\n\t\t Entrepreneur \t<\/p>\n
Optimism is an entrepreneur\u2019s greatest asset. Unchecked, it becomes your most expensive habit.<\/p>\n
I am not someone who gives up on people easily. For most of my life, I considered that a point of pride. I could see potential in someone that they couldn\u2019t yet see in themselves, and I was willing to stay in that belief longer than most. Leading with a big heart felt like a strength. It is the kind of quality that builds loyalty, develops people and creates cultures where employees grow.<\/p>\n
What I didn\u2019t understand for a long time was that this same quality had a shadow side. I wasn\u2019t just seeing people\u2019s potential. I was making decisions based on a version of them that didn\u2019t exist yet. And I was giving second chances, third and fourth \u2014 not based on evidence of change, but based on my own stubborn faith in the person I was convinced they were becoming.<\/p>\n
My most expensive mistake was employing someone who performed well for their first six months, successfully led their previous award-winning company and showed the potential for becoming a leadership force that could help take my company to the next level. They were promoted, and their new title went to their head.<\/p>\n
Their behavior changed, not for the better, and I was willing to believe their \u201creasons\u201d for it. They snapped at a colleague? They\u2019re under pressure. They didn\u2019t follow company policy? They had extenuating circumstances. They hadn\u2019t responded to coaching? They just needed more time.<\/p>\n
Each individual act of grace was defensible. The pattern was the problem. Others in the company were watching, questioning my judgment and wondering if our long-held standards still applied. It caused my best performers to become frustrated and disengaged with each passing incident. One of my top salespeople even threatened to quit unless things changed.<\/p>\n
The right decision became unavoidable. Letting the problem employee go was long overdue, and when it finally happened, the relief of the rest of the staff was immediate and unmistakable.<\/p>\n
Maya Angelou said it plainly: When people show you who they are, believe them.<\/i><\/p>\n
I have quoted that line more times than I can count. I have nodded at it in conversations, shared it with friends navigating hard situations and used it as a kind of wisdom shorthand. But for years, I failed to apply it to myself and my business. When employees don\u2019t live up to their potential (or the story you\u2019ve told yourself about their potential), failing to admit it puts your credibility as a leader at risk. Lesson learned, the hard way.<\/p>\n
USC\u2019s Mark Schroeder has studied this tendency carefully. He describes it as charitable interpretation \u2014 seeing others as protagonists doing their best within their circumstances. His research shows it\u2019s a genuine virtue: It helps us avoid writing people off too quickly and creates space for real growth. But his research also identifies a tipping point, a threshold where the generosity of your interpretation stops reflecting reality and starts replacing it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the moment Angelou\u2019s line stops being abstract wisdom and becomes a direct challenge.<\/p>\n
This is the trap hiding inside entrepreneurial optimism. Thinking about the world differently is a core virtue of every successful founder. You see the product before it\u2019s built, the market before it emerges, the team before it\u2019s performing. Projection is the founding act of every company ever launched. The problem starts when you direct that same skill at an individual person and refuse to update it when the evidence stops cooperating.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not someone who others would describe as conflict-avoidant. I\u2019m direct and willing to have hard conversations. But I lead with a big heart for the people I hire \u2014 and that combination creates its own blind spots. Over time, I\u2019ve had to build a set of rules to keep my optimism honest. If you recognize yourself in any of this, take note.<\/p>\n
Start every relationship and every performance conversation from a place of good faith. Most people aren\u2019t trying to fail or manipulate you. They\u2019re navigating their own pressures, gaps and limitations.<\/p>\n
Lead with the assumption that they want to do well. It costs you nothing, and it sets the right tone. The keyword, though, is until<\/i>. Positive intent is the starting point, not a permanent override of what someone\u2019s behavior is actually telling you.<\/p>\nUse data as a second set of eyes<\/h2>\n
Check the fulfillment of their potential against the numbers. Missed targets, recurring complaints, performance patterns and psychometric assessments either confirm that your belief is warranted or reveal what may already be painfully obvious to everyone else.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an important difference between being willing to have hard conversations and looking for a fight. When the evidence is in front of you, you\u2019re not seeking conflict. You\u2019re just telling the truth.<\/p>\n
People learn by doing, and doing sometimes means failing. Give people room to get things wrong, own it and grow from it. That\u2019s not weakness; that\u2019s how high-performing cultures are built. But the same mistake made twice is a different conversation entirely.<\/p>\n
The first time is human. The second time is a choice. Letting it slide again doesn\u2019t protect the person; it signals that accountability is optional. That\u2019s not kindness. That\u2019s a failure of leadership.<\/p>\n
This one is uncomfortable to say out loud, but it has to be said. When you\u2019re known as a leader who believes in people, extends grace and gives second chances, some people will respect that deeply. Others will quietly learn to work it. They will underperform, apologize convincingly and reset the clock. If you find yourself having the same conversation with the same person more than twice, stop asking what\u2019s wrong with them and start asking what\u2019s wrong with you.<\/p>\n
Angelou\u2019s line is deceptively simple. Believing people when they show you who they are doesn\u2019t require cynicism. It requires a specific kind of courage: the willingness to let the evidence update the story, even when you loved the story you had.<\/p>\n
See what\u2019s possible in people. Fight for it, even. But when someone shows you who they are today, give them, and the others you count on, the respect of believing it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n