Decision Making Principle 2: Separation of Ideas from Identity
Challenge assumptions and options — not worth, rank, or belonging
Principle
Critique targets ideas, evidence, and assumptions — never the person — so dissent is psychologically safe and epistemically useful.
Decision Making Principle 2 requires separation of ideas from identity. If critique feels like personal attack, people self-censor; the organisation optimises for ego protection, not truth.
What it requires
- Psychological safety — challenge assumptions, not worth
- (A)DR language that externalises reasoning — options, tiers, dissent — so the room examines mechanics, not identities
- Meta-communication when useful: “I’m naming assumptions, not evaluating people.”
Why irreducible
Without it, principles 3–6 lose honest input. Dissent stays in hallways; the log becomes confident deck theatre. When a bind skipped this separation, later correction — especially from non-participants — lands as unprincipled bind epilogue: assault on identity, not repair of mechanics.