If you lead or work in a veterinary practice, you've likely seen small misunderstandings escalate into bigger conflicts. Someone makes an assumption, labels someone else negatively, and suddenly the entire team feels the tension. Soon, communication suffers, morale drops, and patient care is impacted.

Most conflicts start quietly. Someone makes a seemingly innocent observation about another person's behavior. They decide what that behavior means and what it reveals about the person's intentions. Soon, assumptions become beliefs, and beliefs guide behaviors. Before long, relationships suffer, and the culture you worked so hard to build begins to unravel.

Psychologists have studied this pattern, calling it the Ladder of Inference. Understanding how this ladder works can transform how your veterinary team communicates, collaborates, and thrives.

What is the Ladder of Inference?

Organizational psychologist Chris Argyris developed the Ladder of Inference to illustrate how quickly people move from observing facts to taking action based on assumptions. Think of it as a mental pathway you climb, often without realizing it. Each step you take shapes your interactions, relationships, and ultimately, the culture in your practice.

Understanding How the Ladder Works

To understand this clearly, let's walk step-by-step through a common veterinary scenario:

Step 1: Reality and Observable Facts

Let's say you're observing a busy shift at your practice. Two technicians are working on a patient, a vet assistant is typing notes, and a kennel assistant is cleaning cages. An associate veterinarian stands nearby, arms crossed, frowning slightly.

Step 2: Selecting Reality (Choosing What to Notice)

You can't process every detail at once, so your mind filters and selects what feels relevant. In this scenario, you might immediately focus on the veterinarian's crossed arms and furrowed brow.

Step 3: Interpreting Reality (Adding Meaning)

Now your mind makes assumptions. You interpret the veterinarian's posture as irritation or impatience. You assume she's unhappy with something happening around her.

Step 4: Drawing Conclusions

These assumptions solidify into conclusions. You decide she's frustrated because the team isn't working quickly or efficiently enough.

Step 5: Forming Beliefs

Over time, if you notice similar behavior from her, your conclusions become deeply held beliefs. You label her as someone who's generally impatient, judgmental, or difficult to work with.

Step 6: Taking Action

Once you've formed a belief about her character, it affects your actions. Maybe you avoid asking her questions or seeking her input. Perhaps you gossip with coworkers about her negativity. These actions create real, lasting consequences. Soon, communication breaks down completely, confirming and reinforcing your initial assumptions.

This cycle is how minor observations escalate into destructive conflicts.

How Negative Assumptions Harm Your Practice

You might wonder why climbing this ladder matters. Negative assumptions quietly erode your practice’s culture and prevent your team from doing their best work.

Consider these three outcomes that directly affect veterinary teams:

Communication breaks down.

When team members believe negative things about each other, communication suffers. Conversations become guarded or defensive, leading to confusion, mistakes, and missed opportunities to provide exceptional patient care.

Stress increases for the whole team.

Conflict creates chronic stress, distracting your staff from the reason they joined the veterinary profession: to help pets and clients. Constant tension wears down morale and enthusiasm, impacting the quality of care your practice provides.

Team turnover rises significantly.

Talented people rarely stay in uncomfortable, conflict-filled environments. Increased turnover means additional time, energy, and cost to hire and train new staff, disrupting team continuity and the consistent quality your clients and patients deserve.

When assumptions replace clear communication, everyone loses. Your ability to deliver outstanding patient care depends on your team's trust, clear communication, and supportive culture.

How to Stop Negative Assumptions

Fortunately, climbing the ladder isn't inevitable. You can interrupt this process by taking deliberate steps to clarify, question, and communicate effectively. Here’s how to stop negative assumptions from escalating:

Pause Before Assuming.

When you notice yourself interpreting someone's actions negatively, pause first. Ask yourself: "Is this the only possible interpretation?"

Ask Clarifying Questions like: 

• "Is everything okay? I noticed you seem stressed."
• "How’s your day going? Anything I can do to help?"
• "I noticed your expression. Did something happen?" 

Stay Curious, Not Judgmental.

Replace your judgment with genuine curiosity. You might discover the veterinarian was worried about a difficult patient, feeling unwell, or simply focused deeply on a challenging situation.

Communicate Openly with Your Team.

Talk about assumptions openly during team meetings. Encourage everyone to ask questions rather than jump to conclusions. Creating this openness helps build trust and cooperation.

Build a Culture of Positive Intent

When teams assume positive intent, interactions transform. Veterinary teams that practice this consistently find:

• Higher levels of trust and respect among team members.
• Improved communication that strengthens patient care.
• Increased overall engagement and job satisfaction.

You have the power to create this shift in your veterinary practice. Teach your team about the Ladder of Inference. Encourage them to pause, question their assumptions, and communicate clearly. By doing this, you replace conflict with collaboration.

From Conflict to Collaboration

Understanding the Ladder of Inference helps you catch conflicts early and stop them before they grow. Rather than allowing misunderstandings to hurt your practice, you now have a clear, practical way to build stronger, healthier relationships.

This week, challenge yourself and your team: whenever you're tempted to assume negative intent, pause and ask a question instead. Watch how quickly your veterinary practice becomes a place where people feel understood, valued, and excited to show up every day.