Although employment figures are looking better, employees would like to feel better about the stability of their jobs and the places where they work. When fear runs rampant and emotions run high, opinions based on viewpoints can overwhelm logic based on fact.
Opinions are built on personal experiences, and those shared with us by individuals whose perspectives we value – either because we’re told they ought or their ideals, education or life experience suggests we should.
If having an opinion is important to you, those you take are typically aligned with what you believe to be true. Hence, you see the world not as it is, but as you are.
That’s good enough if your opinions result in decisions that affect only you. It’s not so good if you over-rely on opinions to make decisions that affect and influence others. In those situations you would do well to step back and assess how you have come to your conclusions.
A few reminders might be helpful.
If you get most of what you know from online sources, rumor, whispers and innuendo, reliability takes a hit. Blogs are often opinion pieces that source other opinions. Online news outlets disseminate news (facts) and assessments of those facts (opinion) along with entertainment (stories) and it’s not always clear when the facts morph into opinions about those facts.
So what does all this boil down to? Check the information you seek and the unsolicited information you receive to determine its origin. Is it fact or opinion? Single source, multi-source? One perspective? Varied perspectives? And whose agenda does it serve? Check yourself to determine how you are selecting your information and what you are doing with information that does and doesn’t fit the mental models you have. If you are sticking with the facts from varied yet reliable fact sources you’ll be on safe ground if called to account for the choices or decisions you’ve made that impact others. If you’re swayed by opinion and discount facts, you won’t have a leg to stand on if your choices result in negative outcomes.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between fact and opinion when the provider uses bombast to make a point. And an expression like, “It’s a fact that…” or “The fact of the matter is…” doesn’t mean that it is or it isn’t. It’s your job to turn down the noise, clear out the clutter, and listen to the meaning of what is being said. If it’s opinion in the guise of fact, find the original source from which it is claimed to come. If that source is yet another opinion, an unsubstantiated one at that, set it aside and stick with the facts.
It takes time to do your research and check the evidence. If you do, you’ll save time by avoiding costly errors that can affect a lot of people.
Be a leader, take the high road, stick with facts. Own that your opinions, interpretations, and assumptions are just that. Stabilize yourself first, then others, if you want to work in a stable workplace.
