The Power of Positive Intention

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a client’s board room with men and women gathered around the table. Our agenda was to brainstorm about the theme of an upcoming marketing effort, and I was facilitating the process. You have to know that this is my sweet spot, and I absolutely love the process. Undoubtedly, it can be messy in the beginning, but something always “clicks” and a beautiful thing emerges.

It may be…

• an incredible hook.
• a strategic diagram.
• a powerful metaphor.
• a captivating visual concept.

Whatever it is…it emerges from the give and take of creative brainstorming where people are encouraged to loosen up their brains and allow their creative juices to flow. Unfortunately, there is oftentimes someone in the room that doesn’t want people to open up their minds, because they already have everything figured out.

Confession…I have been that person many times.

To those who have been in the room with me in those moments, I apologize. I admit that I have shut people down. I have blown off great ideas, because I already had THE idea. I have stepped over mediocre ideas without affirming their inherent value, and I have been known to completely obliterate stupid ideas without being sensitive to the feelings of those who brought them to the table.

Now that I’m not stuck in the culture of a particular organization, I have a unique vantage point as I orbit around the hairball called a “corporation.” I don’t really come to the table with an idea to sell to everyone…I’m there to listen and serve the client by drawing out of them what’s already there. I have the privilege of helping them communicate their message clearly and creatively.

Back to the boardroom…he just wouldn’t let anyone have their say.

“What if we _________________?” said the mid-level manager.

“Mmmm…noooooot reeaaally gonna work….” replied the VP.

It happened over and over in a myriad of ways. Come to find out…people are just tired of being shut down by this person so they’ve quit throwing out ideas. That’s what happens in a culture when a particularly powerful person is closed to new ideas.

Unfortunately, we can quickly label that person as a jerk or any other number of negative descriptors. We don’t want to work with them, and they become known as a pain in the rear. We begin to speak negatively about them to others, and now they’ve been ostracized unknowingly.

All the while, there is a positive intention embedded in that person’s efforts according to my friend, Jim Haley. He says that every person has a positive intention…even in the midst of the greatest challenges within an organization.

• Do you think the VP was intentionally trying to sabotage the meeting?
• Do you think he was intentionally trying to make people feel ‘less than?’
• Do you think he was out to squash the creativity of the project?

Doubtful.

My guess is that his positive intention was just the opposite. I bet everything within him wanted us to create the best possible marketing initiative, and his positive intention was to help us come up with a great idea…which just happened to be his.

When I start to see the positive intention in his thought process (and life), I can allow compassion to well up within myself. I can see that he wasn’t out to “get” anyone in the room, and I no longer feel threatened. I can focus on the fact that we’re both working toward the same thing.

As you think about your life and business, do you need to see the positive intention in someone?