LinkedIn can sometimes make us believe that everyone else has it figured out. The perfect career. The perfect leadership style. The perfect strategy. The perfect results.
We scroll through success stories and achievements and can quietly start comparing our own messy, uncertain journeys to someone else’s highlight reel.
The problem is that many of us have confused doing our best with being the best. And they are not the same thing.
The Trap of “Being the Best”
From an early age, many of us are encouraged to compete. Be the best student. Be the top performer. Get the highest score. Win the promotion. Be the expert in the room.
While striving for excellence can be positive, constantly trying to be the best creates a problem. There can only ever be one “best” at any given moment, and the definition often keeps changing. If our sense of worth is tied to being the best, we spend much of our lives feeling like we are falling short. We become afraid of making mistakes. Reluctant to ask for help. Less willing to try something new. And more focused on protecting our reputation than growing our capability.
The Power of Doing Your Best
Doing your best is different. Doing your best means showing up with the knowledge, skills, energy and resources you have available today. It means being committed to learning. Being willing to experiment. Being open to feedback. Being prepared to fail and try again. Most importantly, it means recognising that your best today may look very different from your best next year.
That is not failure. That is growth.
Growth Happens Through Imperfection
Every meaningful piece of learning starts with not knowing. Every skilled facilitator was once nervous in front of a group. Every leader was once leading for the first time. Every changemaker has experienced moments of uncertainty, self-doubt and failure.
Growth rarely happens when things are comfortable. It happens when we stretch ourselves into new territory, take risks, reflect on what happened and adjust. The people who make the greatest contribution are often not those who know all the answers. They are the people who remain curious enough to keep asking questions.
Why Growth Mindset Matters
A growth mindset invites us to see ability, leadership and impact as things that can be developed rather than fixed. Instead of asking “Am I good enough?” we start asking “What can I learn?” Instead of saying “I’m not good at this.” we start saying “I’m not good at this yet.”
That small shift changes everything. It encourages resilience over perfection. Learning over judgement. Progress over comparison.
When we adopt a growth mindset, challenges become opportunities rather than threats. Feedback becomes a gift rather than criticism. Mistakes become sources of insight rather than evidence of failure.
What This Means at Collaborate Out Loud
At Collaborate Out Loud, we are far more interested in learning than appearing perfect.
One of our core principles is to work out loud. That means sharing ideas before they are fully formed. Testing approaches. Reflecting openly. Learning in public. Celebrating what works. Talking honestly about what doesn’t.
We do not believe meaningful change comes from having all the answers. We believe it comes from creating spaces where people can learn, connect, reflect and grow together.
Whether we are supporting community leaders, facilitating conversations, developing partnerships or helping organisations navigate complexity, our role is rarely to be the smartest people in the room. Our role is to help create the conditions where collective intelligence can emerge.
Where people feel safe enough to ask questions. Safe enough to challenge assumptions. Safe enough to admit they do not know. And safe enough to keep learning.
Progress Over Perfection
The challenges facing our communities, organisations and systems are too complex for any individual to solve alone. They require experimentation. Collaboration. Curiosity. A willingness to learn as we go.
That is why we believe progress matters more than perfection. Because perfection often keeps us stuck. Progress keeps us moving. The person who takes a first imperfect step will usually travel further than the person waiting for the perfect plan.
A Final Thought
You do not need to be the best. You do not need to know everything. You do not need to have all the answers before you start. You simply need to be willing to show up, contribute, learn and grow. Doing your best is not about outperforming everyone else. It is about becoming a little better than you were yesterday.
And when enough people commit to learning, growing and working out loud together, remarkable things can happen.
The goal is not to be the best. The goal is to keep becoming better.
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