Why “Assume Good Intent” Is Not Always Good Advice

Ken Kao
5 min readApr 26, 2021
Image by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” — Henry G. Bohn

At some point, all of us have encountered actions at work that could be considered “questionable.” When confiding in a mentor or manager, a common response is to “assume good intent.” However, a missing consideration is “good intent for whom?”. I believe that few people actively sabotage projects and…

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Ken Kao

Product-minded Engineering Leader. Organization & Cultural Builder. Traveler. Martial Artist (Muay Thai & Pekiti Tirsia Kali).