Key Management Development Models

13

Ladder of inference (Argyris)

The big picture

It is all too easy when you are under pressure to make decisions hurriedly, reach the wrong conclusions and cause problems as a result. The ladder of inference (see Figure 13.1) describes the unconscious thinking processes that you go through in order to make a decision or decide upon an action. It comes from Harvard Professor Chris Argyris (1923–2013), a leading light in the development of the concept of learning organisations, popularised later by Peter Senge.

Figure 13.1 Ladder of inference

Source: Adapted from Argyris, C. (1990) Overcoming Organizational Defenses: Facilitating organizational ...