Week 17: Asking Isn’t Weakness—It’s Progress

Recently, I was assigned to a project that required me to work with tools I had absolutely no experience with. I tried reading documentation, watching videos, and doing all the usual prep work—but nothing really clicked. I still felt unsure and underconfident.

Thankfully, we were assigned a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to help us to get to speed. But here’s the thing—at first, I was really hesitant to ask him questions. Somewhere deep inside, I was afraid of sounding clueless. Being a Principal Software Engineer, I felt like I should already know my stuff. I believed people expected me to hit the ground running with whatever was thrown at me.

I wasn't like this when I started my career. Back then, I would ask questions—lots of them—without worrying how they sounded. And ironically, that’s probably what helped me grow faster.

So, I decided to let go of my ego and just ask the questions I had in mind. And to my surprise, most of the questions I asked were met with responses like “Good question” or “Great point.” That’s when it hit me—nobody knows everything, and asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s how you learn. It’s how you grow.

The more we spoke, the more comfortable we became, and from there on, I didn’t hesitate to ask anything.

Self Note: Ask the questions. Don’t hesitate. It’s how you move forward.