I Got It Wrong. That’s When I Started Leading Right.

One misstep with my team taught me more about real leadership than any successful launch ever could.

Jan 20, 2025

Green Fern
Green Fern

I had good intentions. That’s the part I keep coming back to. I wasn’t trying to control the process or shut anyone down. I thought I was helping. I thought I was making space for the team to move faster, think clearer, stay focused.

But I was wrong.

We were in the early stages of a high-pressure project. Big expectations, lots of visibility, and a real sense of urgency. Everyone was moving fast. Decisions needed to be made. And I noticed we were circling the same conversations again and again. So I stepped in.

I reframed the brief. I mapped out some possible directions. I cleaned up our board. And I did it all without really asking the team what they needed.

That’s where I slipped.

In my head, I was being proactive — a good lead, clearing the fog. But from the outside, I was steering without alignment. Shaping direction without bringing people with me. I wasn’t just moving fast — I was moving ahead. And it showed.

One of my teammates reached out privately and said something that stuck: “It feels like you’re solving for us before we’ve had a chance to solve together.”

That landed hard.

I sat with it for a while. And then I asked for time in our next sync to talk about it. No slides, no explanations. Just me owning it. I told them what I was trying to do, how it probably came across, and that I wanted to reset — with them, not for them.

It changed everything.

The dynamic shifted. People opened up. We started building shared context again. The tension I didn’t even fully realize I had caused started to ease. And we moved forward — slower, maybe, but better.

That moment taught me something I didn’t fully understand before: leadership isn’t about having the answers early. It’s about asking the right questions at the right time — and knowing when to get out of the way.

I still care about clarity and momentum. But I care even more about trust. And now I know that the fastest way to lose it is by trying to lead without listening.

Vahan Kirakosyan

Product designer

If you like what you see or have any questions, feel free to send me an email anytime.

Vahan Kirakosyan

Product designer

If you like what you see or have any questions, feel free to send me an email anytime.

Vahan Kirakosyan

Product designer

If you like what you see or have any questions, feel free to send me an email anytime.

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Los Angeles

Available for work

Let’s create something great together.

I'm not just here to design products; I'm here to connect with people.

Available for work

Let’s create something great together.

I'm not just here to design products; I'm here to connect with people.