There was a time when you had everything to prove. The world was a virgin territory, your energy an inexhaustible fuel and each decision a potentially glorious earthquake. Today you are a manager. You have titles, reports to read, meetings to endure. Certitudes have settled, cozy. And this is where the trap lies: the comfort of certainties kills audacity.
Do you remember the first time you have led, even a small team? From this mixture of fear and fascination, the feeling that each gesture had and could change everything? Imagine now find this posture, but with twenty, thirty, sometimes forty years of career behind you. Impossible, will you tell me? And yet, that’s exactly what the world requires today.
Certainties: a slow but silent poison
Nothing kills the creativity of an organization more than the belief that “We already know”. Certitudes, as comfortable as they are, are invisible channels. They transform leaders into administrators and creators into technocrats. A winning strategy of yesterday can become a golden prison tomorrow.
Take the example of large technological companies that reigned in their market, convinced that their formula was indestructible. Kodak thought that dandruff would remain eternal. Nokia believed that design and robustness would be enough to dominate the future of the mobile. And yet … we all know how history has been written. Because these leaders had forgotten the wonder of the first day, they forgot to ask themselves the angry questions: “What if everything changed? What if I was wrong?”
Successful leaders are not those who accumulate certainties, but those who cultivate the ability to doubt, constantly. Doubt is not weakness, it is a muscle. And like any muscle, if you do not train it, it atrophies.
Return to the first day: the astonishment method
To relearn to direct is to accept to become a novice again. It starts with a simple but terribly uncomfortable practice: voluntary astonishment. Every day, question your professional universe with new eyes. Ask naive questions: “Why do we really do that?” »»,, “What would happen if we left zero?” »»,, “What do I don’t know that I should know?” »»
The leader who doubts a climate where doubt becomes an engine, not a threat. The teams feel this authenticity. They allow themselves to question, to experiment, to propose crazy ideas. This is how true innovation emerges, that which is not limited to a cosmetic update of the existing.
Imagine: you enter your office tomorrow, and you ask this simple question to your managers: “If we were a start-up that has only existed for six months, what would we do differently?” »» The realism shock could be brutal, but it is necessary. This is where the magic of the first day begins.
Fear as fuel
We cannot relearn how to direct without reconnecting with fear. Fear is the signal that you are still alive. Fear is the fuel of daring decisions. It is what the too comfortable leaders never have: the thrill of the unknown.
However, in our modern companies, we have transformed fear into taboo. We have built organizations like fortresses, aligned kpi like shields, and stacked meetings to anesthetize vertigo. Result ? Leaders who no longer feel the urgency, and teams that follow a mechanical rhythm.
To relearn to direct is to accept that each decision can be a leap into the void. It is to wake up every morning with the idea that failure is possible – and that it is exactly what makes each success memorable.
Questioning rituals
Doubt should not be a passenger state. He must become a ritual. And like any ritual, he asked for discipline and courage. Here are some practices that you can adopt today to reintroduce uncertainty in your leadership:
1/ Change perspective: Discuss with your customers, suppliers, or even strangers. Listen to voices that are not part of your usual ecosystem. You will be surprised by the quantity of ignored truths.
2/ The “filter without filter”: After each project, ask not what worked, but what failed, and why no one alerted before.
3/ Experiment without net: Launch small initiatives where the risk is real and visible. Observe, learn, adjust. Experience is worth more than all certainties.
4/ Break the routine: Change the environment, change the order of priorities, reinvent daily rituals. The novelty sharpens curiosity.
These practices are not trivial. They are a constant reminder that your leadership is not an achievement, but a living art.
Humility as a super-power
There is a paradox that few leaders accept: real power is born from humility. Humility is not synonymous with weakness; It is the ability to recognize that we do not know everything, and that every day offers a new lesson.
The most respected leaders in recent history are not those who have accumulated titles, but those who have kept this thirst to learn. They ask questions, they listen, and above all, they are openly mistaken without fear of losing their stature.
Humility brings together the teams. When collaborators perceive that their ideas truly influence the course, their commitment is tenfold. Adaptability requires this inclusion, which becomes an essential strategic lever.
Rethink failure
If you really want to direct as on the first day, you have to change your relationship with failure. Startups know this: each setback is a teaching, each error a springboard. Traditional companies tend to sanctuarize success and demonize failure. The result? A culture of fear and inaction.
Adopting the mentality of the first day means making failure an ally. Install rituals that analyze, share and celebrate failure as a source of learning. Transform errors into stories of courage and experimentation. Your teams will be inspired naturally, and innovation will eventually irrigate each action.
The leader as an explorer
To relearn to direct is to become an explorer again. Far from certainties, far from the routines, far from the Excel paintings which give the illusion of mastery. It is to accept that the company is not a frozen ship but an ocean in motion, and that you are both captain and navigator.
Every day, ask yourself this question: “If I was confronted with all of this for the first time, what would I do differently?” »» And above all, listen to the answer. It could be uncomfortable, risky, destabilizing … Exactly what you need.
