HOW TO LEAD WHEN YOU’RE NOT THE MOST EXPERIENCED PERSON IN THE ROOM

Leadership doesn’t always come with the most years on your resume.

In fact, some of the strongest leaders I’ve seen were not the most experienced person in the room. They didn’t know everything. But they knew how to carry themselves, how to make decisions, and how to guide the group without pretending to have all the answers. That’s what confidence in leadership actually looks like. It’s not loud. It’s not about titles or dominance. It’s about presence.

This is a lesson I’ve learned repeatedly, whether in business, healthcare, or motorsports. You won’t always be the most experienced voice at the table. But you still have to lead. And how you lead in those moments says a lot about the kind of leader you really are.

LEADERSHIP ISN'T ABOUT HAVING THE LONGEST RESUME

It’s a mistake to think authority comes from experience alone. Experience helps, but it’s not the only factor.

Some of the best decisions I’ve seen have come from people who had less technical background, but more clarity. They knew how to synthesize information, how to spot gaps in thinking, and how to ask the right question at the right time.

When you're in a leadership position, people aren't looking to you for technical perfection. They’re looking to you for direction, judgment, and steadiness. If you're trying to prove you're the smartest person in the room, you're missing the point. The real test is whether you can guide smart people toward better outcomes without making it about you.

ASK BETTER QUESTIONS, NOT LOUDER ONES

One of the best tools a leader can have is the ability to ask good questions. Not performative questions. Not gotcha questions. Real questions that move the conversation forward. The kind that forces people to pause and rethink their assumptions.

When you’re not the most experienced person in the room, asking better questions becomes a strength. It shows you’re engaged, you’re thinking critically, and you’re confident enough to seek clarity rather than fake certainty.

I’ve seen this work time and time again. In boardrooms. In policy meetings. In garage debriefs. Good questions show respect for the people around you while still establishing your presence as a leader.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING TO LEAD EFFECTIVELY

There’s a lot of pressure on leaders to have quick answers. But good leadership isn’t about speed. It’s about accuracy, awareness, and judgment. People don’t expect you to know everything. What they expect is that you won’t pretend to. That you’ll gather input, weigh options, and make a thoughtful call when it counts.

In my case, I’m both a team owner and a driver. That gives me perspective on both sides of the garage. But even then, I rely on the expertise of engineers, strategy calls from the box, and constant communication with the team. I don’t try to override every decision. I listen, assess, and act based on the full picture.

That model works everywhere. In business. In government. In research. Leadership is less about having all the answers and more about knowing how to bring the right people into the conversation and then making the decision when it counts.

If you try to lead by overcompensating or dominating the room, you’ll lose people. But if you lead by creating alignment and trust, even the most seasoned experts will respect you.

CONFIDENCE ISN’T VOLUME. IT’S CLARITY.

It’s easy to mistake confidence for charisma. Or noise. Or presence for pressure. But the kind of confidence that holds up under pressure doesn’t need to be loud. It needs to be clear. People follow leaders who don’t panic. Leaders who know when to speak and when to wait. Leaders who aren’t rattled by people who know more than they do.

I’ve had plenty of moments where I wasn’t the smartest person in the room. But I still had to lead. What helped was getting clear on what I brought to the table: judgment, pattern recognition, a systems view, and then leaning into that rather than trying to match someone else’s credentials.

That’s what real confidence in leadership looks like. It’s not reactive. It’s steady. It doesn’t need to be the loudest voice. It just needs to be the one people can count on.

FINAL THOUGHT

If you’re leading a team where you’re not the most experienced person in the room, that’s not a disadvantage. It’s an opportunity to build trust, make space for expertise, and lead with clarity.

Don’t fake what you don’t know. Don’t try to prove you belong. Show up prepared. Ask sharp questions. Make good decisions.

That’s how real leaders operate, whether they’ve been in the room for one year or thirty.