How to Be a Smart Novice and Stop Hurting Yourself and Others
Novelty makes novices of us all.
Every time you try something new, you’re a novice all over again.
Dangers of inexperience:
You thought you understood parenting until you had children. You thought you understood leading until you earned a spot at the table. The inexperienced…
- Think they know when they don’t.
- Under-estimate difficulties.
- Listen to idiots.
- Fail to consider consequences.
Experience is the ability to avoid unnecessary pitfalls while achieving great results. But the naive unintentionally inflict pain on themselves.
False confidence:
When you do something stupid, it hurts.
Inexperience inflicts unnecessary pain on itself and the people around.
The advantage of over-confidence is courage. But a novice’s confidence is based on ignorant optimism.
Confident novices imagine success, ignore the cost of progress, and disregard the pain of failure.
Unintentional failure doesn’t justify unnecessary pain.
How to avoid self-inflicted pain:
Watch your words:
Blowhard novices make fools of themselves and destroy trust, while they stumble off cliffs.
- Express frustration and irritation at the right time and to the right people.
- Learn what others know before talking about what you think you know.
A skillful novice asks questions before making statements. For example…
Who has done this before? What might they know that I should know?
Consider consequences:
Novices love spontaneity and ignore consequences.
- Who are the stakeholders in this initiative? How will this course of action impact stakeholders?
- What unintentional consequences might happen on this course of action?
3 strategies when facing new situations:
Three things protect leaders from unnecessary pain when they’re trying something new.
- Scan the roadway ahead. Look around.
- Choose a speed appropriate for conditions. Adapt when situations change.
- Establish and focus on clear goals and objectives. Avoid distraction.
(Adapted from NSC)
What pitfalls await novice-leaders? (Remember that you’re a novice when you try something new.)
How might leaders overcome the pitfalls of inexperience?
Bonus material:
How New Bosses can Lead without Experience (Fast Company)
The Top 10 Pitfalls of Inexperienced Management Teams (CBS)
Listen to idiots. Ha ha, the more seasoned I get the LESS I listen to idiots and for some reason the easier it is to see, find, and notice them. I believe that “idiot” patterns or attributes exist hence as one sees more and more idiots it becomes much easier to see them through the fog.
Thanks Roger. It’s surprising that a person who fails at something seems to talk with other failures. Perhaps complaining attracts complainers.
A person who is lousy with relationships tends to avoid people who are successful with relationships. Maybe I should say that an arrogant person who is lousy with relationships tends to avoid seeking advice from a person who is good with relationships.
Perhaps a novice’s downfall is seeking comfort and confirmation instead of growth and learning.
We encourage folks to find mentors, without giving them guidance on how to find effective ones. So they end up with mentors who may be someone they are comfortable with but isn’t someone who can help them develop the way they need to. And that mentoring relationship ends up reinforcing their poor behaviors rather than encouraging them to develop better ones.
Someone who would be an effective mentor may also be intimidating. I say this as someone who was once told that my competence was intimidating: newer folks thought to themselves “She makes it look so easy, I could never do it that well, and I don’t want to embarrass myself by asking her questions.” A novice may reach out to someone who seems approachable without realizing that the person is also not successful within the organization.
So true Jennifer…this leads to people being stuck in ‘novice’ behaviours. Are the behaviours of the competent person ‘intimidating’ or is it that the ‘novice’ may feel ‘intimidated’ by their own lack of skills as they may feel vulnerable in an unsafe, bullying or toxic environment?
As a novice, the first time I tried to dock my father’s boat at the gas pier, things didn’t go so well. I realized there were many factors that influence a smooth landing such as the wind, speed of the boat, space-available, angle of the boat etc.
The learning curve–it took multiple experiences, before I got the hang of it.
I think the novice needs to be open, curious, and ask lots of questions. And study what others do.
Thanks Paul. We rent a boat a few times a year, when the weather is sunny. My hands got sweaty reading your comment.
We rented a sailboat and captain for our 25th wedding anniversary. I’m still amazed at how he brought that boat into dock!!
Watching others is a huge help. But of course, you still have to get your hands on the wheel.
Young: How do you make such good decisions?
Old: Experience.
Young: How can I get experience?
Old: Make bad decisions.
Thanks Duane. So much truth there. I’ll add, that learning from the experience of others is less painful than learning from our own experience. I think that’s the point of having mentors and coaches.
Mentors and coaches cost less than the School of Hard Knocks, but both teach experience.
Ask questions of the more experienced before jumping into something?
Thanks Carolyn. I suppose a few questions might help. 🙂
What would you not do?
What have you tried?
What have you learned from experience?
What do you think about my goals and objectives?
Great questions Dan. One more to ask the novice. “What will be the impact or consequence of taking the action you are suggesting?” This gets them thinking about outcomes and if those outcomes are aligned with business goals, objectives, and values.
Being humble in the face of error is certainly a difficult skill, but one that seems to have a lot of benefits if one can accomplish the feat. One thing I had not considered regarding a person’s character when approaching novice tasks, roles, or topics, is how often they are faced with the feeling of lack of experience on a subject. For example, those who face inexperience rarely probably are not as willing to try new things as much since the feeling and/or pain of failing is something they would rather not deal with. However, on the other end, those who face the adversity of inexperience regularly learn to be graceful in the face of defeat or error and, consequently, are usually much more open to trying out new things or exploring new trains of thought. I had never considered how the benefits of understating how to approach a novice situation translate to the business world. Now, I see how a reckless novice can have serious impacts on certain aspects of any business or professional setting, such as the consequences certain actions, or ignorance, can have on stakeholders as you discuss above.
