Climbing the Ladder of Inference: Self-Awareness and Authentic Leadership Through the Lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy

In the complex terrain of leadership, authenticity is often heralded as the gold standard, encouraging leaders to act genuinely to build trust among their colleagues. Despite this, achieving authentic leadership is not simply a matter of intention or personality—it is the result of a rigorous, introspective journey requiring both psychological grounding and cognitive discipline.  

At the intersection of cognitive science and humanistic psychology lie 2 powerful frameworks: the Ladder of Inference and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Together, these models provide critical insight into why self-awareness is foundational for authentic leadership and how unmet needs or unconscious mental habits can distort our desire to engage with authenticity in our leadership expression. 

The Ladder of Inference: A Cognitive Shortcut With Consequences 

The Ladder of Inference, developed by organizational psychologist Chris Argyris, is a model that describes how individuals move from raw data to action through a largely unconscious process. This ladder begins with observable data and moves through layers of selective attention, interpretation, assumption-making, conclusion-drawing, belief formation, and, ultimately, action. 

Each rung on the ladder represents a mental step, often taken at lightning speed and without conscious oversight. The process looks like this: 

1. Observable data and experiences: the raw information what we see or hear 
2. Selective attention: the specific details we choose to notice 
3. Interpretation: the meaning we assign to what we notice 
4. Assumptions: the inferences we make based on our beliefs or prior experiences 
5. Conclusions: the judgments we form about what is true 
6. Beliefs: the internalized convictions that result from repeated conclusions 
7. Actions: the behaviors we exhibit based on our beliefs. 

The danger in climbing this ladder unconsciously is that it can lead to misjudgments, bias reinforcement, and reactive behavior—especially in leadership contexts where the consequences of decisions ripple across teams and systems. In my previous blog about the ripple effect, I discuss how small actions can have big positive or negative impacts. We also know that the smallest interactions can build or break trust. That said, if we make assumptions and climb our ladder of inference too quickly, without genuine reflection of how we are responding, we could easily break trust amongst the very people whose trust we need to earn. Self-awareness is a useful tool that allows us to slow the ascent, question each rung, and re-engage with the reality of what is actually happening vs what we think is happening. 

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: A Framework for Inner Readiness 

If the Ladder of Inference is a guide to our thought processes, Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs provides a map of our motivational landscape. Maslow proposed that humans must satisfy basic needs (such as physiological and safety needs) before ascending to higher-order needs like belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.  

Maslow’s hierarchy includes: 

1. Physiological needs: food, water, and rest 
2. Safety needs: security, stability, and freedom from fear 
3. Love and belonging: relationships and community 
4. Esteem needs: recognition, self-respect, and status 
5. Self-actualization: fulfillment of personal potential, authenticity, and creativity. 

Importantly, Maslow emphasized that self-actualization—the state in which one becomes their most authentic and integrated self—can only occur when lower-tier needs are met. Leadership, at its most impactful, springs from this highest level of human development. So, when leaders operate with unmet needs—particularly safety or esteem—their leadership style can become distorted by compensatory behaviors: control, insecurity, approval-seeking, or defensiveness. 

The Convergence: Why Self-Awareness Is Essential for Authentic Leadership 

Self-awareness is the bridge between Maslow’s and Argyris’s frameworks. It is both the mechanism by which we challenge our inferences and the condition required for self-actualization. Without self-awareness we are subject to various psychological influences: 

• We unconsciously climb the Ladder of Inference, reacting to incomplete or biased interpretations. 
• We remain unaware of unmet psychological needs that subtly shape our leadership behaviors. 
• We cannot discern the difference between our conditioned responses and our authentic voice. 

Authentic leadership requires the courage to confront one’s internal world—the assumptions, needs, and fears that often operate below the surface. It also requires the humility to interrogate our perceptions and remain open to feedback and disconfirmation. This reflexivity is not a luxury but a necessity, especially in a world of complexity, ambiguity, and rapid change. 

Cultivating Self-Awareness: A Developmental Imperative 

The development of authentic leadership is not a matter of acquiring external skills alone but a deep internal evolution. Practical steps leaders can take to shift their mindset might include: 

• Mindfulness practices to increase moment-to-moment awareness and disrupt automatic cognitive patterns. For example, it is important that we take a moment to think before responding—a skill that, like any other, requires intention and practice.  
• Journaling and reflective inquiry to surface unconscious assumptions and beliefs. Putting our thoughts or ideas down on paper helps mental well-being and allows us to gather and acknowledge our emotions before taking action.  
• Feedback mechanisms, such as 360-degree reviews, to provide insight into blind spots. For those unfamiliar with a 360-degree review, it is a request to solicit feedback from others, either on your team or those with whom you work routinely, to better understand areas you are doing well in or areas of opportunity.  

Leading From the Inside Out 

Authentic leadership is not merely about “being yourself” but about knowing who that self is and having the internal stability to express it in diverse and demanding contexts. This kind of leadership is not performative, but grounded in clarity, congruence, and deep alignment between one’s inner life and outer actions. 

To lead authentically, we must commit to climbing down the Ladder of Inference as often as we climb up it and nurturing our foundational human needs so we may rise to the level of self-actualization. Only then can we access the kind of presence, wisdom, and impact that true leadership requires. 

In her monthly leadership series, Barbara Schmidtman, PhD, vice president of cancer care operations at Corewell Health in West Michigan, offers her perspective on addressing workforce-related issues through effective leadership practices. Read her previous post in this series here.