#103: Act Like You're in Your Next Role

Not Your Current One

Apr 06, 2025

👋 Hey, Leo here! Welcome to The Antifragile Leader. Each week, I explain the concepts needed to lead through uncertainty. Subscribe to get every issue in your inbox.

Hey Friends,

Welcome to the 102nd edition of this newsletter. I am writing this before my Sunday morning run at 4 degrees Celsius (what is wrong with this weather?).

I’ve had a very productive week, as I finished one of the hardest projects for my MBA, which was a journal about where I am as a leader, where I want to be, and how I can get there. I had to go through tens of articles for it, but most importantly, I had to dig deep into my mind and my heart to figure out who I wanted to become. And this, of course, meant realizing what my weaknesses and my blind spots are. But I finished it and submitted it yesterday morning, and I should have a few days before I take on the last project, Entrepreneurship. It’s going to be an interesting one, though, as each group will need to present their business idea to some investors in Prague one week after Easter. It’s going to be a “Shark Tank”/“Dragon’s Den” type of thing, so I’m quite excited about it.

Yesterday was also the first time we went out for lunch as a family of three. Zeno behaved exemplary at the restaurant (he slept while we ate, which doesn’t ever happen), but it all changed when we got in the car to get home as he cried the whole way there. Well, that’s what babies do, so I can’t say I was very surprised.

He’s 3 months and a half, and he’s already grown so much. Yesterday, we went to visit some friends who have a 2-week-old baby, and I couldn’t believe how small he was. And I don’t really remember Zeno being that little, which he was, of course, even smaller than that, but it all seems so long ago.

Why You Should Act Like Your Next Role — Not Your Current One

Antifragile leaders don’t wait for permission. They act on their next level before the title comes.

A few years ago, I was stuck.

I was a project manager in automotive. I was delivering. I was performing above the expectations.
But I wasn’t getting tapped for the next opportunity.

That’s when someone I was looking up to told me something that changed how I operate to this day:

“You don’t grow into a new role. You grow because you act like you already have it.”

We often think that titles or promotions give us permission to lead differently. That your next role will bring the mindset shift you need to perform at that different level.
But real leadership is the opposite. The moment you start behaving like the next version of yourself, everything begins to shift — your decisions, your presence, how others see you.

“We learn who we are by watching ourselves in action.”
— Herminia Ibarra, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader

Most of the time, mindset and motivation follow action.

🧠 The Psychology of Your Future Self

Research by Dan Gilbert and Benjamin Hardy shows something profound:
We’re bad at imagining how different we’ll be in the future — and even worse at intentionally becoming that future version.

But here’s the insight:
Identity is malleable — and it changes through action.

As James Clear wrote in Atomic Habits:

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.”

You want to be seen as a CTO?

Don’t wait.
Start thinking like one.
Start showing up like one.
Start making decisions like your organization’s long-term health depends on it — because eventually, it will.

🔁 Antifragile Leaders Grow by Acting, Not Waiting

In antifragile systems, stress and uncertainty create strength.
It’s the same for people. You don’t get stronger when everything’s clear and comfortable.

The real edge is when you choose to operate one level above your comfort zone.
It’s the only way to grow into the leader your next challenge will require.

“Act, and you will be acted upon.”
— Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

If you notice a leadership gap but don't take action, are you waiting for approval or simply trying to avoid failure?

🔧 How to Do This Without Faking It

This isn’t about pretending to be someone you’re not.
It’s about investing in the version of yourself you're building.

Here’s what that looks like:

Learn the problems of the next level. Think in outcomes, not just tasks.
Be a node, not just a cog. Connect people. Spot patterns. Offer clarity.
Start mentoring. Nothing shows readiness like helping others rise.
Run experiments. Volunteer for stretch projects. Propose small bets with big upside.

Every time you step outside your current role, you expand it.
And when you do it consistently, others begin to treat you as someone already operating at the next level.

Let me give you an example of how I did it.

As I was saying, I was doing very well in managing that project. But for the next role, the program manager role, I had to manage budgets. Now, I didn’t know anything about P&L, rates, provisions, or anything like that. That’s why I was not being considered for the next role.

So, I went to someone I knew who was in this role and asked him if he could explain this to me. He first sent me a 60-minute online course about this and then spent half an hour explaining the basics of it. It was no rocket science, and in half a day I got the gist of it.

Then, every time I was discussing something with my superior, I would slip some budget-related topics into the conversation.

“Oh, that person we interviewed is too expensive; we’ll be operating at a loss.”

“We need to increase the seniority of these people; that will surely increase our Gross Margin.”

"I’ll tell him to take some vacation days; the provisions are too high for this account.

Then, my manager knew I was ready for the next level because it was clear I was already operating in that mindset already.

Act Today, Grow Tomorrow

Leadership isn't given.
It’s earned — and often self-assigned long before it’s officially granted.

Here’s a question I ask myself often — maybe you should too:

If someone shadowed me today, would they see the person I want to become?
Or just the one who’s waiting for the title?

You don’t have to be fearless.
You just have to be bold enough to start acting like it already belongs to you.

So, if there’s one takeaway from this, it is to figure out what is expected of you if you are doing your boss’ job. You could either figure it out for yourself or just ask him/her plainly, “What are the top 3 skills you need in your role? Can you give me some recommendations on how I could learn them, too?”

This will show them you’re interested in growing but, more importantly, that you’re willing to put in the effort to do that and not just wait for a promotion to hit you in the head.

3. Recommendations:

I am rewatching some old movies in this period and saw “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” after many years. And I remember why I gave it a 10 on IMDb several years ago, because it’s one of those movies that make an impact on you.
The main idea is one that I’ve toyed with in the past, too: if you would have the possibility of erasing a memory of someone who hurt you, would you do it?
And I would have done this in the past but now I would never do it. Because this is what makes us the persons we are, both the good experiences and the bad ones. This is the real antifragility.
The Anti-Portfolio website. While many companies take pride in their successful investments, I love Bessemer Venture Partners’ candor in honoring some of the companies they didn’t invest in.
Here’s a nice example:
I’m trying to revamp my PKM(Personal Knowledge Management) system and I’m exploring different systems, like the Zettlekasten method and atomic notes. And I like this explanatory video on the topic