After reflecting on your post, I realize how easily I succumb to some of these novice symptoms as well. The feeling of despair when you make a critical error dude to inexperience is lasting, but the methods to get around it seem clear as long as you can keep a level head, and not be afraid to show your inexperience in a field. Most time I actually prefer being taught by a master in the craft/field rather than learning on my own, it is just the asking and pride that gets in the way, and I think that idea/feeling really resonates with people. It is nice to know this is an issue faced by others, and that putting forth the message that mistakes are alright in the business world as long as you can learn from it and limit its effect on others, is a great motivator.
Thanks ABeermann. It’s enjoyable to watch you reflect on these ideas. It’s funny that we can enjoy learning AND at the same time be reluctant to ask people to teach/help us. I know what that feels like.
I love to learn, but sometimes I’m reluctant to ask a master questions.
Today’s entry sounds like it has maturity written all over it. It’s as though we naturally become more cautious and careful to not repeat the same mistakes or cause repeated pain to ourselves as we age. I most certainly take pride in being “seasoned” among youngsters at my job. Certain things that I think should be common sense sometimes has to be thoroughly explained to some of the younger guys. I guess that’s why common sense is not so common anymore. At any rate, during this next stage of my life, I promise to watch my words, and listen more. Hopefully, wisdom will appear along with that kept promise.
Thanks Tanya. There is a concern about learning from experience. If we aren’t careful we stop trying new things. The basic lesson of experience is don’t do things that hurt. But we may fall into the unhelpful pattern of not trying new things because we may get hurt.
Being new and inexperienced is a difficult thing, but something that we all have to deal with. I would probably argue that inexperience does not necessarily equate to thinking you know when you do not, underestimating difficulties, listening to idiots and failing to consider consequences. It may have the potential to lead to these things but does not have to. As a medical student, I am having to traverse a very, very large realm of my own inexperience. However, as a student in healthcare I understand that my mission is help others and absorb new experiences every day. I try to be sponge and learn as much as I possibly can. There are many challenges in front of me and I do understand the consequence could be someone’s life, but I am still extremely inexperienced.
Confidence in medicine is also another interesting topic. We often talk about the ethical implications of medical students and resident completing their first suturing of a wound. Do you tell the patient? Are you confident in your ability? Is this false confidence considering you have never done this before? If so, should you even be doing it? They are all very difficult questions to answer. I am not sure if I know any of the answers yet. False confidence sounds like a very dangerous thing in medicine but may not be that uncommon. People have to start somewhere, and confidence grows with experience.
As I stated earlier, I try to not overcome my inexperience, but use it to my advantage. I allow myself to be available to others and keep my ears open. I am a sponge to new information and new experiences. I listen and observe those who know better than I do – which is the majority of the people I am surrounded by. Being open to learn new things and aware of your inexperience is the best way to combat it. Like you mention in your post, arrogance and false confidence are some pitfalls of leaders in business as well as healthcare. Stay humble and surround yourself with the right crowd.
Thanks Victoria. Using inexperience as an advantage represents a powerful shift away from the dangers of being a novice.
It’s true. You don’t have to succumb to the dangers of inexperience, but experience shows that we often do.
This post is something that especially has resonated with me. As an aspiring Master of Public Health, I can look at the situation with how Covid-19 is being handled and be quick to judge. Going into my future, and my career it is important for me to consider what my leaders may be going through, and try to understand their choices, so as not to be so harsh with judgement.
Many pitfalls await novices. When trying something new, and trying to gain a skill of any sort, there is sure to be a failure. This failure can take many forms, it can be losing money, falling, making a poor choice. It is from these failures, that one learns to overcome ad prevent these same pitfalls.
Leaders can do several things to prevent failure. One of these things is to try knowing as much as they can about the situation. This also includes assessing each aspect of each choice and mapping out what each choice can entail in the future. Trying to look as forward as one can, can be very important. As you have mentioned with “scanning the road ahead”. I also think this applies to deciding when to make said choice and avoid distractions. Another part I would add in would be to ask for advice, from someone who may have more information than you, in order to make act at the right time and avoid distractions.
Hi Dan,
I hear you- it is difficult to be a beginner at something you thought you understood or could easily do. Being a good beginner (or novice) requires a lot of modesty and you have got to be humble. You’re right though about courage. Courage is important and without it I am sure a lot of us would be too intimidated or scared to try new things.
I personally think the best way to approach ‘being a novice’ is to approach the new situation with humility. Ask questions, and listen to the answers. Do not be too afraid to reach out for help when you need it. I believe as a leader, others will trust you a lot more if you can admit when you are not (yet) qualified for something than if you pretend to be qualified and make a fool of yourself. I believe honest plays a large role in this- we have got to be honest not just with ourselves but with others as well. We all have our strengths and weaknesses and that is okay.
Everybody starts as a beginner- the trick is to be a good and smart beginner. By following the advice you listed here I think any beginner can do so successfully.