Assuming the Best About Others is Hard—But Necessary
2/24/202629 min
Are you guilty of bracing for the worst when it comes to your clients, colleagues, and bosses? Amer Kaissi, professor at Trinity University, explains why bringing that negative mindset to work will quietly undermine your team, organization, and career. He wants leaders to instead adopt a "positive intent mindset," which means giving everyone -- even people who disappoint you or with whom you vehemently disagree -- the benefit of the doubt. He shares five key capabilities we can all build to improve trust and performance without sacrificing accountability. Kaissi's book is called The Positive Intent Mindset: Exceptional Leadership Through Trust and Accountability.
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First 90 secondsAlison Beard· Host0:00
[music] Deel's not just another payroll platform, it's one your team might actually enjoy. HR, IT, and payroll together finally. Built in-house, built for peace of mind. Visit deel.com/hbr. [music] I'm Alison Beard.
Adi Ignatius· Host0:29
And I'm Adi Ignatius, and this is the HBR Idea Cast.
Alison Beard· Host0:33
[music] Adi, today let's talk about how to get along with people who make our lives harder, whose views conflict with our own, who we can't seem to find common ground with, who maybe we don't even really like or respect.
Adi Ignatius· Host0:52
Okay, this one's gonna get us in trouble, but okay.
Alison Beard· Host0:55
[laughing] No, don't worry. It's still very much a conversation about good management- Mm ... because it's about getting in the right headspace to overcome all of these challenges at work, build better relationships, and foster more productive collaboration.
Adi Ignatius· Host1:08
Oh, okay. Phew. I was actually worried where you were gonna go with that.
Alison Beard· Host1:11
[laughing] So our guest today is Trinity University Professor Amr Kaisi, and he's going to explain why more of us need to adopt a positive intent mindset, assuming that the people around us, bosses, peers, employees, clients, suppliers, competitors, all the stakeholders, have good intentions