THE ONLY SKILL THAT MATTERS 🦎

THE ONLY SKILL THAT MATTERS 💎 

April 22, 2026 • Issue No. 35

After class last week, one of my students, let’s call her Madeleine, stayed after to ask me a question. Usually, I don’t mind post-class chats, but on this particular day I was meeting my friend, Rosa, for drinks and a movie. My first reaction was to speed things up and hurry my student along.

Usually, Madeleine is energetic and quick to start a side conversation if the topic interests her, but for the first time she seemed pensive. She said she was feeling self-conscious about her skill set and wondered if she was in the right field. Even when I told her that no one is perfect, that everyone has weaknesses (even me!), she didn’t look convinced. When we parted ways, I wasn’t sure either of us felt we’d reached a resolution. I kept thinking about how to help.

A few days later, I sent her an email to tell her a story about a mistake I’d made. I hoped it would be reassuring. Here’s a part of what I sent to Madeleine:

But the more I reflect on this, the less assured I feel by my own advice. It was incomplete. But here’s the full story.

No one has 100% of all the skills or characteristics. 

When I used to play Mario Kart with my brother, my favorite part was choosing a character. You could see each player’s stats as you flipped through the options. Bowser, a red-haired dragon, was heavy but fast. His weight made him unlikely to get knocked off the course, but it also meant he couldn’t change directions quickly. Toad, an anthropomorphic mushroom, had accelerated quickly but he was so small that the slightest obstacle would send him spinning. (Stats be damned, I always chose Princess Peach.) Every character had a trade-off — even Mario, and it’s his game! There are no perfect characters in Mario Kart, and there are no perfect skill sets in life.

Whether you have the right skill set is not the right question….

Because you can work with, around, or to enhance the skills you have.

So:

• you’re not organized

• you’re not the first one to speak up in meetings

• you’re new to a suite of software

• you’re interviewing for a skip-level position and worried you don’t have the pre-reqs

In other words, you don’t have the skill you think you need. But! You’re not a video game character trapped in a fixed skill set, moved around an imaginary world via wireless controller. You have the potential for dynamic change, personal evolution, and strategic choice which means that the only skill that matters is adaptability.

When I see Madeleine next week, I plan to check-in with her again because there’s a different conversation to be had.

💎 It’s not whether you have the skill set, it’s what you’re willing to do about it. 💎 

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