Assume Positive Intent
Might not be enough
I’ve been using and promoting the term and mindset of assuming positive intent for quite a long time. Particularly in my coaching practice while coaching leaders.
I was in a Moose Herd discussion the other day where a couple of Agile Coaches were looking for ideas on how to ‘handle’ a leader who had gone a bit rogue and was rough-handling their teams. One of the first questions was whether they were doing harm to their teams intentionally or accidentally. Imagine that.
All of the replies and suggestions circled—
Sharing visual data around their team's impact.
Discussing the business and efficiency impact their behavior was causing.
Trying other ways to convince them that they were wrong and that they needed to back away.
Of course, everyone agreed that all the above would be delivered with respect and positivity.
But something struck me as wrong here. No one was mentioning the leader and how to—
Meet them where they were.
Better understand them and their situation.
Deeply understand the forces driving their behavior.
Offer to help the leader achieve their goals.
It was as if they didn’t exist as an entity within the coaching system. And if they did, they were largely there to do harm. How would you feel if you were this leader and this judgment was flowing around your intentions?
Really inclined to change, huh? Or to help with the coach’s concerns, huh?
In fact, I’ve been in this position as a leader many times and, frankly, it sucks.
My advice to the two coaches in the Herd was to—
Assume Positive Intent, really assume it because it was probably the truth.
Find out what the leader’s position was. What were their driving business and organizational forces?
All focused on gaining strong empathy with them, walking in their shoes, if you will.
And finally, partnering with them to determine how best to achieve their goals with the teams.
I tried to make the point that this kind of relationship-building, partnership, and co-leadership would be much more effective than “charging in” and telling them they’re not leading effectively.
In essence, I tried to recommend coaching the leader first, before worrying about the team. But the magnetic attraction of nearly all the coaches in the Herd, was team-first and protecting the team.
And I felt this was approaching the system with the wrong priority.
Wrapping Up
As I noodled on the situation and reflected more, I realized that I’d missed an important point. Assuming positive intent wasn’t a good enough posture. You see, most leaders see through that quite quickly, as it’s only feigned and artificial.
The real mindset or posture is to Believe Positive Intent.
To sincerely approach the leader in your heart, knowing, understanding, and believing that they were leading their teams with positive intent.
In the future, I’ll be leaning into BPI over API in my own coaching.
Stay agile, my friends,
Bob.
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