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I started martial arts this year.
I’m 6 years into my business, and it’s been that long since I started from scratch with something new.
Who knew there were so many wrong ways to throw a punch? It took 2 months just to grasp some basics. I’m frustrated most weeks. Awkward all of them.
And then something clicks — and that moment feels amazing. Even if it’s with just one move.
And my experience sparks something I’ve seen: high performers don’t often like starting from zero.
When you’re young, no one expects you to know. But later in your career, you’ve built expertise. You’re the capable one. The trusted one.
"I am still learning."
And it feels good to be knowledgeable. So choosing to begin again can feel like going backwards.
There’s an explanation for this: Your brain loves certainty. Being known as the capable one is a form of safety, and beginning again puts that safety at risk.
So the threat you’re feeling is real.
And here’s what makes this a leadership problem rather than a hobby problem: every time your leadership expands, you’re a beginner again.
New room. New stakeholders. New level where the old expertise doesn’t carry you.
The people who move through those moments aren’t the ones who feel less awkward. They’re the ones who’ve practiced being bad at something recently enough to recognize the feeling, and stay in it.
That’s why I highlight this with clients: practice being a beginner somewhere it doesn’t cost you anything. In an employee resource group, in a new hobby or sport.
Let yourself be bad at something. Stay when it feels awkward. Notice the progress, not the pride.
You are not too experienced to start. You are not too established to stretch.
Leadership is always learning.
“I am still learning.”
Michelangelo,
Italian sculptor and painter
