Embrace your incompetence: How to use your weaknesses as a launchpad for success
Stop striving for perfection and start embracing your imperfections to achieve warp-speed growth
Welcome to Learn Primitives!
Here's what you'll learn:
Embrace your weaknesses
Prioritize and iterate
Capitalize on your strengths
and much more…
Let’s dive in…
Listen up, because I'm about to drop some truth bombs on you that I wish someone had told me when I was a younger version of myself. I want to talk about something that affects all of us at some point in our careers: low competency. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in your field for years, there will be times when you feel like you're not quite up to par.
Many people will tell you to practice more, follow rules, or study the master. And while those things can certainly help, I believe that there's more to it than that.
Let’s face it, we all start out with a dream of becoming a successful well known designer, but the reality can sometimes be much different. When I first started out as a designer, I had a broad range of interests and wanted to do everything. I thought that being a jack-of-all-trades would make me more marketable and give me more opportunities. However, I soon realized that this was not the case.
Before I became a design lead who help scale a start-up exit for a 100M acquisition to Warner Media, a Design Principal for a $60.5 billion company, and a co-creator of the Shaping Desing podcast, I was brand new. And every time I took on a new role or project, I had to confront my own incompetence.
Here's my approach to overcoming low competency every time:
Self-Audit: Your Reality Check
The first step is, to be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses. Identify the areas where you're struggling, and seek out honest feedback from peers and mentors. This can be tough, but it's essential if you want to improve.
Rank & Conquer: Your Prioritized Attack
Once you know what you need to work on, it's time to prioritize. Focus on the weaknesses that are hindering your projects the most, and forget about perfection. Instead, focus on progress. You can't master everything, but you can make improvements.
Accelerate Learning: Your Rapid Iteration
The key to getting better quickly is to iterate rapidly. Don't be afraid to make mistakes – they're a natural part of the learning process. Embrace calculated risks and make progress, even in areas where you lack expertise.
Get Focused: Your Educational Intent
When it comes to learning, it's important to be focused. Hunt down resources that target your specific needs, and avoid getting lost in generic advice rabbit holes. Try new things, get stuck, learn from your mistakes, and get unstuck.
Capitalize on Strengths: Your Power Move
Finally, don't forget to capitalize on your strengths. Amplify your unique skills and talents, and collaborate or delegate to cover your weak points. Confidence and humility go hand-in-hand.
Remember
Perfection is never the goal
Embrace a warp-speed mindset
Growth thrives on pushing boundaries (and being uncomfortable)
Low competency isn't a roadblock – it's a launchpad. Confront it head-on, and watch your growth reach new heights.
Now get out there and show the world what you're made of.
Pascal & Mitchell
PS: We’ve received such great feedback on our Winning the Interview Game ebook. We feel tremendously blessed to participate and be part of the greater designer community.
PPS: As you all know, we are huge fans of Framer and the community surrounding this product. As you may have seen, we have purchased everythingframer.com as a recognition of our going all in. We have huge plans for you all so please keep your eyes open.
Hey, Mitchell & Pascal here! Thanks for checking out this week’s free edition of the Shaping Design newsletter. We strive to send you the best tips and our very own unique perspective each week. Subscribe to get each article!
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