In the amazing show The Pitt, ER Chief Dr. Robby constantly clashes with the Chief Medical Officer Gloria Underwood. Gloria repeatedly reminds Robby that his ER’s patient satisfaction scores are subpar, while he constantly reminds her that it’s impossible to have satisfied patients when the ER staff are overworked, and the rest of the hospital is so understaffed that patients have to wait for hours and even days before being transferred to other units.

What the show doesn’t explicitly address is the reason for the constant tension between the ER Chief and the CMO, or between clinicians and administrators in general. In my research over the last three years, I have found that the main reason for lack of trust in any relationship is assuming negative intent. Robby assumes that Gloria has negative intent towards him and his staff, and that all she cares about is revenue and rankings. Gloria assumes that Robby has negative intent and that he and his staff don’t work hard enough and just like to complain.

How can this- and any other professional relationship lacking in trust- be improved? The starting point is to Assume Positive Intent: give the other party the benefit of the doubt, assume that they share your goals of doing what is best for the patient-customer, the team, and the organization. And then check with them. I call it Accountable Positivity. I discuss Accountable Positivity in depth in my new book “The Positive Intent Mindset: Exceptional Leadership through Trust & Accountability”. The evidence suggests that the best teams and cultures are those where people assume positive intent and hold each other accountable for their words and actions. Accountable positivity results in trust, collaboration, and peace of mind.

——————————————————————————————————–

Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Leadership Keynote Speaker and expert on workplace cultures, teamwork and high-performance. He speaks at Conferences, Corporate Events & Leadership Retreats.