You've seen rabbit/duck before.
Look at it one way, and it’s a duck, look another way and it's a rabbit, right?

Often in my coaching, people come with a duck problem. They talk about how bad the duck is. How ducks are terrible to work with. How they can't accomplish what they want because of the ducks. They rage about how ducks are uncooperative, stubborn, inflexible and impossible. Ducks are really the worst.

My job is to get them to see…rabbits.

This is not easy.

By now we’re all familiar with confirmation bias which is defined as people's tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with their existing beliefs. This approach to decision making is largely unintentional, and it results in a person ignoring information that is inconsistent with their beliefs. 

In fact, when you’ve decided “It’s a duck”, that duck-ness starts to mean something to you. Other possibilities close. Maybe it means you were right about a problem. Or it means you understand something about a situation on the team. You are justified in feeling this way. A duck becomes part of your solidified worldview - not just one possibility among many.

Why do we get so attached?
To consider additional information (could this possibly be not only a duck?)  might mean:
🐤 You were missing something (oof!)
🐤 Your problem has solutions you haven't considered (yikes!)
🐤 You had a role in the problem you aren’t conscious of (who, me?)
🐤 You were simply wrong (ow!)
🐤 You misunderstood and need to learn or grow in some way. (eesh!)

The prospect of any of the above can be really intimidating and painful.
So we stick with our conclusion that the only possibility is duck.

However, being willing to see more than a duck is the opportunity for growth.
As soon as you shift into thinking it’s possibly a duck or possibly a rabbit, interesting things happen.

Researchers found that participants who easily could see the image as either a rabbit or duck came up with an average of about 5 novel uses for their everyday item (like a paperclip), while those who could not flip between rabbit and duck at all came up with fewer than 2 novel uses. Possibilities expand.

Obviously, workplaces are more complicated than this illustration, but the principles hold true. When you’re too attached to your worldview, you’re missing out on what could be — and who you could be. 

How can you allow yourself to see more than ducks? 
🐰 Ask:

• “Interesting point of view, how did you come to believe that?”
• “Can you help me understand why xyz?”
• “In your opinion, what’s most important for us to achieve together?”

🐰 Learn more, ask: 

•     “What else?” 
•     "Tell me more” or 
•     “What do you think I might be missing about this?” 
•     “Where am I wrong?”

🐰 Listen without prejudice, listen for understanding something new

🐰 Learn to suspend your defensive reactions - you can always return to your point of view. In fact, you may come away with more information or a better understanding of how to get another onboard with you thinking or how to evolve you plan to make it more acceptable

Why does this matter?
Often for my clients, when they get stuck in seeing ducks, they are too attached, afraid to see what might be possible (the good and the bad that goes along with that). You stop growing or learning. Instead of being in a position of having a new understanding, you’re overly attached.  

Don't limit your professional progression. Don't close to new opportunities. Even if it turns out you are right about a situation, you will develop a much deeper understanding of what's actually going on beyond your limited point of view.

Practice seeing beyond your own idea of "the way it is" at work. Try out listening more deeply to people at home. See where you might be able to step into bigger ideas and better contributions.

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