I used to think 'fake it till you make it' was terrible advice, now I'm not so sure

For years I told people to just be honest about what you don't know, but after watching a coworker bluff his way into a project lead role and actually learn on the job, I started questioning my stance. He had zero experience with crew scheduling but somehow figured it out in 3 months, and his team respected him more for it. Has anyone else seen this approach actually work out long term, or did it backfire on someone you know?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa58d ago

You said he "actually figured it out in 3 months" which is kind of the whole catch. Most people who fake it don't have that kind of drive or ability. I've seen way more cases where someone bluffs into a role, then spends every day panicking and passing the buck to others. That project lead you mentioned sounds like an exception, not the rule. I'd still lean towards honesty because faking it can blow up bad if you're not a quick learner or the job is actually dangerous.

loganl228d ago

Wait, hold up @lisa5 you're really saying most people who fake it just panic and pass the buck? I mean, that's wild to me. I've got this buddy who totally lied his way into a coding job last year, dude didn't even know basic HTML, but he somehow just Googled his way through the first few weeks and now he's legit running the team. Not saying you're wrong, just my experience has been way different with people who bluff hard enough.