The Learner’s Edge — Turning Uncertainty into Leadership Strength

It’s uncomfortable to be the least experienced person in the room. Green. New. Uncertain. Sometimes even a little… dumb.

That was me for much of my career.

I belonged to the nurse “float pool,” which meant that even though I was clinically strong and good at handling people or crises, I was constantly dropped into environments where I wasn’t the most skilled. In the ICU, I was often the least equipped to handle the complexity of my patients. As a PCU nurse, I knew my stuff—but compared to ICU staff, I was “the new kid” all over again. Even when I was working at the hospital where I “grew up,” I still felt like a newcomer.

Travel nursing took that feeling further. Every three or six months, I was completely green again. New systems. New expectations. New cultures. That cycle forced me to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. It also forced me to embrace my own newness.

At first, that embarrassed me. I have a quick mind and natural pride, and I wanted to be the expert everywhere I went. Instead, I kept becoming “jack of all trades, master of none.” That label stung. It felt like I would never fully settle anywhere.

But I remembered someone early in my career who challenged my perspective.

In my first year of nursing, I worked with a man whispered about as the highest-paid bedside nurse in the hospital. He had been there nearly two decades and was the definition of versatility — ICU. ER. Med-Surg. Cath lab. House supervisor. Decon team. He could step into any role, any unit, and carry it with excellence.

His secret? He told me it helped him never get involved in drama. He simply made things better wherever he went. He happily collected certifications, training, and competencies, not because he was climbing a ladder, but because he wanted to bring value. He told me he was just as content floating between three departments in a day as he was staying in one unit for a month. Administration knew he would never do more than was possible in twelve hours, but they trusted him to give great care anywhere he landed.

He became a hero for me. I wanted to be a minute man like him—ready for whatever came my way.

Later, a threatened boss told me I’d never move into leadership because I “cared too much about money.” That stung, too. Yes, I enjoyed the higher paycheck of float pool and extra shifts—but that wasn’t the driver. What I admired about my mentor wasn’t his paycheck, it was his value. He could walk into any space and make things better. That was the teammate I wanted to become.

Ironically, I had to leave that organization to step into leadership (she promised to block me if I tried). For a long time, I worried that my restless float pool and travel nurse background would limit me as a leader. Instead, it has become my greatest strength.

Those years of being the least experienced person in the room gave me a learner’s mindset. They taught me to look around at my team and recognize their strengths instead of clinging to my own expertise. They trained me to keep an open mind, to try what might work for us in this moment, right now.

A leader in my current organization once said, “Twenty percent of what we do is the actual work. The other eighty percent is change management.”

That stuck.

Because the truth is, being the least experienced person in the room might just be the perfect training ground for leading change. You learn to ask questions instead of assume answers. You learn to notice what others bring instead of proving yourself. You learn that your biggest strength isn’t always knowing—it’s adapting.

So here’s the challenge I’ll leave you with:

How can you back up and see your job, your responsibilities, even your team with brand new eyes? How can you let wonder, uncertainty, and newness guide you toward growth instead of holding you back?

Sometimes, the least experienced person in the room is exactly who we need to lead us forward.

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