You may be sacrificing excellence for growth

I’ve worked with bosses who literally install confidence in you. They throw you into things you’ve never done, tell you you can do it—and somehow, you figure it out. Errors and fixes along the way, but you get it done.

And I’ve been that boss too. ‘Belief in potential’ is a core value for me. But I’ve learned to refine it, thanks to conversations with my friend and co-director at FourthCanvas, Tunji Ogunoye.

Because there’s indeed a blind spot in that mindset: yes, you’ll grow the muscle of the inexperienced. But the output often suffers if all you do is believe in them.

While things improve over time, there’s a need to obsess today over pushing every output as far as it can go.

This brings balance. Believe in potential, yes, but combine it with structure: a conscious system of learning, an attached mentor with expertise, or collaboration with someone tested and proven.

If all you say is “yes you can,” results will suffer for too long before they get good. And that’s real people (clients, users) suffering avoidable gaps because of your exclusive belief in potential.

PS. This applies to self-belief too. Don’t just trust yourself. Doubt yourself a little, and involve experienced people to reduce gaps. That’s a truer commitment to excellence.