There’s a quiet truth many of us carry in public service, community work, and social innovation: we are often waiting to feel ready. Ready to speak. Ready to lead. Ready to try something different.
But what if readiness is overrated?
What if the work that matters most, the work that shifts systems, builds trust, and brings people with us is almost always accompanied by doubt?
This is a call to do it scared, do it anyway.
The Myth of Confidence in Leadership
We’ve inherited a model of leadership that prizes certainty. Leaders are expected to have answers, to project control, to move fast and decisively. But the reality, especially in public services and community-led change, is messier.
- The problems are complex.
- The stakes are human.
- The “right” answer is rarely obvious.
Waiting for perfect clarity often means standing still. And in that stillness, opportunities to connect, to learn, and to act pass us by.
Doing it scared doesn’t mean being reckless. It means being honest that courage often comes after action, not before it.
Doing Things Differently (Even When It Feels Uncomfortable)
If we’re serious about doing things differently, really differently then we have to accept that it will feel unfamiliar. It might look like:
- Inviting communities into decision-making before we feel fully prepared
- Sharing early ideas rather than polished strategies
- Letting go of ownership and embracing shared leadership
- Admitting “we don’t know” and creating space to learn together
These acts can feel exposing. They challenge traditional hierarchies, timelines, and expectations. And yet, they’re where the magic happens. Because difference in perspective, in voice, in approach is where better solutions are born.
The Power of Collaborating Out Loud
At the heart of doing it scared is a simple but radical idea, that of collaborating out loud. Not performatively. Not perfectly. But genuinely. This means:
- Sharing as you go — the thinking, the tensions, the unfinished work
- Creating space for others — to shape, challenge, and build alongside you
- Amplifying voices — especially those not always heard
- Being generous — with ideas, credit, and opportunity
The principles of collaborating out loud remind us to build trust, nurture community, and learn from difference not as an add-on, but as the way we work. When we work this way, something shifts.
Leadership becomes less about having all the answers, and more about opening up the questions. Innovation becomes less about one breakthrough idea, and more about collective momentum. Change becomes less about delivery, and more about relationship.
Public Services and the Courage to Be Seen
Public services are under enormous pressure. Targets, resources, scrutiny, all real, all demanding. But within that, there is a huge opportunity. What if leaders in public services felt able to say:
- “We’re trying something new, come and shape it with us.”
- “This didn’t work, here’s what we learned.”
- “We don’t have all the answers, let’s figure it out together.”
This kind of openness is often seen as risk. In reality, it is trust-building.
Communities don’t expect perfection. But they do recognise authenticity. They value being invited in, not managed from afar. Doing it scared in this context means choosing transparency over protection, connection over control.
Communities and Social Innovators: Already Leading the Way
In many ways, communities and social innovators are ahead of the curve.They are:
- Testing ideas in real time
- Building informal networks alongside formal systems
- Sharing learning openly
- Creating spaces where people feel seen and heard
They often don’t have the luxury of waiting for perfect conditions. They act because the need is now. There is so much to learn here about courage, about collaboration, and about the power of doing.
A Gentle Challenge
If you’re reading this as a leader, practitioner, or change-maker, here’s a simple invitation. What’s one thing you’re holding back on because it feels uncomfortable or uncertain?
- A conversation you’ve been avoiding
- An idea you haven’t shared
- A different way of working you want to try
What would it look like to take a small step towards it, even if you feel scared? Not alone, but out loud. Because when we share the work as it unfolds, we create space for others to step in, to support, to challenge, to co-create. And that’s where real change begins.
Doing it scared isn’t a weakness. It’s a sign that you’re doing something that matters. In a world that often rewards certainty, choosing openness, collaboration, and difference is an act of leadership. So let’s go first. Let’s share as we go. Let’s build with others. And let’s do it scared, together.
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