What if the people around you aren't disengaged, careless, or pulling away? Specifically, what if the people who work for you are actually doing their absolute best? In this episode, I'm talking about the power of positive intent and how simply changing the story we tell ourselves about other people can completely change the way we lead.

I share a conversation with a CEO client who noticed that when budgets and timelines got tight, his anxiety would kick in and he would become more reactive and start micromanaging. The problem was that he was interpreting short replies and lack of response from his team as apathy, when in reality, they were heads down doing the very work he was so worried about.

Positive intent isn't about being naive or ignoring problems. It's about starting from the belief that the people you hired, your team, your partner, your friends, and the people you love are likely trying to do their very best.

1. Your assumptions shape how you lead.

When pressure rises, it’s easy to interpret silence, short replies, or delays as a lack of investment. But the story you create in your head may not be the truth.

2. Positive intent can interrupt the cycle of reactivity and micromanagement.

When you trust that your people are trying to do good work, you create space for them to work from motivation rather than fear of your reaction.

3. Pause before creating a story about someone else.

The next time someone goes quiet or their response feels short, ask: What would I assume if I believed this person had positive intent and was doing their absolute best right now?

• Positive Intent – The leadership practice of assuming that the people around you are showing up with good intentions and doing their best.
• The CEO Client Story – A client noticed that pressure around budgets and timelines caused him to become reactive and micromanage his team.
• Motivation vs. Fear – The difference between having a team that works from motivation and one that works out of fear of their leader’s reaction.
• The Story We Create – How short replies, silence, or unanswered messages can lead us to make assumptions that may not reflect what is actually happening.

• Where have you assumed someone stopped caring when they might simply be overwhelmed or focused on solving a problem?
• What story are you creating about someone based on their silence or a short response?
• What would you assume about this person if you believed they had positive intent and were doing their absolute best right now?

• CEOs, executives, and leaders managing teams
• Managers who find themselves becoming reactive or micromanaging under pressure
• Leaders who want to build teams motivated by trust rather than fear
• Anyone looking to communicate and lead with more awareness, curiosity, and joy

Follow Lori on LinkedIn to continue the conversation

• Book a Leadership Strategy Call with Lori: loripine.com

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In this episode, I’m calling myself out. We all do this: judge people before we actually know them. You walk into a meeting, meet someone new, and within seconds you’ve decided whether they’re capable, trustworthy, professional, or someone you want on your team. We like to call it intuition, but sometimes it’s simply our brain taking a shortcut with almost no information to go on.

I bring in Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, including the Warren Harding error and our strange habit of linking physical appearances (height) with leadership ability. I also tell you about the day someone joined my team and my first reaction was, “Ew, who picked him?” The important part wasn’t my first thought—it was what came next: “What am I missing?”

This episode is an invitation to catch your judgments, question them, and give people enough space for your second thought to know more than your first one did.

Your First Thought Is Not a Fact

• We size people up in seconds, long before we have enough information to actually know them.
• That snap reaction gets shaped by our own history, our insecurities, and whatever mood we walked in with.
• The leadership skill isn't eliminating judgment. It's catching it and choosing what you do next.

Replace Judgment With Curiosity

• My first reaction to a new team member and how I actually experienced him later were two completely different stories.
• Instead of letting that first impression become the final word, I asked, "What am I missing?"
• Curiosity buys people the time to show you who they really are.

The Box You Put Someone In Costs Everyone

• When a leader judges fast, that opinion carries weight. It shapes how the rest of the team sees that person too.
• Someone who feels boxed in stops bringing their ideas, their energy, and their full self to the room.
• Before you make it permanent, ask yourself: “How would I want to be treated in this situation?”

• Malcolm Gladwell's Blink — his research on snap judgments and the unconscious assumptions running the show underneath our decisions.
• The Warren Harding Error — judging someone's capability by how they look instead of what they can actually do.
• The CEO Height Example — how something as simple as height quietly shapes who we assume is fit to lead.
• The "Mr. Chipper" Story — my own real time lesson that my first reaction to someone wasn't the truth.
• September Reset — my personal invitation to clear the slate after summer and take stock of the judgments you're carrying into the last months of 2026.

• Who have you judged in about five seconds flat?
• Did a first impression quietly become a permanent verdict?
• What might you be missing?
• Where could curiosity replace judgment this week?
• Is someone on your team holding back because they feel you've already boxed them in?
• How would you want to be treated if you were the one who made a rough first impression?
• Who might deserve a second look?

• Leaders ready to get honest about their blind spots
• Managers walking into a new team, or welcoming someone new to theirs
• High achieving women who want more curiosity and less snap judgment in how they lead
• Anyone who has made, or been on the receiving end of, a bad first impression
• Leaders who want their team to feel safe enough to show up as themselves

Follow Lori on LinkedIn or Instagram to continue the conversation.

• Explore Lori’s coaching, retreats, and community at loripine.com
• Consider joining Lori’s upcoming Hudson Valley retreat, October 14–16, for women ready to think differently about leadership and bring more joy into how they lead.

🎧 Subscribe to The Joy CEO Podcast

⭐️ Leave a five-star review to help other heart-centered leaders find the show

📲 Share this episode with someone who needs a reminder to pause, take inventory, and trust what’s unfolding