I remember working in a bank and one day a colleague needed to help balance their till. As the counter supervisor, I was pretty good at finding errors and imbalances, so sat at their position to look for it. A moment later, a customer came up to the till position and asked me a question. I gave them a reply – I can’t remember what the question was about – but the customer didn’t agree. My colleague (whose till I was balancing) stepped forward, repeated what I’d said and the customer seemed satisfied and walked away.

It feels like the same thing happens in learning. The first person we speak with can’t possibly know the answer.

An assumption that someone away from the direct activity knows more than the person in the first position.

We’re in a circumstance now where people are looking for the answers themselves and only come to you for a context check. It’s about confirmation that they’re on the right road, that their source is valid.

People work within a hierarchy – whether overt or implicit – where permission is required to allow people the authority to proceed.

Engage.

Ask.

Find out what the users know and trust them. They’re probably your best source of what’s REALLY happening.