Perception limits options; the duck-rabbit test

Cristina Cranga: When Teams Stop Testing Reality and Fall Into Decision Hallucinations

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"Over time, what I notice is that teams stop testing reality. They optimize execution around constraints that might no longer exist." - Cristina Cranga

Cristina introduces a powerful concept she calls "decision hallucinations"—the perception of constraints and boundaries that aren't actually real or present. In her experience working with teams in complex matrix environments, she noticed a troubling pattern: team members would say things like "we can't change this because it's already decided" or "the priority comes from the top level" without ever verifying these assumptions.

The impact on team behavior was significant—teams stopped asking questions, stopped having conversations with stakeholders, and began operating within perceived limitations rather than actual ones. Cristina emphasizes that as Agile practitioners, our work isn't just about ceremonies and metrics—it's about supporting and facilitating decision processes.

When she encouraged teams to ask better questions like "Is this an assumption-based decision or an explicit shared choice?", something beautiful happened: options reappeared, conversations changed, and teams realized they were constrained by perception rather than reality. She uses the famous duck vs. rabbit optical illusion from psychology to illustrate how our brains can only see one reality at a time, making the case that we must constantly test our view of reality through continuous conversations with stakeholders.

In this episode, we refer to the work of Esko Kilpi on conversations and the duck vs rabbit image from psychology.

Self-reflection Question: When was the last time you challenged an assumption your team operates under, and what did you discover when you tested that reality?

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About Cristina Cranga

Human, Innovation enthusiast with a curious mind always learning new things. Sometimes a dreamer and a restless soul. Her mission in life is helping People thrive. She has a background in psychology and an experience in supporting the implementation of multiple IT software projects in complex digital eco-systems with different technologies at international level. How these two worlds can shape a professional? Let's discover it ...

You can link with Cristina Cranga on LinkedIn.