Find out the 8 filters that are responsible for how you think and act

Changing the way you communicate inside your organisation

An organisation functions efficiently when messages are understood clearly.

So when misunderstanding regularly interferes in your organisation, what should you do about it?

As leaders, communication is one of our role's most crucial yet challenging parts.

In between meetings and conversations, messages tend to get misinterpreted, affecting our productivity.

May it be getting honest feedback, reframing complex problems, and delivering bad news.

This happens because the people around us are shaped differently, and each one has their interpretations that may be different from what you meant to say.

Understanding what guides our perception of our environment, ourselves, and others are key to leading more effectively.

With a clearer lens, we become better leaders.

The filters that guide our internal map of thinking

We experience the world through a filtration system.

Everyone in your organisation listens to you through filters that interpret the message received.

Here are the underlying filters humans have that guide their perceptions and actions:

1. Time. People have different relationships with time. Some people have a strong time reference, being 10 minutes late is a big deal for them. While others don’t need to always be on time.
2. Language. Different languages have different contexts and meanings. Words in your language might mean differently from other parts of the world.?
3. Memories. Past experiences, both good and bad, can shape your present perceptions.
4. Decisions. Past decisions create our present values, beliefs, and attitudes and influence our behaviour and responses. What we learn from these decisions shapes our thinking about what we are or are not capable of.
5. Meta Programs. This filter relates to genetics and our personality types. It includes how we naturally see the world.
6. Values. Some things are important to us and what we consider right or wrong, good or bad. They are our next most conscious filter based on our current experiences.
7. Beliefs. The quality of our beliefs significantly influences what we believe to be true or not. For example, if we believe that money is abundant, we will be filtering information that proves us right.
8. Attitudes. They are driven by our values and beliefs about specific things that were influenced by our past experiences.

Examining your own filters

Find out your internal map of thinking by identifying what filters guide the way you communicate and act inside your organisation.?

By answering the following questions, you will discover alignment between your perception and your team’s interpretation of what you say to lead more effectively.

1. What is your relationship with time?
2. Are the context and meanings of the language you use interpreted the same way by your team?
3. What are the good and bad memories that are shaping your perception? How do they shape your perception (positively or negatively)?
4. What are the important decisions you have made in the past that are affecting your present perception?
5. What is your personality type?
6. What are your values? What current experiences are affected by your values?
7. What are some of the beliefs that you value about yourself or anyone else?
8. What past experiences have influenced your current attitude?