Looking “in control” often comes at the expense of seeking truth and thinking clearly. Understand why this happens and consider a wiser way to operate, while still managing the optics you must manage.
It all comes down to checking your ego at the door before walking in. The look and need to be in control is derived from ego. Remove ego, and this mindset shift of a full cup to a 3/4 cup becomes drastically easier.
The “¾-full cup” idea is gold: confident enough to lead, but with enough space left to learn. A “full cup” is like a brilliant flashlight aimed at your own face - lots of light, zero visibility. Staying a little empty isn’t weakness; it’s how you avoid becoming “always right” and slowly less accurate.
"Being a ¾-full cup instead of pretending to be a full one" - is a very practical mental model to stay confident about what you know while still making deliberate space for other people’s ideas, input, and data to reshape your thinking.
I recently moved into a new role. After being in the same seat for a long time, my cup had gotten pretty full. Thankfully, it's half empty again as I focus on problems I know little or nothing about.
“Once, a university professor went to visit a well-respected Zen Master to learn about Zen.
The Master first invited him to sit for a cup of tea. The professor sat down and started talking about Zen.
The Master quietly prepared and poured the tea. When the tea was filled to the cup's brim, he kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself.
"It's full! No more will go in!" blurted the professor.
"The same with your mind. How can I teach you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" 🫖
Combining this with the Dunning-Kruger effect will yield the best results. I'm currently in a valley of despair, making my cup seem barely a quarter full. However, something else has happened along the way: my tiny cup has now transformed into a much larger jug.
Be curious without an agenda rather than asking "what can this get me?"
The more curious we become, the more the size of our cup expands, emptying up more space in it for what really matters.
It all comes down to checking your ego at the door before walking in. The look and need to be in control is derived from ego. Remove ego, and this mindset shift of a full cup to a 3/4 cup becomes drastically easier.
The “¾-full cup” idea is gold: confident enough to lead, but with enough space left to learn. A “full cup” is like a brilliant flashlight aimed at your own face - lots of light, zero visibility. Staying a little empty isn’t weakness; it’s how you avoid becoming “always right” and slowly less accurate.
I really appreciate the way you've broken this concept down. Super relevant to all managers and leaders looking to continuously grow.
"Being a ¾-full cup instead of pretending to be a full one" - is a very practical mental model to stay confident about what you know while still making deliberate space for other people’s ideas, input, and data to reshape your thinking.
I recently moved into a new role. After being in the same seat for a long time, my cup had gotten pretty full. Thankfully, it's half empty again as I focus on problems I know little or nothing about.
It’s like in the Zen story of the cup of tea:
“Once, a university professor went to visit a well-respected Zen Master to learn about Zen.
The Master first invited him to sit for a cup of tea. The professor sat down and started talking about Zen.
The Master quietly prepared and poured the tea. When the tea was filled to the cup's brim, he kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself.
"It's full! No more will go in!" blurted the professor.
"The same with your mind. How can I teach you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" 🫖
Reaffirmation of quote "stay hungry, stay foolish" unquote 🙂 Thank you, Shreyas
Combining this with the Dunning-Kruger effect will yield the best results. I'm currently in a valley of despair, making my cup seem barely a quarter full. However, something else has happened along the way: my tiny cup has now transformed into a much larger jug.