If I had to point out something that has taken away opportunities to learn and grow, from me, I would say: ego. The arrogance of quickly dismissing other points of view, and approaches to problems, due to the assumption that I knew better or simply because of ignorance, prevented me from exploring other paths and experiencing things outside my comfort zone.

I now know better. As a leader, I question more than I answer, I don’t share opinions just because, and I don’t talk about what I don’t truly know and understand. When it comes to making decisions, I try my hardest to give everyone the space to share their thoughts and make sure no idea gets dismissed without being properly analyzed. This I believe is very important, especially when we’re in a position of leadership.

I developed a simple framework to prevent my ego from messing things up: whenever I’m getting together with my teams to decide on something, I continuously ask these simple questions:

1. What’s the problem we’re trying to solve;

2. What the team thinks could be possible solutions and possible impacts of each presented solution (positive and less positive);

3. What solution the team believes should be pursued and implemented.

Note that none of those questions is to be answered by me but by the team. I only guide and steer how the analyses are made, making questions and ensuring every angle is looked upon with the same measure. That’s influence: ultimately, the team might get to the solution I probably knew would be best.

Sometimes, new and unexpected solutions arise, and we all grow!