Leadership: Ladder of Inference

Gregg’s Reflection

Ladder of Inference
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Climbing Down the Ladder

In the mid-90’s, as we built a learning organization in our business, my mentor Charlotte Roberts pointed us to Chris Argyris’s writings on the Ladder of Inference. He knew that our seeing is not what our eyes perceive, but what our brains expect to see.

Modern neuroscience shows this. The eyes collect data, but the brain filters, interprets, and fills in much of what we “see.” This process happens so quickly and unconsciously that we often mistake perception for reality. Our brains prioritize patterns, match current input with past experience, and make snap judgments to conserve energy. What we see, then, is not a recording of the world, but a constructed image shaped by memory, expectation, emotion, and belief.

This helps explain why two people can witness the same event and come away with radically different interpretations. The brain acts as a filter more than a mirror. This biological truth echoes the spiritual insight behind the Ladder of Inference: we move from data to action based not only on what’s there, but on what we’re primed to see. Learning to recognize and question these unconscious filters is not just an act of psychological maturity—it’s a spiritual practice. It’s how we open ourselves to deeper seeing, fuller truth, and the transforming presence of God.

The Ladder of Inference, developed by Chris Argyris and popularized by Peter Senge, illustrates how we move from raw experience to action—often unconsciously. At each rung, we select data, add meaning, make assumptions, draw conclusions, form beliefs, and act—all in the blink of an eye.

Over the years, I’ve come to see how quickly we move from experience to reaction—often without realizing the steps in between. It's a sobering reminder of how little we see and how deeply our past influences the present moment. Jesus’ words about the speck and the log remind me to slow down. To pause before reacting. To climb down the ladder I’ve built in my mind and return to a more grounded, grace-filled presence.

Chris Argyris’ Ladder of Inference

Carl Jung helped us see how we project our own Shadow side, both the good and the bad on others. He tells us,

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. The Undiscovered Self

My Spiritual Director, Mark Ritchie, is trained in Jungian Spiritual Direction. In a session, he said to me,

Projection is a mechanism for shadow to operate. For the best insight into your shadow: Look at those you despise and look at those you greatly admire. You are projecting your shadow, both it's unacceptable parts, and the virtuous traits we dare not admit onto other people.

This certainly helps us understand why Jesus implored us to look for the log in our own eye before we try to take the speck out of our neighbor’s. Wade in and see how the ladder of inference impacts your life, and begin the hard work of seeing reality clearly. Pay special attention to my mentor Robert Fritz on how artists learn to see reality clearly. Blessings

Journaling Prompts

What recent situation did I react too quickly—without reflecting on my assumptions or beliefs? Where might I be climbing the ladder too fast—drawing conclusions before questioning my data or meaning? What is one assumption I’m holding that might need to be revisited in the light of grace or deeper truth? Where is God inviting me to see more clearly, listen more deeply, or act more humbly?


Scripture

They have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear.

Psalm 115:5–6

Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

Psalm 119:18

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jeremiah 33:3

The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.

Proverbs 20:5

The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction.

Wisdom of Solomon 6:17

Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember?”

Mark 8:18

Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

John 7:24


Ancient Writings

Remove the veil of ignorance, and truth will appear of itself.

Plotinus, Enneads, I.6.9


It is not things themselves that disturb us, but our opinions about them.

Epictetus, Enchiridion (The Handbook), §5. This is a direct articulation of the middle rungs of the Ladder: we draw conclusions not from facts, but from interpretations.


Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book 12, §18. A profound critique of misplaced certainty and a call to slow down our assumptions.


Enter into yourself, and in the interior man dwells the truth.

St. Augustine, On True Religion, Chapter 39


Be not content with the surface of things; seek the roots, the first causes.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 2, On Easter


Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart.

St Benedict of Nursia, The Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue, v.1. The call to deep, attentive listening before interpretation—resisting premature conclusions.


It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves.

St Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle, First Mansions, Chapter 1. Teresa highlights how much of what we perceive outwardly is distorted by what we have not yet seen inwardly—echoing the unconscious filters that shape our ladder.


