Empowerment Is a System, Not a Slogan
Empowering your team isn't about saying the right things—it's about building the right systems. Approach empowerment as a design challenge.
Engineering Leader
How I Broke the Loop
Nicolas Cava
Edited onEdited on Jul 29, 2025
Reading timeReading time: 1 minute
After my layoff, my confidence took a hit. I wasn't just uncertain—I was frozen.
Perfectionism crept back in. I kept circling around ideas, planning, overthinking. Telling myself, "Just a little more prep, then I'll act."
But that moment never came. And it wouldn't—because I was stuck in an infinite loop. One that felt safe but slowly drained my momentum.
The breakthrough? I forced myself to act while being maybe 20% prepared. That first step was uncomfortable. But it broke the loop.
20% became 40. Then 60. Confidence didn't come before action. It followed it.
That's the thing about perfectionism—it feels like control, but it's actually paralysis. Action is the antidote.
If you're waiting to be ready, stop. Start. Move. Even just a little. It's how you build yourself back.
What's one thing you could act on today—even if you're only 20% ready?
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