Let’s talk assuming positive intent. Have you ever judged someone by their actions or questioned their choices? Maybe a coworker came to a meeting late for the second time and you judged them as disengaged. It’s interesting, but we tend to judge others by their actions while we judge ourselves by our intent. We have a choice every single time one of those stories happen to reframe it and see that coworker as capable and committed. What if they were just delayed on the way to the meeting or something personal was going on outside of work?
Assuming positive intent has great upside. It improves your relationships and your connection. Research tells us that when you put positivity out there, 70% of the time you’re going to get positivity right back at you. Okay, there’s 30% unaccounted for, but that generally has nothing to do with you. So when that comes up for you, when you’re thinking about or noticing that you’re making a judgement, simply reframe it in your mind and put that positivity out there. You might be surprised at the connection that it brings!