pairing leadership with humility

I see myself as leading a team of experts and equals, and I hire people who know more than I do in their domains. Rather than dictating how each person must work, I give them goals I know are right for the business and then let them figure out how to achieve them. I’ve been surprised by the creative solutions my team finds, often with minimal input from me. My role is to lead and to orchestrate, not to try and do everyone’s jobs for them. By pairing leadership with humility, I avoid micromanagement.

Michael Quoc, Product.ai

As quoted in "38 leaders on balancing confidence with humility," by the FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD. Fast Company. October 19, 2026

saying so cost me nothing

Early on, people mistook my intensity for aggression. That feedback reshaped how I lead, though it never lowered my conviction. A team can’t follow someone who won’t commit to a position. So, I take the position and say it plainly. Then I ask who sees it differently, and I mean it. I’ve been wrong in front of my team more than once and saying so cost me nothing. What costs you is defending a call everyone in the room already knows is bad. If nobody pushes back, I haven’t built the right room.

Trent Cotton, ICIMS

As quoted in "38 leaders on balancing confidence with humility," by the FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD. Fast Company. October 19, 2026

let's figure it out together

I think good leadership requires being confident about where you’re going while remaining curious about how you’ll get there. I’m comfortable saying, “I don’t know. Let’s figure it out together,” because the best ideas usually emerge when people feel empowered to bring their own expertise and perspective to the conversation. Confidence creates momentum, but humility leaves room for something better than the idea you started with.

Thom White, Work Program Architects

As quoted in "38 leaders on balancing confidence with humility," by the FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD. Fast Company. October 19, 2026

you don’t have all the answers, and you don’t need to

Confidence comes from deep expertise and the discipline of proving you can execute through complex challenges. Humility is realizing you don’t have all the answers, and you don’t need to. Sustained high-performance demands that you step out of your comfort zone as a leader, embrace the discomfort of learning new skills, and keep evolving. Lead with conviction in your preparation and skills but stay humble enough to keep learning and adapting.

Jani Hirvonen, Google

As quoted in "38 leaders on balancing confidence with humility," by the FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD. Fast Company. October 19, 2026

the Venn diagram of confidence and humility

In the Venn diagram of confidence and humility, the overlapping section is curiosity. Ask yourself: What do I know to be true—and what might I be missing? Then find pleasure in that gap. The surprise of being wrong shouldn’t scare you; it should be a delight. No one has all the answers, and holding on to the idea that you do keeps you stuck and prevents progress.

Tia Katz, Hu-X

As quoted in "38 leaders on balancing confidence with humility," by the FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD. Fast Company. October 19, 2026