Initially published on Forbes Oct 24, 2024
You’ve got a presentation to senior management coming up, and you’re already on your 16th revision of the slides to get it just right. That’s what it takes to get ahead, right?
Not anymore.
Simply because there’s no way you can know everything it takes to make it perfect. What you should be doing instead is taking that first revision of your slides on the road to as many people as possible, including some of the people who will be in that management meeting.
Knowledge is power, but in an age where knowledge ages faster than ever, what you knew to be true last year might now be partially or even entirely outdated. In fact, an IBM report reveals that the half-life of skills is shrinking, forcing us to continually refresh what we know. As a result, expecting one person to know it all or present a fully polished solution on any work challenge has become unrealistic. Instead, success is now about who you know that knows, and your ability to engage them in co-creating solutions.
This shift challenges the traditional belief that deep personal expertise and individual accomplishment are the keys to standing out. Professionals are conditioned to polish ideas to perfection before sharing them, believing that presenting half baked ideas might damage their credibility or make them look incompetent. However, this mindset creates a bottleneck, preventing many great ideas from surfacing due to fear of not being “good enough.” This stifles both innovation and career advancement. Even if we understand that feedback is beneficial, by the time we perfect our presentations, we’re often too invested in our ideas to be truly open to suggestions—even valuable ones.
The solution comes in the form of competent humility—the ability to balance confidence in your expertise with openness to change. As Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, a renowned cultural psychologist and behavioral scientist at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, explains, competent humility allows professionals to approach meetings with rough drafts rather than polished, finalized ideas. By doing so, we invite constructive feedback early on, paving the way for true co-creation and stronger outcomes.
Knowledge is Temporary—But Co-Creation Endures
In his keynote at the UNLEASH World Conference, Sanchez-Burks expanded on the mindset of competent humility, emphasizing how acknowledging both what you know and what you don’t is essential in a world where expertise is fragmenting. Successful professionals aren’t intimidated by the limits of their own knowledge; instead, they know who to call, when to bring in new perspectives, and how to align a diverse group toward a shared goal. The art of curating solutions is about shifting from being a singular problem solver to becoming a facilitator of collective success.
The Mindset That Will Help You Stand Out
Co-creation isn’t just about working together—it’s a powerful strategy for career growth. In an age of constant change, leaders increasingly value employees who are adaptable and capable of integrating diverse inputs to refine their ideas. Practicing competent humility allows you to boost innovation, contribute more effectively, and position yourself as someone willing to evolve with the organization. This adaptability not only makes you indispensable but also positions you for career growth as a trusted leader. The following four practices will help you successfully integrate co-creation into your career and develop the skills needed to stand out:
1. Present Rough Ideas Early
Focus on the evolution of ideas, not just the final product. Instead of waiting for an idea to be fully developed, share your rough drafts with trusted colleagues. Encourage feedback at every stage, showing that you value input and are not attached to a specific outcome. This mindset opens the door to diverse insights and leads to a stronger result.
What This Could Look Like: Instead of refining an idea in isolation, sketch out your initial thoughts as “black-on-white” slides—simple, rough outlines without any polish, and keep editing them this way as you meet with stakeholders and team members. Keep your focus on gathering input from stakeholders at every stage and avoid becoming too attached to any single version of the idea until you’ve had the chance to refine it based on feedback.
2. Embrace Input and Feedback
Evolving your ideas through input and feedback does not diminish your expertise—in fact, it enhances it. Your expertise grows through thoughtful discussions about the feedback you gather. Demonstrating that you are willing to learn and evolve your ideas will build respect and trust with your colleagues. The more input you seek, the better your final product will be.
What This Could Look Like: Actively think through the ecosystem of people affected by your idea and seek out their input early—even if you don’t need their explicit approval. For example, if you’re developing a new internal process, bring in stakeholders from the start to gather diverse perspectives. This ensures your solution is more likely to succeed and prevents surprises down the line. When individuals feel that they have had input, they are far more likely to support and champion the final outcome, reducing resistance to change.
3. Build Your Networks
The strength of your network is your key asset. Build relationships across various disciplines, and cultivate connections that encourage mutual knowledge exchange. The best professionals aren’t those who know everything themselves but those who know where to find the answers. Effective curation means recognizing the skills and perspectives needed to solve a problem and bringing those individuals into the conversation.
What This Could Look Like: Intentionally reconnect with former managers or colleagues who can offer fresh insights and help you see your work from a different angle, or reach out to peers from other departments for insights beyond your immediate team’s scope. Strategic networks include people who can provide new perspectives—like someone in finance who offers insight into the business impact of your project, or a colleague from another country sharing a different cultural angle.
4. Widely Share Credit
To effectively engage others, share the process, outcome, and recognition with everyone involved. The broader you share the credit for co-creation, the more willing your network will be to work with you again. Acknowledgment builds goodwill and encourages future collaborations.
What This Could Look Like: When you present the final product, ensure everyone who contributed is acknowledged—whether during team meetings or in formal recognition programs. Publicly crediting others reinforces the value of collaboration and will inspire further cooperation in future projects.
In a workplace that’s changing as rapidly as our collective knowledge, our best approach isn’t to cling to an unrealistic standard of individual perfection. Instead, we must embrace co-creation and competent humility—to acknowledge gaps in our expertise, invite others to fill them, and celebrate the shared journey of innovation. In this age of perpetual transformation, the strongest ideas—and the most successful careers—are built together. So, next time you’re tempted to perfect an idea in isolation, remember that sharing, collaborating, and embracing humility will not only improve the work but also set you apart as an invaluable asset to your team.
