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- The Competence Assumption
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You don't need more time to prove your competence, you need others to assume it.
The competence assumption changes everything. When people assume you're competent before you demonstrate it, every interaction becomes easier. Your ideas carry weight. Your recommendations get implemented. Your presence signals expertise.
Most professionals have this backwards. They believe competence leads to assumption. The opposite creates exponential results. The competence assumption is engineered, not earned.
Why Smart People Struggle With Credibility
Watch two consultants enter the same boardroom.
The first consultant, brilliant with twenty years of experience, over-explains every recommendation. She provides excessive data. Works twice as hard to establish credibility.
The second consultant walks in and people defer to his judgment automatically.
Same competence. Different positioning.
The competence assumption operates on three levels:
Environmental: Your office location. Quality of materials. Email signature. These create assumptions before you speak.
Behavioral: How you enter rooms. Where you sit. When you speak. The questions you ask instead of answers you give.
Contextual: The situations where others experience your expertise. You create conversations instead of joining them. You anticipate trends instead of responding to them.
Prestige address commands different assumptions than shared workspace. Premium materials signal different competence than budget options. Your technology either reinforces or undermines every expertise claim.
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How to Sit Like You Belong
Competent professionals sabotage themselves by trying too hard. They answer questions extensively when brief confidence would create more impact.
Your pause carries more weight than your explanation. Your question demonstrates more expertise than your answer. Your restraint signals more competence than your performance.
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