The clever move is less enjoyable when its explanation humiliates the person who missed it.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

A good move and the telling of it are separate acts. The pleasure of seeing something others missed is real and belongs to you; the explanation afterwards is where it can turn into a demonstration of who is slower. Once that happens the group stops enjoying the play and starts managing the person delivering it, and the cleverness gets remembered as a cost. Being right is not usually what people mind.

When you spot something first, say it once and briefly. Leaving out the part that shows how obvious it was keeps the discovery yours without making anyone smaller for having missed it.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

When did your clever explanation leave somebody else feeling small?

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