Chapter 6 – Integrator
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The automatic and unconscious use of the ladder is mostly adaptive. However, it
can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. As we are prone to hold our version of
reality as ‘the reality’, and others do the same, our disagreements can become
entrenched.
How to Work With the Ladder
Many of our beliefs about situations will have been filtered through various assumptions.
They may not accord with reality, and so acting on them may be unhelpful. When we
hold inferences that are high on the ladder, such as “She is never clear about what she
means” or “I can’t alter this situation”, we can move down the ladder to see if we can
trace their sources. “Are other interpretations possible?” “Could we be mistaken?”
The ladder can be a tool for our own personal development as we work through the
sense and validity of our interpretations. While this is valuable, the ladder is a
particularly powerful technique if we disagree with someone and take the time to explore
each perspective. To get out of the circular reasoning implied by the ladder we can ask
questions like:
- “We appear to disagree about this. Can we work back and see what we both agree
on, so we can see where our perspectives start to differ?” - “Our perspectives really differ here. What is it that we both know for sure, and what
parts are our interpretations? How are we getting from one to the other?” - “When you say x do you mean y?”
In a group we can say:
- “Do people agree on the data? Do our interpretations differ?”
The ladder is also a useful way to work with a peer coach as it is a concrete tool to work
with our beliefs and practices and it facilitates practical reflection. It can also be usefully
coupled with the Left hand column exercise particularly in helping to critically interpret
the inner dialogue.
Finally, if the ladder becomes an explicit tool that is adopted by a group it can be
used as a quick and effective way to uncover deeper issues. For example, by saying to
each other “I think we’ve jumped some steps in the ladder here, let’s work down”.
Coupled with an explicit understanding of the ICVF it may help the group to explore
differences based on competing values, such as “I see this discussion as an example of
our group’s lean towards Monitoring. Do others agree? If so, could we explore this from
an Innovator’s perspective and see what we turn up?”