After publishing my blog post on Technical Leadership, I got some comments about the ‘Strong Opinions, Weakly Held’ part.

I’ve always seen it as a helpful concept when having to spur action while dealing with uncertainty or incomplete information. At its core, the idea is simple: form an opinion based on what you know (“strong opinion”) but stay open to new information or perspectives (“weakly held”). The key is to make an educated guess based on experiences — it doesn’t have to be the correct answer. By staying open to challenges and feedback, you can refine your thinking and move closer to the truth.

For me this works best when paired with patience and the discipline to wait for the ‘last responsible moment’ to decide. During this time, listening, observing, and letting the situation unfold can often bring clarity without the need to voice an opinion prematurely. However, there are moments when you lack all the pieces and still need to act. In those cases, making an educated guess is acceptable, provided you remain disciplined enough to adapt if needed. In my experience, advocating for action can unlock a situation faster than waiting for perfect alignment.

And let’s be honest — there’s rarely one “right” way to achieve a goal. Most of the time, there are multiple paths to success. That’s why I’m such a believer in mission command: trusting your team, giving them the freedom to adapt as they learn, and empowering them to make decisions along the way. Most of the time - and I really mean most of the time - my job is not even about having to make a decison at all, but to communicate the context and see the decison emerge. And that to me is the key enabler for a scalable and resilient teams.

Someone asked me how often I’ve changed my mind after sharing an opinion, and I realized it happens a lot! To me, the best part of this mindset isn’t about being right. It’s about finding the best way to help the team deliver.