You did the deep work. Your analysis was airtight. Your recommendation was flawless.
And someone else carried the day.
That’s the trap: believing the work will speak for itself.
It won’t. Not on its own.
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Sebastien Page has spent his career proving what actually works. He’s a senior finance executive, the author of The Psychology of Leadership, and — for the record — a self-described introvert.
His edge wasn’t volume. It was a one-two punch: deep quantitative work paired with the ability to explain it clearly. That combination is what got him noticed as an intern. It’s what kept moving him up.
Expertise on its own is invisible. Expertise plus clear communication is leadership.
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One of the most useful things Sebastien shared is a rule he actually uses in his own meetings. He calls it the one-over-N rule.
If there are ten people in the room, each person should contribute roughly ten percent. Not a hard rule — a shared expectation. When someone starts to dominate, they usually catch themselves and say so out loud.
And when they don’t, the leader has a move: politely interrupt, summarize what the person just said so they feel heard, and pivot to someone quieter who’s ready to speak.
Polite. Summarize. Pivot.
It’s the kind of small, repeatable script that changes the shape of a room.
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There was another idea in this conversation that I keep coming back to. Sebastien calls it strategic patience.
Before any decision, he asks a question most leaders skip: how much time do we actually have?
If you have six months to hire someone, take six months. If you have a week, take the week. Rushing feels productive. It’s often the opposite.
And here’s the part I didn’t expect. He argues that not resolving every disagreement on your team is also a leadership skill. If you jump in every time two people disagree, you train them to bring every conflict to you. Sometimes the better move is to let it sit — and let them work it out.
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We also talked about the myth that keeps a lot of quiet professionals stuck: that introverts aren’t good presenters, aren’t natural leaders, don’t belong at the top of the room.
Sebastien’s answer is a list. Warren Buffett. Bill Gates. Tim Cook. Satya Nadella. Barack Obama. Roger Federer. Lionel Messi.
The evidence is in front of us. The story we tell ourselves is what’s wrong.
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If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting frustrated that your best point never made it into the room, this episode is going to give you something you can use on Monday morning.
Give it a listen.
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