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Key Takeaways Believing in people’s potential is a great quality, but repeatedly excusing someone’s negative behavior based on “who they could become” can lead to poor leadership decisions and real organizational costs.
Always assume positive intent until someone proves otherwise, use data as a second set of eyes, allow for a mistake (once), and don’t let your open heart become an open door for manipulation.
Optimism is an entrepreneur’s greatest asset. Unchecked, it becomes your most expensive habit.
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’t 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.
What I didn’t understand for a long time was that this same quality had a shadow side. I wasn’t just seeing people’s potential. I was making decisions based on a version of them that didn’t exist yet. And I was giving second chances, third and fourth — not based on evidence of change, but based on my own stubborn faith in the person I was convinced they were becoming.
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.
Their behavior changed, not for the better, and I was willing to believe their “reasons” for it. They snapped at a colleague? They’re under pressure. They didn’t follow company policy? They had extenuating circumstances. They hadn’t responded to coaching? They just needed more time.
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.
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.
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