In partnership with
When the Job Gets Bigger Than Your Experience (and Why That’s Not a Problem)
There’s a moment no one warns you about.
One day, the work feels familiar. You know the tools, the rhythm, the shortcuts. You can tell—almost instantly—when something is off. Then gradually, without ceremony, responsibility expands. New areas appear. New decisions land on your desk. And suddenly, you’re expected to guide work you’ve never personally done.
That feeling of internal resistance—the subtle “wait, how did I get here?”—isn’t confusion. It’s a transition.
Most people who take on more responsibility started as specialists. Deep focus builds confidence early on. It also creates a hidden expectation: that credibility must always come from personal expertise. When that expectation collides with reality, discomfort sets in quickly.
The mistake is assuming that discomfort means something has gone wrong.
Dictate prompts and tag files automatically
Stop typing reproductions and start vibing code. Wispr Flow captures your spoken debugging flow and turns it into structured bug reports, acceptance tests, and PR descriptions. Say a file name or variable out loud and Flow preserves it exactly, tags the correct file, and keeps inline code readable. Use voice to create Cursor and Warp prompts, call out a variable like user_id, and get copy you can paste straight into an issue or PR. The result is faster triage and fewer context gaps between engineers and QA. Learn how developers use voice-first workflows in our Vibe Coding article at wisprflow.ai. Try Wispr Flow for engineers.
In reality, it usually means the role has changed faster than internal identity has adjusted. The work now requires judgment more than execution, context more than mastery, and clarity more than control.
This isn’t a failure of preparation. It’s a normal stage of growth that simply doesn’t get named often enough.
Tips to steady yourself here
Treat discomfort as data, not a verdict. It signals expansion, not incompetence.
Separate “not knowing how to do it” from “not knowing how to guide it.” They are different skills.
Notice where responsibility increased before confidence did—that’s where growth is actually happening.
Why Chasing Expertise Becomes the Wrong Move
When unfamiliar territory shows up, the instinct is predictable: learn everything. Stay sharp. Keep up. Prove relevance.
That instinct feels responsible. It’s also where many capable leaders quietly sabotage themselves.
Trying to stay deeply knowledgeable across every area under your scope creates three problems:
Everything slows down. Decisions are bottlenecked through one person.
Experts feel second-guessed. Autonomy erodes.
Energy gets misallocated. Time spent relearning details crowds out higher-value thinking.
The opposite reaction—stepping away entirely—is just as damaging. Disengagement reads as indifference, even when it’s meant as trust. Teams feel less supported. Risks surface later. Accountability blurs.
The real issue isn’t knowledge. It’s a misunderstanding of what credibility looks like at scale.
Credibility no longer comes from having the best answers. It comes from asking the right questions, creating clarity, and ensuring decisions are made thoughtfully—not heroically.
Tips to avoid the expertise trap
Learn vocabulary and constraints, not implementation details.
Resist the urge to “prove” competence through technical depth.
Measure effectiveness by decision quality and outcomes, not how informed you feel.
File crypto taxes in minutes
Easily import you crypto transactions and file your taxes in minutes with TurboTax, H&R Block, or your own tax professional. Save time and maximize your refund using our crypto tax software.
Get started
The Role Shift No One Explains Clearly
Most roles evolve through a predictable but uncomfortable progression:
Doing the work
Reviewing the work
Designing how the work gets done
Designing the system that produces good decisions
Problems arise when someone stays mentally anchored in the first two stages while operating in the last two.
At a broader scope, value is no longer created by solving problems directly. It’s created by:
Defining what “good” actually means
Making tradeoffs explicit
Clarifying ownership
Surfacing risk early
Aligning incentives so the right decisions happen without constant oversight
Failures at higher levels rarely come from insufficient technical knowledge. They come from fuzzy priorities, silent assumptions, unclear accountability, and systems that reward speed over sound judgment.
The work becomes less visible—but far more consequential.
Tips for operating at the right level
Focus conversations on intent, impact, and risk—not just progress.
Ask who owns outcomes, not just tasks.
Pay attention to how decisions get made when you’re not in the room.
Stop guessing. Start scaling.
See the top-performing Facebook ads in your niche and replicate them using AI. Gethookd shows you what’s actually working so you can increase ROI and scale ad spend with confidence.
The Questions That Actually Matter (Across Any Domain)
Even when the subject matter changes, the most important questions stay surprisingly consistent.
These questions don’t require expertise—they require awareness:
What does success look like here, and who defines it?
What breaks if this goes wrong?
Which risks are being consciously accepted versus ignored?
Are results dependent on heroic effort?
How do small problems become visible before they turn into big ones?
These questions cut through complexity. They reveal whether a system is resilient or fragile, aligned or reactive.
The goal isn’t to direct how work is done. It’s to ensure the environment supports good judgment by the people closest to the details.
That’s where experience transfers—even when subject matter doesn’t.
Tips for asking better questions
Ask fewer questions, but make them count.
Watch how people respond—clarity or defensiveness is a signal.
Revisit these questions regularly; answers drift over time.
Learn AI in 5 minutes a day
This is the easiest way for a busy person wanting to learn AI in as little time as possible:
Sign up for The Rundown AI newsletter
They send you 5-minute email updates on the latest AI news and how to use it
You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI
Trust, Without Disappearing
Trust is not the absence of involvement. It’s the presence of clarity.
Staying engaged without micromanaging requires intention. It means challenging assumptions respectfully, inviting disagreement, and recognizing how positional authority affects conversation.
One overlooked dynamic: when someone with authority offers a suggestion, it often lands as a decision. Without explicitly creating space for dissent, valuable perspectives stay silent.
This matters most when you’re not the expert.
Strong environments make it safe to push back, surface uncertainty, and slow down decisions that need more thought. Weak ones optimize for agreement and speed—and pay for it later.
Over time, leading unfamiliar areas becomes less stressful—not because everything becomes familiar, but because pattern recognition improves. You learn what to zoom into, what to let go of, and where your presence adds the most value.
That’s not detachment. It’s maturity.
Tips for building trust that holds
State when something is a thought, not a directive.
Invite disagreement explicitly—and reward it when it’s thoughtful.
Stay curious, especially in areas that feel least comfortable.
Closing Thought
If the work feels bigger than your past experience, that’s usually not a warning sign. It’s evidence that the role has expanded—and the inner narrative just hasn’t caught up yet.
Growth often feels like exposure before it feels like confidence.
And for someone carrying a lot already, that distinction matters more than it seems.
What’s your next spark? A new platform engineering skill? A bold pitch? A team ready to rise? Share your ideas or challenges at Tiny Big Spark. Let’s build your pyramid—together.
That’s it!
Keep innovating and stay inspired!
If you think your colleagues and friends would find this content valuable, we’d love it if you shared our newsletter with them!
PROMO CONTENT
Can email newsletters make money?
As the world becomes increasingly digital, this question will be on the minds of millions of people seeking new income streams in 2026.
The answer is—Absolutely!
That’s it for this episode!
Thank you for taking the time to read today’s email! Your support allows me to send out this newsletter for free every day.
What do you think for today’s episode? Please provide your feedback in the poll below.
How would you rate today's newsletter?
Share the newsletter with your friends and colleagues if you find it valuable.
Disclaimer: The "Tiny Big Spark" newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only, not a substitute for professional advice, including financial, legal, medical, or technical. We strive for accuracy but make no guarantees about the completeness or reliability of the information provided. Any reliance on this information is at your own risk. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect any organization's official position. This newsletter may link to external sites we don't control; we do not endorse their content. We are not liable for any losses or damages from using this information.