"Faking It Until You Make It" Won't Get You Far

Years ago, I was assigned a customer service group frequently described by others in the organization as "Santa's misfits." Obviously unclear on what that meant, I later learned that most of this "misfit" staff were considered challenging to manage, poor performers, and/or had very poor attitudes. Some even felt they were doing the company a favor by showing up to work every day. They were the employees who other managers sought out the first opportunity to pass off to someone else.

Being new to the organization and eager to learn as much as I could about the culture, the staff, and the organization, I sought the advice of a peer. Her advice to me was these six little words: “Fake it until you make it.” Not the advice I would have expected. She went on to explain that if a staff member came to me with a question I didn't immediately know the answer to, it would be better to pretend I knew the answer than to give the impression I didn't know. She said in meetings it is better to agree with what others are saying and go with the flow instead of having an opinion; an opinion would lead to extra work for me. When I spoke to her about things I thought would make us more effective, she told me I shouldn't try to implement change because then it would be expected of me. And lastly, she said if other departments come to me and ask for my help, it is better to put them off because once they knew they could depend on me, they would continue coming to me for everything.

Looking back, I am glad and feel very fortunate she chose to pass along her words of wisdom to me. Her advice helped me become a better leader by learning what not to do. But the most important lesson I took away from this? In leadership faking it until you make it won't get you very far.