Intelligence becomes a trap when you overthink your next move
Jun 07, 2025 12:56 am
Had a fascinating conversation yesterday with a brilliant UX designer.
Six years of experience. Strong portfolio. Clear vision of where he wants to go next.
And completely paralyzed.
He'd analyzed every possible career path. Researched the pros and cons of management vs IC roles. Studied salary data across different companies. Read books on leadership and strategy.
(A great resource from DesignSingapore on the various career pathways for design. This was done back in 2019. So there would be more possible pathways today and in the future for design professionals)
Created detailed spreadsheets comparing opportunities.
But he hadn't actually talked to a single person at his target companies.
Sound familiar?
Smart people often get trapped by their own intelligence.
They can see all the variables. All the potential outcomes. All the ways things could go wrong.
So they analyze instead of act.
Plan instead of progress.
Research instead of reach out.
Meanwhile, less "qualified" candidates land the exact roles they want.
Not because they're better designers. Because they do one thing the smart ones don't:
They get comfortable with incomplete information.
They don't wait to have all the answers. They gather enough data to take the next step, then adjust as they learn.
The designer I talked to had spent months researching management roles.
Reading articles about leading design teams. Studying organizational charts. Analyzing job descriptions.
But five conversations with actual design managers would teach him more than all that research combined.
Five real conversations would tell him:
What the day-to-day actually looks like. What challenges keep managers up at night. Which companies truly value design leadership. What skills matter most in practice, not theory.
How to position himself for those opportunities. Who makes hiring decisions. What the real interview process involves.
The irony? His intelligence was actually making him less intelligent about his career.
All that analysis gave him the illusion of progress without any actual progress.
I see this pattern everywhere:
Smart people researching the "best" companies to work for instead of talking to people who actually work there.
Smart people optimizing their resumes for ATS systems instead of building relationships with hiring managers.
Smart people studying salary negotiation tactics instead of having actual conversations about compensation.
Intelligence without action is just expensive procrastination.
Here's what I told him:
"You've been researching management roles for months. But you still don't know if you'd actually enjoy the work. The only way to find out is to talk to people doing the work."
"You've analyzed which companies have the best design culture. But you don't know what it feels like to work there. The only way to find out is to connect with people who work there."
"You've studied leadership frameworks. But you don't know how you'd actually lead. The only way to find out is to start leading, even in small ways."
Sometimes the smartest move is to stop being so smart about it.
Start with imperfect action. Gather real data. Adjust based on what you learn.
That's how you build a career that actually fits instead of one that just looks good on paper.
What have you been overthinking that you could just start testing instead?
That networking strategy you've been perfecting? Send three messages today.
That career pivot you've been researching? Have two conversations with people in that field.
That company you've been studying? Reach out to someone who works there.
Smart people think their way into opportunities.
Successful people create their way into opportunities.
P.S. If you're stuck in analysis mode about your next career move, Career Creators will help you shift from thinking to doing. We give you the exact conversations to have and the specific steps to take. No more endless research. No more perfect plans. Just proven actions that create real opportunities. Reply "Ready" if you want to stop analyzing and start advancing.