156 Leading with NLP
United Nations sanctions as a repressive regime, or would
you be a free democracy?
In the first chapter I quoted Max de Pree: ‘A leader’s task
is to define reality.’ Now we can see it means defining our be-
liefs about what is possible for ourselves and making others
believe that it is possible for them as well. Your beliefs about
yourself and others are some of your greatest resources on
the leader’s journey.
Now imagine that your beliefs can be changed like the
laws in a country. Look at beliefs from the outside for a mo-
ment, as the principles we act on – we act as ifthey were true.
NLP talks of ‘presuppositions’ rather than beliefs – presup-
positions are what you presuppose to be true in a situation,
so you act as if they were true. At one level, we ‘believe’ in
gravity, so we presuppose (and with good reason) that falling
from the top of a building would result in serious injury. We
act as if this were true and we trust gravity will not let us
down, to mix a metaphor. So we take care. Our assumptions
shape our actions, they make the rules and the boundaries
within which we approach our problems.
Human nature is much more complex than gravity. We
can evoke friendship in others by being friendly, evoke hos-
tility by being hostile, but you don’t evoke gravity. Gravity (as
far as I know) is not a self-fulfilling prophecy that depends
on your belief in it. I think we often approach others as if
human nature and gravity were alike.
Testing Plans for Assumptions
A plan is only as good as the beliefs and assumptions it
is based on. Here is one way you can check on your
assumptions in any plan or decision you make. Take
some time to concentrate on this process. You will need
to write down your assumptions.
What are you assuming about the present situation?
What has to be true for your plan to work well?
(Another way to find assumptions is to think of