Dumb Leadership Mistakes I've Made

Leaders often repeat the same avoidable mistakes, and the article gives concrete language to recognize them before they cost the organization. It starts by calling out the habit of dismissing intuition, which is really a rapid synthesis of years of experience. The author explains that intuition should be made visible-show your work, note the cues you observed, and define how you'll know you're right.

The piece then pulls apart the myth of being "data-driven". Many leaders claim data-driven decision making while lacking access to reliable data or the muscles to act on it. The author advises honesty about when decisions are based on vision instead of data, and warns that pretending to be data-driven erodes trust.

Another mistake is trying to be the smartest person in the room rather than making the team smarter. By solving problems yourself, leaders steal growth opportunities from their reports and keep others dependent on jargon. The article urges leaders to explain concepts clearly, aim for their peers to understand, and let them build independence.

Finally, the author highlights two blind spots: waiting too long to bring in specialists and forgetting that an engineering leader is also a business leader. Hiring project-based experts can save time, and framing decisions in product and business impact aligns engineering leadership with broader company goals.