A manager asks to speak with you and your mind immediately starts building a story.
Maybe something went wrong. Maybe someone complained. Maybe you missed an important detail.
Nothing has actually happened yet, but your brain is already filling in the blanks.
In Strengthening Minds. Empowering Leaders., Glenn Brûlé uses this kind of moment to explain one of the most practical leadership lessons in the book: leaders do not simply respond to reality. They often respond to the predictions, assumptions and interpretations their brains create before all the facts are known.
Brûlé explores the idea of the predictive brain, explaining that past experiences quietly shape present expectations. A difficult former boss, a history of criticism, a past conflict or repeated disappointment can influence how a leader interprets a new situation. Two people can hear the same words in the same meeting and walk away with completely different conclusions because their experiences have trained them to expect different things.
That is where one deceptively simple question becomes powerful:
What else could be true?
Brûlé presents this question as a way to interrupt automatic prediction and create room for curiosity. Instead of immediately assuming that your first interpretation is correct, the question encourages you to pause and consider other explanations.
Imagine an employee becomes unusually quiet during a meeting.
Your first thought might be, “They disagree with the plan.”
But what else could be true?
Maybe they are processing the information. Maybe they are worried about a deadline. Maybe something outside work is demanding their attention. Maybe they agree completely but do not feel comfortable speaking in the group.
The purpose is not to endlessly second-guess yourself. It is to recognize that the first story your brain produces is not always the only possible story.
This matters because assumptions influence behavior.
If you assume someone is being resistant, you may become defensive. If you assume a colleague is questioning your competence, you may stop listening. If you assume a team member does not care, you may approach the conversation with frustration before they have even had a chance to explain.
Brûlé captures this cycle through the Leadership Prediction Loop®: experience shapes prediction, prediction shapes interpretation, interpretation influences behavior and behavior creates outcomes that can reinforce future expectations. Reflection offers an opportunity to interrupt that loop before it keeps repeating.
That makes curiosity more than a pleasant leadership trait. It becomes a practical discipline.
Strong leadership does not require eliminating assumptions entirely. That would be unrealistic. It requires becoming more aware of them before they become decisions, reactions or damaged relationships.
Strengthening Minds. Empowering Leaders. repeatedly encourages leaders to slow down long enough to notice what is happening inside their own thinking. By questioning the first interpretation, leaders can create space for better conversations, clearer decisions and more intentional behavior.
The next time you feel certain you know what someone meant, why they acted a certain way or what is about to happen, try asking one more question before reacting:
What else could be true?
That small pause may change the entire conversation.
Discover Strengthening Minds. Empowering Leaders. by Glenn Brûlé and explore a neuroscience-informed approach to more intentional leadership.
Get the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HK4YBJHR
