My grade 10 history teacher proclaimed there is no such thing as an unbiased opinion. News agencies have purported they are your source for the real stories void of any slant or partiality. Marketing companies create campaigns to convince us this is the best product there ever has existed in that category. Some leaders espouse open collaboration whilst showing clear favoritism to some employees. We all do it even though we may claim to be unbiased.
So when two people are having a conversation – they begin with their own bias, opinion, and experience. It doesn’t start on even footing. You and I may think we agree on something but there are nuances we may not discuss. And if we continue to make them along the way, in short order, we could be far apart from each other because we make assumptions we’re on the same proverbial page.
No expectations
In a team environment, making assumptions can be dangerous as well. It can be difficult to keep that in check if you have been working together for a while. There's a dance and an unspoken language among a group that forms over time. So if you do regular check-ins with each other, it can create even stronger collaborative situation.
I have opinions, you have biases, we have our own view. If we simply ask each other, we may discover a better way of looking at the world.
That's just my opinion.
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March 18, 2017
One Mann's Opinion
written by
Kneale Mann
tags:
assumptions,
behavior,
bias,
business,
collaboration,
communication,
culture,
history,
Kneale Mann,
leadership,
lesson,
news,
opinion,
ourselves,
partiality,
protocol,
slant,
teacher,
teamwork,
us