#rhaitalks 18 — Humble enough to say I don’t know
Surely — we’re always fresh from the oven! A fresh metaphor for what we feel today. And this is why I learned how to switch my mindset at work.
“Fresh from the oven” — that would be the perfect metaphor for what we feel every day in big techs. I came back from vacation today. I feel so dumb and lazy! My inbox is full of things that I should undertake again shortly. I do not know everything that is happening, and this is okay. I kept quiet during the meetings instead. Listening is key when you had no idea what to do! And I had so much to ask, still. I do not know how many times I had to pivot since I was 18. At work, in personal life, in relationships, on trips, in neighborhoods. And I kind of struggle a bit still — when questions tend to have no answers during a client meeting. Woot?
Human beings tend to be very intolerant to puzzles that are not finished. Life is a living puzzle, with different work paces. Come on. No more impostor syndrome! Different backgrounds. Polyglot team. Multicultural peers. Yes, a language changes the way we perceive things, the way we understand everything. People are not like us, and I do not know everything after my MBA. I am not the best product manager in the world. Map facial expressions. Map eyebrow raised. Map introvert smiles instead. The thing is we should be mindful when someone suspiciously nods their head. They may be struggling to say: I don’t know. Assuming you will know everything people ask is b*. Don’t play the fool because there are thousands of things out of your control. Check in on your peers, ping them on Slack. Check if the political or organizational structure allows you to shine, to grow as a professional. Too many battles to fight? Choose those you set yourself for success.
Normal life is made of low standards, and I am sure this is not what will make you shine, buddy! I spent years digesting that my university classes wouldn’t help me with 50% of my future work responsibilities. I was so d* right! My previous companies and self-knowledge helped me to move on. And this is okay. I learned Product Management by covering cross-functional discipline gaps. I learned soft skills by taking a deep breath on the toilet. Overall, you can be pretty smart and keep making minor mistakes every day. At least, life's purpose is to keep learning. Life will be about 70% sweat, dude.
Respect your learning curve, respect you don’t know everything. I worked at Netflix LATAM for one year and confess I made minor mistakes every day. For a perfectionist, this would be a shame. On the other hand, that was the company I made more questions at daily. In theory, big techs should hire us for knowing stuff, makes sense? The culture of Wells/Not Wells (such a retrospective artifact) there was highly appreciated and openly shared in a Memo Gdoc with those unicorns after a project was wrapped up. It made me think as a unicorn, I guess. Incremental growth and pivoting are real.
Now at Huge, I still raise my hand to make sure people answer my dumb questions during a meeting. We shouldn’t be afraid. We shouldn’t feel guilty for not knowing everything 24/7. How many people did you admire with so many fewer years of “education” or “experience” than you? Our peers are buddies we should count on, not opponents. Go join a meeting! Count on the leads, count on your horizontal and cross-functional efforts. People. Hands. Brains. Skills. Years of experience count too! Although maturity and knowledge are not something you buy at the market. I don’t know is just another phrase you should be applying more today. Don’t pressure yourself to be the go-to person every time. It demands too much energy from your overcapacity brain.
*This article is part of an internal series called “Fresh from the oven” at Huge Colombia. Thanks, Alberth Gomez — for the ninja proofreading, as usual.
Text by Rhaissa V.
Likes raising her hand during meetings. Been reading about mental health, mentorship, strategy, and communities. Works as a Senior Product Manager at Huge Inc, on behalf of Google — WFH from Brazil for 2 weeks after one MTO (Minimum Time Off) Week.
