Two Ways to Skip Ahead
When I was younger and new to running things, I wanted a shortcut. Everyone does. You watch someone who seems to have it figured out and you think, if I just copy what they do, I will get there faster.
Some shortcuts work. Some just feel like they do, until you are three years in and realize you built nothing that holds up.
The Shortcut That Does Not Work: Copying a Style
Early on, I tried to lead the way I saw other people lead. Firm voice. Fast decisions. Never explain yourself twice. It looked efficient from the outside, so I assumed it would work if I just did it too.
It did not, because it was not mine. People can tell when you are performing a version of leadership instead of actually leading. Decisions made in a borrowed style tend to be slower to trust, not faster, because the people around you are reading you for consistency and not finding it.
The tell was small at first. I would say something the way I thought a decisive leader should say it, and then quietly walk it back a few days later because it did not actually reflect what I thought. That is expensive. It costs you credibility in installments, and you do not notice until the balance is gone.
The Shortcut That Works: Borrowing Judgment, Not Delivery
Here is the version that actually saves time. Instead of copying how someone leads, I ask how they decided what they decided. What did they weigh? What did they ignore? What would have changed their mind?
That is a different question than “what would they do.” It gets you their reasoning, which you can adapt, instead of their style, which you cannot.
I still do this. If I am unsure about a decision, I do not ask myself what a confident CEO would say. I ask what I actually think is true here, and whether I have enough information to say it plainly. Sometimes the honest answer is that I need another week. That used to feel like a failure of leadership. Now I think it is the opposite. Waiting on purpose, out loud, is a decision too.
Where the Two Get Confused
The reason this shortcut is easy to get wrong is that judgment and delivery look similar from a distance. A confident tone can come from real conviction or from nothing at all. You cannot always tell which one you are looking at until the decision is tested.
So test it on yourself before you copy it. If you are about to say something the way you have seen someone else say it, stop and ask whether you would still say it that way if no one were watching how you said it. If the answer is yes, it is probably yours. If the answer is no, you are borrowing a costume, not a skill.
What This Looks Like in Practice
I try to build in a pause before decisions that matter, even a short one. Not because I doubt myself, but because the pause is where the borrowed version and the real version separate. The borrowed version wants to sound right immediately. The real version can sit with not being sure for a minute.
I also ask people I trust what they noticed, not what they think I should do. Those are different requests. “What should I do” invites someone else’s style. “What did you notice” gives me material I can turn into my own judgment.
The Actual Shortcut
If there is a real shortcut in leadership, it is this: skip the phase where you try to sound like someone else, and go straight to figuring out what you actually think. It feels slower because it involves more uncertainty up front. It is faster in the long run because you only have to build your judgment once. A style has to be maintained forever. Judgment just has to be honest.