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BRAVE • FOCUSED • BRILLIANT Turn Doubt Into Your Creative Superpower Doubt is not weakness. In fact, it can be a gateway to better decisions, sharper leadership, and more fulfillment in life and work.

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When most of us think about doubt, we imagine hesitation, second-guessing, or even weakness. These are enemies of progress for anyone aspiring to become a valuable leader.

Yet, beneath the surface, doubt is the creative pro’s hidden ally, often signaling opportunity. In creative organizations, the pressure to convey certainty is intense. Still, breakthrough work and inspired teams are more likely to thrive where curiosity and healthy skepticism lead the way.

In this week’s episode of Daily Creative, I explored the importance of "radical doubt" with Dr. Bobby Parmar. Here are a few of my key insights:

Step Toward Uncertainty

The most courageous move isn’t having all the answers—it’s admitting you don’t know yet.

Ideas with real impact rarely come gift-wrapped and perfect. If you feel the tension of uncertainty or are tempted to defend the status quo, it probably means you care deeply about the outcome—and that there’s more to discover. Instead of reinforcing your initial convictions, invite alternative perspectives and allow yourself to actually explore what you don’t know.

“The most effective leaders aren’t the ones who bulldoze ahead with false confidence, but those who create space for their teams to voice questions, to challenge assumptions, and to surface unseen risks.”

Courage in leadership isn’t about bravado; it’s about making your team feel safe enough to question everything—including you.

How can you make it easier for your team to say, “I’m not sure this is the right direction”?

Broaden the Lens

Focusing too tightly can make you miss what matters most.

In a world that rewards quick, decisive answers, it can feel risky to dwell in ambiguity for even a minute. But when you filter out dissent, ignore new information, or slip into tunnel vision, you not only risk missing critical insights, you also narrow your own growth.

As the episode points out, “Certainty narrows your vision... You filter out disconfirming evidence. You double down on your chosen path, even if the landscape around you has shifted.” Step back and deliberately weigh your decisions through multiple lenses—not just what’s most obvious or immediately measurable.

Ask: How am I actively seeking out information that challenges what I already believe?

Experiment with Possibility

The next big idea is often hidden behind the thing you almost dismissed.

Every creative leap begins with someone daring to pause and say, “What else could be true here?” Doubt is the engine behind those side-trails and offhand experiments that sometimes change entire projects—or careers.

As Dr. Parmar shares, “That discipline of thinking through what’s possible, what are the strengths and weaknesses of multiple options, what’s an experiment I can run that can get me closer to [my goals]... all of those things require patience, they require careful attention, and they require being okay not getting to a short-term answer in the moment.”

Your best ideas may arrive on the path you almost didn’t investigate.

Where can you give yourself permission to experiment before rushing to a decision this week?

P.S. If you'd like to hear our full episodes and interviews, they're free at DailyCreativePlus.com. Sign up and you'll get your own private podcast feed featuring bonus content and full interviews with all of our guests.

​ Todd Henry teaches leaders and teams how to be brave, focused, and brilliant. He is the author of seven books, and speaks internationally on creativity, leadership, and passion for work. ​TODDHENRY.COM​ ​​​​​

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