I agree that we often make judgements without asking people what their intent was. And we assume the worst!
The CEO of a global international organization was visiting a food security program during a widespread famine in Ethiopia, his home country. He saw some people selling some of the relief items in the black market. When he confronted the community elder about this, he confirmed it. These these items were for basic human needs. They were being sold for cash, he thought, rather than providing for the families.
When asked why he was selling them, the elder responded, "Don't you think we know what our family needs and selling some of the items allows us to buy other items we need?"
The CEO responded, "You're right; you should decide".
The elder's intent was to provide for his family, the same goal the relief organization had. We needed to trust that he understood his family's needs.
In our organizations, we would do well to trust that people have good intent. |