When you give someone a task, it’s achievement depends on two factors. The first one being your ability to see the other persons workload and ability to achieve the task. The second one being the other person’s ability to evaluate if he can master the task as well as his willingness to share that evaluation.

It’s often a challenge to combine this information in such a way that the desired results can be achieved.

Both partners usually start with an interpretation of the situation. The most relevant one often being the least seen one: the willingness or ability to share information freely with each other. Sometimes it’s simply information which is missing. Neither of both can have a complete view of the other’s context. For example why the request is made or how it can be accepted. And sometimes it’s a fear of how the other will react.

In all these cases we are interpreting the situation depending on what we know and make an assumption of what the other one knows.

What’s lacking is the curiosity to compare our interpretation with the one the other person has.

Your ability to see depends on what you know.