefore it was caused by something ex ante prior expectation (sharpshooter or gambler s fallacy), cluster illusion (the 0 curse Harrison, Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Harding, F Roosevelt, Kennedy) 12

13 Inference Sign (Correlation) Warrant: One thing predictably occurs with another, but has no influence Use: Infer abstract states from concrete ones (customer loyalty) Use: Predict results from observations (phase containment) Use: Identify expertise (diploma) Tests & Fallacies Do the sign and the thing signified generally occur together? (stock market changes) Are there countersigns? (IQ) Could the sign be a sign of two different things, even opposites? (stock market bubble) Inference Analogy (Literal and Figurative) Warrant: Two things are basically alike in the respects under discussion Literal Analogy Direct comparisons Use: Identify parallel cases and suggest precedents (Changes to the school system) Figurative Analogy Compare relationships Use: Make ideas concrete by comparing a less-familiar relationship (theme) with a more-familiar one (phoros). (changing generals; changing horses) Tests & Fallacies Do essential similarities outweigh essential differences? Analogies can never be certain because they are only about resemblances. 13

14 Inference Narrative (illustrative and inspirational stories) Warrant: Real-life will play out just as the story does. Use: Stories used to illustrate and infer a likely outcome Use: Stories used to inspire listeners based on values Key Construction Points Stories are personalized and invite the listener to imagine themselves playing a role Stories have a dramatic structure including a plot, characters, conflict, and resolution Telling the story allows predictions of what will happen next and how it will end Tests & Fallacies Is the narrative coherent? Is the narrative plausible? Are characterizations consistent? Does the narrative have resonance? Inference Form (statements resembling deductions) Warrant: The form is a deductive form, so the conclusion is certain Use: Dilemma if we do A, we get a result; if we do B, we get another result. We must do one or the other. (only surplus remains in R&D) Use: Hypothesis if A, then B ; A, therefore B (credit for the new customer) Use: Calculation we assign numbers to things not normally quantified (value of life (beauty, tranquility) vs. side effects vs. evil of doing nothing) Tests & Fallacies Bifurcation (Are there only two choices?) Reification (Attributing inappropriate properties to things) (the universe won t let earth die) 14

15 What Makes You Persuasive? Competence Background and Training A good track record Eyewitness access to information Trustworthiness Good Will Dynamism Credibility Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #1 Law of Reciprocity To repay in kind what another person has provided to them Purpose to create a sense of obligation Examples Return Address labels received from non-profit organizations Free samples Tit for Tat compromise 15

16 Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #2 Law of Commitment and Consistency To be (or at least appear to be) consistent in thoughts, feelings, and actions Purpose To justify earlier decisions, even if they are erroneous Examples Salesmen asking questions to which you will answer yes Getting an agreement in principal and then raising the commitment Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #3 Law of Liking To cause someone to like you, or to believe that they are just like you, Purpose To make them more inclined to want to please Examples Demonstrating that they have similar backgrounds and tastes (beliefs, values, preferences, and style) Good cop / Bad cop 16

17 Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #4 Law of Scarcity To cause someone to invest resources Purpose To make them more inclined to see something through, rather than bail out Examples Last one available Salesmen working long and hard on a deal with you Sunk Money Time pressure Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #5 Law of Authority To make someone believe they can be more like their hero Purpose To connect a respected figure to an object or activity Examples Celebrity Endorsements 4 out of 5 experts agree. The CEO started out doing this very job 17

18 Cialdini s 6 Laws of Persuasion #6 Law of Social Proof To guide someone into a desirable conforming behavior Purpose To create a sense of Belonging Examples Laugh Track Bandwagon claims Testimonials Guiding behaviors 18