What is one belief or best practice in your function that you consciously unlearned in the last 12 months, and how did that unlearning change the way you lead your team and make decisions?

Knowledge is not important, position and communication is important.

Over the past year, the biggest belief I had to unlearn was that I needed to have everything perfectly figured out before bringing an idea or concern to the table. I used to feel that I had to understand every technical angle, risk, and dependency on my own before looping anyone else in. Not only is that unrealistic in enterprise architecture, it can actually slow teams down.

What I’ve learned is that EA work thrives on early collaboration. Some of the clarity we look for doesn’t exist upfront; it emerges through conversation with architects, risk partners, business stakeholders, and vendors. Once I let go of the need for “complete certainty before initiating,” my whole approach changed. I started engaging people earlier, sharing what I knew (and what I didn’t), and letting the collective expertise shape the path forward.

This shift has made decision-making faster and far more balanced. It’s also built stronger relationships, because people see they’re being invited in as partners rather than being handed a fully baked solution. And honestly, it’s taken a lot of pressure off. Leading feels more sustainable when you’re not trying to perfect everything alone.

Unlearning that one belief has made me a more transparent, collaborative leader, and our outcomes have improved because we’re solving problems together instead of in silos. Great question!