What. A. Week! I was certain Rod Serling died in 1975 and wasn’t writing any new episodes of “The Twilight Zone.” But, based on last week’s shenanigans at work, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t starring in one of his best episodes to date.

My experiences over the past five days forced me into a place of deep reflection about how we engage one another – specifically, the intent of our behavior versus the impact. I recalled a situation from several years ago with a colleague on my team. She was a strong performer and very talented.

A new opportunity opened on our team, and while she didn’t have the exact applied skill requirements and experiences needed for the position, she was due to receive a master’s degree that would provide theoretical application for the job. I believed her work ethic and commitment to the organization would enhance her ability to succeed. I wanted to give her the opportunity because I was certain she would be able to scale-up to meet expectations with coaching and time.

Well, neither happened – the coaching nor the scaling up. As the universe would have it, I was promoted to another position with greater responsibility, and while she still reported to me in this new role, I wasn’t able to provide her with the hands-on coaching she and my entire team had been used to and needed with the same frequency.

To make it even worse, my manager was the CEO, and he was as equally surprised and disappointed that she was not producing quality work at the level we had been accustomed to. Her work in this new role directly impacted him. I demonstrated poor execution of good intent. Something had to change.

I knew I needed to move her out of the position and at the same time, I wanted to ensure I didn’t hurt her career or finances. I was thrilled when it occurred to me that I was reorganizing another area, and there was a position that was going to be available that closely aligned with her previous job, and it was at the same salary as the current position. I was so excited! You see, she was not only a colleague, but I had socialized with her a few times outside of work, so I considered her a close acquaintance, as well. I told her about the opportunity and gave her 30 days to think about it.

Decision day arrived, and the tone of our meeting was melancholy. She expressed disappointment in my decision to ask her to leave the current position, declined the new opportunity, and informed me she was resigning – leaving the organization completely after working there for almost a decade. We briefly shed tears. She didn’t have a job opportunity waiting for her, and I asked multiple times was she sure, and urged her to think carefully about her decision.

She left. She stopped speaking to me, and told anyone listening that I betrayed her as a ‘friend’ by taking her job away from her. “A friend would never do that,” she said. Her story caused a ripple effect of negativity, gossip, and cruel accusations about me and my character.

I wasn’t bothered about the accusation of betraying a friendship because I didn’t consider us ‘friends’ – I am always clear about the importance of separating personal from professional and the potential consequences before engaging personally – I was bothered that while telling her story she neglected to share that I offered her another job, and at the same salary. Yes, that part.

I tend to believe most people start with good intentions. Intentionality includes personal agendas and motives, all of which involve character. While I chose to believe her intent was to gain support through a tough time in her life, the impact of her behavior was harmful. It impacted her reputation and a lot of people – my team, my manager and others.

Good or bad, my reputation about meeting organizational needs and realigning talent through promotion opportunities or managing actively disengaged or low performing employees out of the organization was no secret. Good leaders know people make up the organization and should come first. You should always communicate and provide timely feedback on performance, and the opportunity and tools to enhance it. I do that consistently, and I am comfortable with how I show up professionally.

On your journey to your point of pride, you will experience people, personally and professionally, who demonstrate poor execution of good intent, and those who do not. There is a difference. When evaluating yourself and others, it’s important to understand that a person’s behavior demonstrates their motive. Their motive reflects their intent.

If someone lies about why they’re breaking up with you to protect your feelings, or tells their colleagues you are a bad manager to hide the fact that they are a low performer, this is not poor execution of good intent – that is a lie. In these scenarios, the person’s motive is to avoid responsibility and embarrassment.

Be really careful not to see someone else’s intentions, through the lens of what your intentions are or would be. Instead, believe the observable behavior the person displays.

If we all check our individual intent by being honest about our motives and agendas, and commit to a practice of having ethical and sound character, we won’t have to rationalize, or as Steven M.R. Covey writes, “tell rational lies” about why we are behaving with ill-intent. This important work requires each of us to have a heightened level of consciousness, self- awareness and accountability.

Visit www.yourpointofpride.com to start the journey of becoming the best version of yourself.