Your Experience Isn't a Formula

“If I lost my job today, here’s what I would do immediately.”

Every time I see another article or post that starts this way, I have the same reaction:

But you didn't lose your job. So maybe stop talking long enough to listen to someone who did.

If you've been through a job loss and have real evidence that what you did helped you find your next opportunity, absolutely share it. Tell us what worked, what didn't, and what you learned.

But recognize that your experience happened in a particular market, at a particular time, with circumstances specific to you.

Someone else has different financial obligations, family responsibilities, health concerns, professional networks, and opportunities. What worked for you might help them. It might also be completely unrealistic for their situation.

And that's where this becomes a conversation about leadership.

Years of experience should give you perspective—and enough humility to recognize that your experience is yours. It doesn't make you an authority on how everyone else should live.

If you want to help someone, start by understanding what they want, what they need, and what they're facing. Then consider how something you've learned could be adapted to help them move forward.

That takes curiosity, empathy, and a willingness to hear an answer you weren't expecting.

Blindly handing people instructions without understanding their lives is ridiculous. Calling it leadership doesn't make it any less so.