Welcome to the Clarity Quiz!

Which of the following is visible?

1. Attitude
2. Intelligence
3. Ambition
4. Behavior
5. Skill

Make your selection and then either watch or click “more” for your answer.

If you selected “Behavior” you are correct!

The vast majority of comments people make about others are just plain false because they can’t know what they think they know. Consider the examples below. Do they sound familiar?

• George has no ambition
• Sarah takes pride in her work
• Bill has a bad attitude
• Connie cares only about herself

These comments are typical in that they address characteristics on the left hand side of this diagram, all of which are completely invisible.

• You can not see ambition; you can only see behavior that you interpret as ambition or a lack of ambition.
• What you interpret as pride may be perfectionism.
• You may think you “see” a bad attitude but what you are seeing is behavior that is probably a symptom of other things you can’t see such as Bill doesn’t like his job, doesn’t feel that he can succeed, or is dealing with stressful factors you know nothing about.

Any statement about invisible characteristics is a personal opinion, an assumption, a judgment.

However, you can see the way a person behaves. And you can see the impact of that behavior, whether positive or negative, whether it affects you, others, or the entire company. If you focus your attention and comments on that which is visible, the observable behavior and its impact, and leave the speculation about cause out of the picture, you will:

• Avoid destructive comments
• Prevent putting others on the defensive
• Help others understand their behavior and its impact
• Set the stage for involving the other person in improving the situation

Take another look at the diagram. Think of all the other words that could be added to the circle of invisible characteristics. Words like experience, confidence, and intelligence. There are innumerable possibilities.

Clearly, you know less than you think!