What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God… for the language he best hears is silent love.

John of the Cross, Maxims and Counsels, Saying 59. This is the antidote to reactive interpretation: silence, humility, and presence before acting or judging.


We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.

Blaise Pascal, Pensées, §282 (Brunschvicg edition). Pascal reminds us that logic alone cannot guarantee accurate perception; humility and inner integration are required.


If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.

William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Plate 14. This speaks to the base of the ladder—perception as the foundation for all meaning. When distorted, everything that follows is misaligned.


Modern Writings

Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions…

Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi (summary of his philosophy, often paraphrased)


Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.

Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self, 1957


A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X


The gap between what people say they do and what they actually do is bridged by examining their reasoning—their inferences.

Chris Argyris, Reasoning, Learning, and Action, 1982


The problem is not error, but the inability to detect and correct error because of defensive reasoning.

Chris Argyris, Overcoming Organizational Defenses, 1990


One of the most powerful tools for learning is reflection on one’s own reasoning process. Most people avoid this because it threatens their self-concept.

Chris Argyris, Teaching Smart People How to Learn, Harvard Business Review, 1991


Most people are unaware of how they take in information, draw conclusions, and act. The ladder makes that process visible.

Chris Argyris, The Ladder of Inference, Harvard Business Review Interview, 1992


Learning occurs when people are able to surface and challenge the reasoning behind their actions.

Chris Argyris, Knowledge for Action: A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Organizational Change, 1993


Left unchecked, our inferences become beliefs. Our beliefs become truths. And those truths can blind us.

Chris Argyris, paraphrased from Organizational Learning II, 1996


The ladder of inference illustrates how our beliefs affect what data we select, and how the conclusions we draw reinforce the very beliefs that led us to those conclusions.

Chris Argyris, Organizational Learning II, 1996


Most people aren’t aware of their ladders. They move so quickly up them that they confuse assumptions with facts.

Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, p. 242


Reflective practice helps us become aware of the mental models we’ve built by climbing the ladder, so we can begin to climb back down and see with greater clarity.

Charlotte Roberts, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, p. 246


We do not think ourselves into new ways of living; we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.

Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs, p. 21


The artist sees what is, not what should be, could be, or might have been.

Robert Fritz, The Path of Least Resistance, 1984


The ability to face reality is one of the essential aspects of the creative process. The artist does not flinch.

Robert Fritz, Creating, 1991, p. 41


What makes the creative process unique is that it begins with a clear perception of current reality, and not with denial, wishful thinking, or sentimentality.

Robert Fritz, The Path of Least Resistance for Managers, 1999


In the creative orientation, truth is not an enemy to be avoided; it is a friend to be embraced.

Robert Fritz, Creating, p. 72


You cannot change what you cannot see. The artist’s clarity is what enables the creation to take form.

Robert Fritz, paraphrase of his model for structural tension


The goal is not to add more but to see more.

Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, p. 5. This is the essence of resisting the climb up the Ladder of Inference—staying with what is, rather than leaping to interpretation.


Observation is the most important skill of the artist. More than technique, more than materials, more than intention. The artist trains themselves to see what’s really there.

Rick Rubin, The Creative Act, p. 33


The less we listen to the noise of the world, and the noise of our own minds, the more we’re able to tune in to what’s actually happening.

Rick Rubin, The Creative Act, p. 40. Climbing the ladder often starts with inner chatter. Rubin invites a posture of silence and attention, aligning with contemplative practice.


To see clearly is to look without assuming. It requires us to be present and to suspend judgment long enough to truly witness what’s there.

Rick Rubin, The Creative Act, p. 82. This directly supports the idea of slowing the mental leap—noticing our filters before building meaning.


The way we see the world is the art. If we change the way we see, we change everything.

Rick Rubin, The Creative Act, p. 93. A reminder that awareness shapes interpretation, and by adjusting our lens, we reframe experience at every rung of the ladder.