If you know your Kung Fu, stop second-guessing your leadership

For those of us who aren’t arrogant blow-hards, stepping into leadership takes some adjustment. We may have an old habit of politely deferring on decisions... until we remember that we're accountable for those decisions. Or sit in a meeting waiting on consensus, thinking, “It sure is too bad no one knows what to do here,” and then rouse yourself to take charge.

I’ve learned over the years not to defer on topics within my expertise. Too many times I thought, “That guy seems so sure of himself, maybe I’m missing something?” only to watch the inevitable conclusion that I did, in fact, know exactly WTF I was talking about. Speaking up can save a whole lot of people a whole lot of problems, whatever feathers may be ruffled in that one meeting.

Which is not to say that I can’t be wrong, my favorite people are the ones who push me beyond my boundaries (how else could I have become an expert?), but I do expect you to actually prove your point to me and not just bloviate at me. As for matters outside my expertise, the necessary humility to defer came built in, but I’m now quite confident in my ability to learn complex subject matter. My value to customers has always hinged on being able to learn their business from them.

Anyway, just a note to leaders old and new: we all start somewhere, and no matter how long we’re at it, we keep facing challenges we’ve never had to surmount before, especially in tech. If you know you know your Kung Fu, don’t second-guess your leadership skills, just push forward and build them.