Product Managers setting Goals for 2026: Product/Project Delivery, sure. But really, prioritize this one!
A quick look at your product roadmap reveals the majority of your 2026 goals: There are some carryover projects from ’25, and there’s everything from BAU/MLO, to feature work, to 0>1 product launches. No doubt that you will list those, hopefully with fancy metrics, as goals for 2026. See you at mid-year assessment time!
Delivering these will make a difference. But none of them will be as impactful to your ability to execute, to becoming a highly desired partner to your stakeholders, and to evolving as a leader as this one:
Assuming positive intent!
After this crazy buildup, this reveal may sound like a letdown, but lately it seems like people, teams, and whole organizations (maybe even society at large) could use quite a bit more of this. Why not make it the personal growth goal for 2026?!
Scott Galloway often reminds us that “we have no idea what people are carrying around with them” — the burdens, the pain, the stress — that shapes how they behave in any given moment. And our reflexive judgment — whether online (a completely empathy-free space), in traffic, at work… you name it — keeps us from practicing even a shred of empathy.
Let’s start with two everyday examples most of us have experienced:
1. Hating the Passenger Who Gets Up Too Early on the Plane
Anyone who’s ever flown has silently (or loudly) resented the person who stands up the moment the plane reaches the gate — blocking the aisle, clogging traffic, when really, they won’t be able to get out for a while. People get angry about this. They label them “selfish,” “rude,” “inconsiderate,” “clueless.”
But what if we stopped for a second and asked: what if that person is in pain — a bad back, sore knees, sciatica, chronic discomfort — and that seat has been torturing them for hours? Our brains are wired to fill in the unknown quickly — and usually negatively — even when we have zero evidence for that interpretation.
2. Road Rage
Everyone has seen it: someone cuts another driver off, or won’t let you merge, or lays on the horn, and instantly judgment is cast: “What an a$$%#&*!”
We don’t know what’s going on in that driver’s world. There could be a million reasons that make this person have a bad day. You certainly have a bad day every once in a while, and you’re probably not at your best on those days. But you may feel entitled to having a bad day every once in a while - you’re only human. Yet, it’s just too easy to deny others that same right.
Research on road rage actually shows that it isn’t just the incident that matters — it’s the interpretation of the event and a failure to regulate emotion that turns frustration into anger. Most of the time, that driver’s behavior isn’t personal. Yet we treat it like it is — and assume the worst.
More Everyday Moments Where Empathy Might Have Prevented Judgment
Here are a few more situations where assume‑the‑worst thinking is both common and unnecessary:
People who don’t respond quickly to a message
We instantly think they’re ignoring us, don’t care, or are rude — when they might be overwhelmed, dealing with other, more important issues, or simply are offline with no access.
An employee who seems disengaged
We label them lazy or uninterested when they might be struggling with burnout, depression, family responsibilities, or unclear expectations.
Someone who’s short‑tempered in a meeting
We judge them as aggressive or arrogant — yet they might be having the worst day of their life, or fighting exhaustion and stress no one knows about.
These everyday moments remind us of a hard truth: we rarely have the full picture, yet we judge anyway.
We talk about ‘soft skills’ all the time, but are we serious about them?
Empathy ≠ “being nice.”
It’s a psychological ability to understand and share the feelings of others, and it’s foundational to prosocial behavior. People with stronger ability to take another’s perspective are more likely to help, connect, and respond constructively — not just react.
When we feel empathy — not just think about it — we’re better communicators, more generous, more patient, and more resilient. Those all sound like things that would make you a better leader, no?
A Simple New Year’s Resolution: Replace Judgment with Curiosity
Between stimulus and reaction, there is a space. Filling this space with thought and empathy requires brain resources, oxygen and glucose. We don’t really like to spend those resources, so the opportunity this space presents is frequently wasted.
As we step into 2026, let’s try this:
📌 Instead of instantly assuming someone is rude, selfish, or thoughtless…
Pause and ask: What am I missing?
What if, instead of judging someone for standing up early on a plane aisle, we assumed they were in pain?
What if, instead of reacting with road rage, we assumed the other driver might be dealing with something serious?
When we make that tiny shift — from blame to curiosity — everything changes. Not just for you, but for those around you. And even better: Michael Bungay-Stanier, bestselling author of ‘The Coaching Habit’ and a big advocate of curiosity over advice-giving in leadership, encourages leaders to be the loudest signal in the room. If you visibly start practicing empathy, curiosity, and delayed judgement, you may soon inspire followers. Next thing you know, you changed the culture of the whole team.
Next to all of those great delivery goals, wouldn’t that be worth pointing out in your performance review next year?
Sidebar: Identifying ‘coachable moments’ – first and foremost for yourself.
I often receive feedback or well-intentioned advice about “coachable moments.” Usually, this comes from peers or business partners whose employees have escalated concerns about the behavior of someone on my team. The implication is that I should coach my team member. But when I ask if they explored the coachable moment with their employee first — if they encouraged a conversation to gain understanding, build context, and maybe even resolve things directly — the answer is, almost always, no.
It’s a pattern: rather than fostering dialog, we move straight to escalation. Rather than creating learning through interaction, we outsource resolution. The opportunity for growth, for empowerment and understanding? Lost.
What if we taught people to ask:
Have you spoken with them directly yet?
What might you not be seeing here?
Could there be a reasonable explanation?
These are the kinds of leadership habits that build culture — not just manage it. They set a tone of trust and give people the skills to lead themselves and each other.
Soft skills. The hard way.
