On being reliable

I once missed a deadline by a day and a half because I underestimated how long something would take and didn't say anything until it was already late. My manager wasn't furious — it wasn't a catastrophe — but I remember the tone of her reply. Just a slight shift. She said "okay, let me know when it's ready" and that was it. But after that I noticed she'd check in on me a bit more often than she had before. Which is a polite way of saying she trusted me less.

I don't blame her. I'd have done the same.

The thing about reliability is that it's not really about talent or intelligence. It's about doing what you said you were going to do, when you said you were going to do it. Or — and this is the part I had to learn — telling someone early when you realise you won't make it, rather than hoping it'll somehow work out.

There was someone else on the same team who was, honestly, probably less technically capable than some of the others. But she answered messages promptly, she finished what she started, and she was never the reason a project slipped. Over the six months I was there, she was given more and more responsibility. It was very direct — almost mechanical. Trust in, more interesting work out.

I don't think this is a profound observation. But it's one of those things where knowing it and actually doing it are quite different. I still sometimes take on too much, or let things run a bit long before flagging it. I'm better than I was. I think it's genuinely something you can get better at, if you treat it like a skill rather than just part of your personality.